Confirmed for production earlier this year in August, here is our first sighting of a Kia Optima wagon prototype, being tested publicly on German soil.
Since revealing its Kia Sportspace concept at the Geneva Motor Show, Kia has been a little bit back and forth about the development of a wagon model. Orth Hendricks, vice president of product planning at Kia Motors North America, previously suggested that a wagon could cannibalise the sales of its Kia Sorento SUV.
However, these images confirm that the Korean car maker is well on its way to producing a wagon based on its big sedan, the first ever “Optima Wagon”.
The test mule is heavily disguised, but peeking through the camouflage is the car maker’s signature tiger nose front grille with a front bumper that appears to be similar to that of the latest fourth-gen European-market Optima.
Up top, the sloping roofline is a nod to the Sportspace, while all other visible elements appear to be toned down from the aggressive wagon concept. The rear end of the car is too heavily disguised to point out anything more than the single exhaust tip and high-mounted LED stop light.
Fortunately, renderings by Theophilus Chin give us a good idea of what this wagon would look like without its camo — don’t mind the US-spec front face that has been featured, though.
Our spy photographers say that wagon versions of the Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat were also spotted at Kia’s European test facility. No surprises then as to which models the Korean car maker will benchmark its wagon against.
Naturally, we expect to see the Kia Optima wagon share engines and transmissions with its sedan sibling. European customers should get to choose between a 141 PS/340 Nm 1.7 litre CRDi turbodiesel and a 163 PS/196 Nm 2.0 litre petrol engine. Next year, there will be a GT sedan with 245 PS and 353 Nm from a 2.0 T-GDI petrol, so a GT wagon could happen.
The Kia Optima wagon is expected to make its global debut at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show in March.
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
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- Spy-Shots of Cars – This image has been optimized for a calibrated screen with a Gamma of 2.2 and a colour temperature og 6500°K
GALLERY: Kia Sportspace concept
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u sexy practical beast…
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Kia rondo need new replacement
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