Naza Kia Malaysia is set to launch the Kia Optima K5 on December 27. The car will be launched at NKM’s first Kia Red Cube outlet in Malaysia, which is located in Petaling Jaya alongside the Federal Highway.
The sedan – spotted during JPJ homologation testing in October and last month, stockpiled in Port Klang – will be the fourth Kia model to be introduced locally this year, following the launch of the Sportage, Forte 6-Speed and Forte Koup. It will come in a single engine variant form, this being the 2.0 litre Theta II offering 165 PS and 198 Nm of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.
Features include auto-levelling HID xenon headlamps, LED daytime running headlights, dual-zone auto air-conditioner, a plush leather interior, a panoramic sun roof, USB and Bluetooth connectivity, auto cruise control, ESP, 18-inch alloy wheels and six airbags. In effect, the kit list should have most of that found on the 2.4 GDI variant driven in Australia earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, the Kia Red Cube outlet, with a built-up size of 24,350 sq ft, will be Naza Kia Malaysia’s flagship showroom in the Klang Valley and will incorporate Kia Motors’ new Global Space Identity. The 3S (Sales, Spare parts, Service) facility features a modern and stylish design, all meant to give customers a greater experience when purchasing a Kia or sending their existing Kias for service. More when launch time arrives.
Anthony Lim believes that nothing is better than a good smoke and a car with character, with good handling aspects being top of the prize heap. Having spent more than a decade and a half with an English tabloid daily never being able to grasp the meaning of brevity or being succinct, he wags his tail furiously at the idea of waffling - in greater detail - about cars and all their intrinsic peculiarities here.
banyak Handsome !!!
Indeed. Was gonna place an advanced booking until the salesman told me it’s RM142,000+ D:
serious sh*t?
Crazy price 142K might as well ask them to rob a bank for fast cash like pirate.
Boycott them !!
very funny…toyota and honda selling such pricing are not crazy? one tomyam and one alor gajah car with lower tax.( not make in japan.)..and frankly speaking both good in nothing.
we need to change our mindset to admit Korea improve very fast and have competitive strength with Japan.
engines sucks, not good for long term, who cares about interface only
i am driving hyundai sonata 2.4 year 2003,very comfortable and engine running smoothly. this car is using multilink double wishbone and with low maintenance cost compare to camry and accord.. in term of petrol consumption the best i can go is12.35km/liter highway and 7.5km/l during traffic jam combine with urban drive.this car has eps, tcs,shifttronic,massage chair, autocruise and auto sunblind etc…engines are good not suck…
malaysians mindset hasnt changed for like the past 20 or 30 years,they only think that japanese cars are way much better,better resale value,better performance,better in fuel consumption,they just wont accept the fact that there are cars out there which can outpower them easily,and kia’s newly launch models like these is definitely gonna kick in their ass pretty soon^^~
Sir, you have to understand, that though the korean cars are now indeed better and at some point, better than T&H offerings. But the truth is, the depreciation and market perceived value is still a few notches down compared to T&H, we can’t escape it. It’s also partly the reason why it’s deterring potential buyers from writing their cheque book to Kia
No doubt the Koreans are improving very fast, in fact when they first started the benchmark they had were the Japanese. Hyundai was bigger while Kia was later abosorbed into Hyundai and Daewoo is now under the GM umbrella.
Couple of my friends do have that 2003 Sonata and while they tried their best to maintain the car, the repair bills just kept pilling up. The massage function was not built into the car but was largely what’s left in Kah Motor’s parts bin. It was also “standard” in my friend’s Type-Z Honda City, along with other “optional” but mandatory accessories such as Honda air fresheners, curtain blinds and even a mountain bike for the CR-V.
On the surface i see a lot of positives for the Koreans but i’d rather wait and see if the current batch is really as good as they claim. I’m using the latest Sonata as a benchmark. Only time will tell Toyota and Honda ought to be dropped for the Korean alternatives.
Korean only improved on the design which by the way was done by German. They still have works to do on their build quality, handling and most importantly their reliability. My neighbor new Tucson just got his car tow away for heavy leak of oil which he is not sure where its from. I m sure they will improve in this area in very near future. Korean cars in Malaysia need to be fully loaded and yet sell cheaper than the Japanese otherwise it will never sell. That’s the fact.
the truth is malaysian still believes in T&H. It doesnt matter how likeable, new feature, modern design of KIA/Hyundai car, we still live in denial. Just look at the stats provided (by PaulTan) on the car sales figure for Oct’11 – The Vios @ Dugong still leading the non-national segment. Even the Kia Forte – thought to be the T&H beater, only managed to do 1/5 of the Dugong sales… No wonder la, all Toyota salesman still smiling… Tsunami in Japan? What tsunami… In general, Malaysians are purely loyalist …..
Arrr! We be robbin’ ships, not banks ye scallywag!
if 142k better buy jetta ckd
At RM142K, it’s better to buy Honda Accord 2.0.
Why? Who says H is better? Better you read latest US consumer reports. Optima all the way baby!
Jetta is an overpiced mid size segment car…The optima belongs to large segment car…Its competes with the Passat
Different segment
Agree with you on that but just compare to Forte. Both optima and Forte use the same engine (only torque is diff). U will again say diff segment car but for a car with more features then Forte but same engine, will you pay 1.5 times more then the price for Forte ie. 99.8K versus 142K? If you answer yes, Naza will be smiling but I won’t be amused as I really have been waiting for the Optima to come to Malaysia but at this price, no thanks. I will wait for the new Camry then or maybe just get the Forte.
It certainly does look the part and if you get one in black with some sybtke bodykit, it looks the best in this class, probably the Mazda 6 is Jap’s only hope left for the Japanese in this department.
Spec wise, you can expect the Koreans to load it up for you… but at RM142K, no thanks.
RM142K?? hahaha….more expensive than Sonata?
H & T sales man smiling…
We anticipate buyers cryying….WTF…
But can Kia take the AP king out please? damn.
this car is great!!!
btw, hope naza is not doing the same mistake as sportage, so many publicity and road show, but not ready stock can be sell.. waiting list > 6 month…. phuiii…..
well thats true,all the road shows tour around malaysia,and they say the waiting list is like 6 months,whose gonna book for the car,haha.As if like waiting for a hand made piece by piece assemble vehicle which is done by one person ^^
This car is so sporty ! VW M’sia pls bring the real Germany car Jetta GLI 2012 to kill this Kimchi and show them what’s is a real performance car !!!
But can you afford it? Talk is cheap.
How did u know i cant afford it?! u know me? and i never talk to the PC Screen and i just post comments here dude…what’s ur point ‘ talk is cheap ‘ so everyone who can talk so they r cheap ? wow no sense lolx
I didn’t say you can’t. I asked a question, hence the ? Defensive much you are.
whoa! y so angry? relax la…
Jetta GLI will be RM200K plus if they ever bring it here lah kawan. That RM60k more.. can buy another car. Just look at the price of the 2.0 Passat cc.
Only if you believe it, starting price from RM102K according to this ad.
http://www.expat.com.my/Kia%20Optima%20Price%20in%20Malaysia.htm
NGV version? Maybe the pics they used are instead should be the previous models and not the current. Cannot be that cheap.
bro, that is from Expat’s site, meaning it’s under Second-Home Scheme, there’s reduced taxation for cars, that’s why RM102k
no shit.. if u look at other car price at the same site, such as toyota… it’s all actually standard selling price here !
so this baby only at 100k+ ??!!
It cant be right? KOUP already at 115K with only 2 doors. This is D-segment model with same specs as the KOUP but with 2additional doors, xenon lights, dual zone AC. Definitely not 102K….
this is the pricing for the old optima model
engines sucks, no wonder few ppl buy korean car
bro, why sucks? KIA/Hyundai use the same GEMA engine as Mitsu and Chrysler (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Engine_Manufacturing_Alliance).
Mitsu calls it MIVEC, KIA/Hyundai call it Theta II.
So Mitsu engine also sucks?
I won’t call it suck, just too CC… conventional and conservative
Some ppl like it that way, but many are hot heads I presume
Finally after long waiting for this car, first time i saw in seoul early this year, i fall in love with it, seriously this gonna be the best looking kia sedan they ever in production. Hopefully after got it, Naza service center will be improve, to attract more customer, to a lots people after sale is really important. Maybe this is just my point of view.
well said, its all car buyers point of view to have a better service center where AP king just loot for $$ now without providing good services..the brand will be effected down the road, and Kia has so many good products now…but….too bad AP king in charge..
nice &bold design from KIA. thumbs up !!
hopefully KIA@NAZA improve a lot their aftersales service since their cars are very good.
such a beauty, very good price and spec
beauty only arrr…not good for long term, go and die arr
have you read the international reports on the car? Bodoh.
Saw one White K5 modded K5 in Seoul. Speechless.
muscular look…
Better than Proton…….
How Much ??
KIA Optima is 1 grade lower than Hyundai Sonata therefore must price cheaper than it elder brother.
Since 2 ltr Forte is only 90+K Optima should price below RM 120K, or else just boycott them until it reached fair price.
1 grade lower? its same class..n actually the same car
Rm110K max. or else CRZ…(also 20K too much)..
CRZ? Not even in same class la bro, how you can compare?
Who says its 1 grade lower? Autoblog.com voted it slightly better than the Sonata. Maybe you don’t read a lot, just cakap cakap. Baik you pegi baca more first, then talk. And change yr user name, dont malukan sama geng.
i agree,even before optima arrived in malaysia,the k5 are already sold like hot bean buns in other countries,why foreign country accept kia’s so well but malaysians are so sarcastic.
The only car that I like from Korea, can’t wait for the launch. Hope I can upgrade my car.
Barefaced Fellow, Get your own nick name, don’t copy my.
who cares?
haha mari kita tgk siapa yg menang lol
Yeah, who cares? It’s internet anyways
New Avanza coming soon, anyone would like to book one from me?
Register with gravatar, so that you can have an icon.
quote of the day
Good job mate.
Some1 do the same for maserati and jolo
I know 142K for a Optima is too expensive, but as i am only a salesman, the more expensive the more commission i get, i just worry customer wouldn’t order from me, so i have no choice but klentong u all that KIA is a good as BMW.
well i am a kia’s salesman,and i think the price is quite fair compare to honda and toyota,even to sonata,just looks at the specs dude,with the same price can you get it from honda and toyota,not even close.although the commission for this k5 is quite low,but i think i am selling a good car,thats what matters to me.i might get one if i can afford it.Read more guys before compete with other vehicles.
Saw a Singaporean one at 1 Utama last weekend. This car is jaw-droppingly beautiful. Goodbye T & H.
T & H: good riddance!
How come Kia Optima is one grade lower than Hyundai Sonata? Both under D-segment right?
KIA is a cheaper variant of Hyundai, Optima is cheaper than Sonata arround the world.
is the optima that ur referring to has similar or better spec than the sonata>
here the optima has a load more specs than the similar sonata brother, so pricing should be comparable.
Cannot stand the front looks and rims… yucks. I’ll put my money on Sonata face-lift instead.
I felt that too. Looks like heavily modified front by one Ah Beng and the rim….gosh.
Yes, the Forte is priced at RM80k++ to RM90k++, it shouldnt go beyond RM130k, if not, its not fairly priced. It must be priced below RM130k to compete directly with the Sonata…
same car segment as Ford Mondeo
Kia optima is D segment, same as Sonata. The Forte equivalent will be Hyundai Avante. Halem dunno what he’s talking about. Shud be same price as the Sonata.
U are one donno what u talking about ! Optima starts from $18,995 & Sonata starts from $ 19,395 in US.
Mean Optima price is cheaper than Sonata.
Fair price should be 120K+
there’s no fair price for cars in malaysia.
In US the price difference is only about a few hundred dollars, but you expect the Optima to be cheaper by RM10k in Malaysia!? You must have failed in mathematics!!
Dumb, base only percentage lah !
A few hundred in US work out to be few thousand in Malaysia, as our car are much more expensive than US.
Let me guess u fail ur UPSR Maths.
Halem, u & kerol need to stop humiliating yourself. And please…please… Enough with the cock & bull story.
Read more. I had the chance to drive this car…and it massive! Impressive!
Hell with the resale value. If it is good as they say, with 5yr unlimited mileage warranty…. I’ll use it for a very2 long time.
agree,kia’s warranty are by far the longest in malaysia,with unlimited mileage,just drive all you want within five years and get your mileage up to 900k if you like,i think the value is already worth it.
Another D-segment car? While the global trend is ‘downsizing’, expecially in Europe and the US, Malaysians have bucked the trend to go bigger. Camry, Accord, Sonata, now Optima are growing in size. For me, when it comes cars, less is definitely more. A Golf easily beats all these in terms of substance.
hope this k5@optima comes with built in gps, dvd player, ipod connector…
No GPS and DVD player. Got IPod la. A bit expensive at 143888 though.
this car crazy handsome.. first time saw in seoul, in love already…esp white color..
damn, when is proton gonna make somethin like this?
i still won’t buy from AP King
YES!!!
they still don’t need both of you.
Then people like you shouldnt buy car la…
Low class mentality…
wow tat 2.0 engine is probably 1 of most powerful in te klass. believe it or not te 165 bhp is almost similar to a 2.4 camry
Even BMW 320i engine produces 156hp only. For a modern NA engine meeting emission standards, the engine in this Kia is impressive.
I know VTEC can produce 200hp++ for 2.0 NA, but those are not compliant with modern emission standards unfortunately. Great fun engines they are, but looks like they won be returning anytime soon. Miss having 8000rpm redline and that extra kick beyond 6000revs.
Its funny, the air is free from the stench of jolo, maserati, and the rest of his gang here.
agreed. Those Japanese bullshitters really get on people’s nerve. Everyone has their preferences, and there is no certain right or wrong.
if you believe it, starting price from RM102K
http://www.expat.com.my/Kia%20Optima%20Price%20in%20Malaysia.htm
xpat price usually lower (term n condition apply)
chris, thats the price of the previous generation – i.e those blue taxi you see on the road. the person probably updated the pics, but yet to upload the price.
will trade in my civic1.7 for this…..a real man’s car..
get a truck, itu baru real man’s car
SORRY…I still prefer VW
Need to view and test drive this beauty first the, hopefully it’s a Farewell Sonata and Hellooooo K5 !! Hahahah
it has European look written all over it…as it was designed by Peter Schreyer (Audi TT, A3, A4, VW Bettle, etc)…nice move KIA
Jus advanced booked one……RM 122k…..
Just advanced booked one ……at RM 122k……
wa
Looks like we have nice kim chi here. Aneyang sae yo..
stupid Naza only aim for premium market and totally ignored the new Picanto, Soul and Rio!
Picanto, Rio…coming soon…very-very soon….Trust me…later you’ll see somebody post in paultan.org leaked photos from JPJ la..Port Klang la… Its already in Naza Kia’s pipeline..
saw this car numerous times in Suzhou, really a handsome car along. but here, jetta and passat outsell this K5.
Thats bcoz the optima k5 is not launched yet.
well hello u guys! how come price should be lower than 120k? sportage also cost 138k.logically think if 120k then it would kill the sportage, is that naza wanted too? also tucson cost nearly same with sonata so 142k reasonable. mind that our sonata equipped with less equipment than k5. Manual air-con(2.0HS) anyone?
i agree, the kia has better value over the sonata yet most ppl comment that it should be 10-20k cheaper which makes no sense….
its not naza that puts a high price tag, it should be sime darby overpricing their lower spec sonata.
saw one of these in Miri that day (night actually). Bruneian one tho. At first glance i thought it was a lexus or audi etc. Then i know it’s the Kia.
It’s an AWESOME car.
cheaper than Altis 2.0??! this is gonna kill Altis
and the ugly 2012 Civic.
generally kia is cheaper than hyundai in worldwide but in malaysia may be different almost same price..I think this is because kia optima with full spec and sonata only a basic car.
Really? I look at the Kia Sportage 2.0 compared against Tucson 2.0 and although the Sportage has more features, it is priced lower than the Tucson
for those who think jetta is “worth”. plz go to the showroom and please look at it carefully. front until back, left and right, and interior. ah yae before that plz seat inside other car within 140k ~ 170k (eg: 508 n watnot) and u’ll understand wat i meant
please also test drive it and compare with any car between 140k ~ 170k. Personal preference though but I chosen the TSI + DSG!
driven both 1.4 n 2.0 (not jetta). yae u can say DSG does have a smooth shifting.. but how many of us knows the different between microsecond n milisecond shifting. n u hardly use the paddle shift (i use it only during balik kampung only).
At first I also tot Jetta would be a beautiful car. Then saw the Jetta in showroom. I can only say good technology. Design of Jetta sucks.
Jetta is worth coz last week i go to the VW showroom…the Jetta is quite nice and high quality
no projector, no leather seat, super small rim….
waiting for hybrid for this model.. classss
Paul, Mind to make a review of Sonata VS Optima, and also Forte VS new Avante?
hope that they bring in the turbo 2.0 .. then it will kick some ass
nice…i want one
Car of the year 2012.
Who still said korean car not go, then can go back zaman batu.
I still remember when i want to have samsung handphone, most of people said korean no good why no get nokia or sony ericsson phone, but now you see full of samsung phone user.
For car: Korean improve and improve.
Japanese is maintain and maintain only. At last they lose to korean.
DSZ says:
14/12/2011 at 6:52 pm
i still won’t buy from AP King
but i love blake griffin optima! ganazzzzz!
Eh Maserati aka Toyota salesmen is missing. Come on, you Korean car bashers like this kind of post wat. Where are you guys?
On another note, hopefully this car does well here, it deserves to be. The Koreans have tried hard to catch up with the Japanese in design and technology and they deserve to be rewarded.
Gorgeous looking car…
RM142K is just about rite. About 10-13K cheaper than Camry & Accord, and 40K cheaper than Passat. But would definitely need to test drive first before saying anything further.
Kia Forte has managed to achieve minor success due to the pricing of the car vs its intended competitors i.e. a fully loaded Kia Forte 2.0 is priced at RM90++ whereas a basic Honda Civic 1.8 is priced at RM110++. That means it is almost RM20K cheaper and yet higher CC and with comes with all the features missing in the Civic.
If Naza is intending to replicate this success, the same strategy should apply. A basic Honda Accord is priced at RM140++ so a fully loaded Kia Optima should be priced at RM120++ tops. Price it any higher and I’m willing to bet this car will not sell.
Sorry Bob but I disagree with you. Kia Forte is meant to take on the Vios & City segment, not the Civic & Altis. At about the same price, but offering so much more. Similarly here the Optima is meant to cater for the Camry & Accord budget group. We probably see a Kia model for the Altis/Civic later.
How come u can say it’s not meant to compete with Civic. In fact, Forte has 2.0 engine while Civic is a 1.8 so actually it’s better then Civic. I agree that the price of Optima shouldn’t be more then 25K above the current Forte as they use the same engine, The 25K should compensate for all the extras the Optima provides if really Naza wanna make sure they can compete with H&T in this segment. Next year, Camry new model will be out so Kia better make sure the Optima is price competitive otherwise it won’t get the success enjoyed by Forte.
nice car!
i will get the new A6 indeed .
guys, are you sure about the correct pricing? My SA called me a few days ago and told me the price will be 125k??
But K5 already OTR though !!
Saw this K5 OTR yesterday…which is NOT launched yet…
..finally, the waiting is over. Camry look already aging and meant for uncle, Accord try to be bit boy racer but yet executive (no direction), Sonata too much lines with that fair amount of Korean flair, Mazda 6 also boring edy, but Optima will complement for all these, complete look as an executive sedan, sporty, stylish and handsome. Yeapp another joy for malaysian drivers, just one thing, it was a little bit late as usual for naza, just wishing u goodluck for the sales. If they can park it at 135K range, this is absolutely a christmas gift!
you forgot the TEANA!
I guess everyone’s wishes is to get something at cheapest possible. RM135k is a reasonable price tag since it is always cheaper than hyundai in the same segment according to past trend. But I guess for this particular K5, it has got more features to shout about as to compared with the Sonata, fairly speaking it should be in the region of a sonata price tag due to all these added features (i.e. 18inch rims, heated seats, infinity audio system, etc).
After reading the reviews of this car for the past 8 months, it convinced me that KIA is a force to be reckon. They have grown drastically in the States. Facts & figures tell. I’m definitely getting this car! It’s time for a change after more than 10 years driving Jap cars.
Saw K5 OTR yesterday even before the launching… Hahaha !!
Just came back from Saudi Arabia, the koreans are conquering the roads. Saw a few new sonata as taxis but majority are still Camry with manual shift. The hotel front desk manager is using this kia Optima and he gave two thumbs up for this car.
6 speed for kia 2.0….camry 4 speed and honda 5 speed….even the upcoming nissan almera comes with 4 speed only…just why they didnt offer for at least 5 speed auto?
just altis comes with 7 speed CVT
Don’t compare the number of speed between the conventional automatic gearbox and the continuously variable transmission, both are different technology. Even previous Honda City also has 7 speed CVT.
just the matter of time to change the malaysian mindset that korean car still far behind japanese car. Back in 80s, hyundai was rated as one of the worst car in the worlds, but today ?
Anyway, price still play important role in malaysia, but i always believe that just the matter of time for the changes….
Hope the they price is “nicely”…..
i wish this car would be a revolution. too much Camrys on the road. One day i would like to see the K & Hy flood the roads and only a few T & H.. N can stay..
Very smart then u have KIA & Hyundai charges u the same price as Toyota & Honda, the reason why Hyundai & KIA charges their car cheaper becoz they are still in market folllower status, the only way for consumer to continiue enjoy low price Korean Car is to keep them in current status.
Don’t believe me ? see Samsung LED TV price now, more expensive than Japanese brand like Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic & etc.
Main Challenger came. Competitive is good.
korea or japs…doenst matter…most important is the after sales services. for now….NAZA sucks to the max on this
Ill be picking VW if the price is 142K, prefer T camry also…
Guys just got info from my friend in KIA. Price is RM 142,888 with insurance.
Yeah seems Kia is increasing the price, how they please…. Dunno whether the public will be pleased with figure…i’m not
This car should be price at 130K or below to be competitive.
At least I know that’s the limit for me.
It is actually easy to try to sell the car, just put in a Turbo and price it 8K more, and it’ll fly out of the showroom
It is RM143888 so I’m not gonna get this care at this price. Naza has gotten greedy after capturing the market with the Forte which was very well priced for the features in it. Am not going to be part of the group that makes them even more greedy.
rm 142,000 is about the same price of a new single storey link in big urban area. a roof over our heads. a floor to call home. to put same amount of money on a car…something is not right with this calculation. something is terribly wrong with that statement. money is shrinking. expenses is growing. i don’t know what else to say.