It shouldn’t be too long now before the 2014 Kia Optima facelift makes its way into Naza Kia showrooms in the country – an example undergoing type approval evaluation at JPJ Putrajaya was invariably caught by regular photo contributor Anol Alias. The facelifted third-gen TF made its debut in New York back in March, and closer to home, was launched in Indonesia in September at the Indonesian International Motor Show.
As previously mentioned, the mid-life update brings about only minor changes; in terms of reworked exterior bits, the daytime running lights on the pre-facelift K5’s bumper now sit on top of the headlamps in the facelift, and the foglamps are now a four-cluster LED array type. Find photos of the current Optima below for easy comparison.
At the back, in line with newer Kia offerings, the new rear lamps feature a LED bar frame, and the bling-looking machine-finished 18-inch, 10-spoke flush-faced alloy wheel on the old car has been replaced by a new five twin-spoke design, also an 18-incher. The interior has also been refreshed, with a new seat design one of the items in the mix.
The Optima facelift will continue to be a 2.0 litre job, with the Nu CVVL unit – which took over from the Theta II in the original TF late last year – being retained, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. There should be no change to the 165 PS at 6,200 rpm and 198 Nm at 4,600 rpm output numbers from the outgoing car, which made its market debut here just under two years ago.
2014 Kia Optima
