The Kia Optima GT has been spotted in Naza Kia Malaysia’s PJ Red Cube showroom, just a few weeks after it was spotted on a trailer in Malaysia, and mere months after the company announced it would officially bring in the high-powered, D-segment sedan.
We’ll get straight to the point here, the Optima GT packs a 2.0 litre four-cylinder turbocharged T-GDI petrol engine with 242 hp and 353 Nm of torque (following Kia’s international release). That’s more than what is offered by Japanese makes like the Toyota Camry 2.5L Hybrid (202 hp total system output), Mazda 6 2.5L (185 hp/250 Nm) and Honda Accord 2.4L (173 hp/225 Nm).
The mill is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission that sends drive to the front wheels, and also includes steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. According to Kia, the Optima GT will accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just 7.4 seconds, before hitting a top speed of 240 km/h.
On the exterior, the Optima GT seen here comes with LED headlights with LED DRLs, LED rear taillights, a rear diffuser, twin oval-shaped exhaust tips and 18-inch fan-design alloy wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres (235/45).
As for interior equipment, there’s a seven-inch touchscreen display, a dual-zone climate control system with Clean Air ioniser, ventilated front seats (cooling and heating function), multifunction steering wheel, leather upholstery (red sport seats) and electrically-adjustable front seats (lumbar support and memory function for driver’s side).
Other bits of kit include rear air-con vents, rear charging and power outlets, a sunroof, sun shades for the rear side windows, a navigation function for the car’s infotainment system and a 4.3-inch TFT-LCD multi-info display in the instrument cluster.
In terms of safety, it appears we will miss out on features such as blind-spot detection and lane-departure warning, judging by the absence of those controls on the right side of the driver. Items such as six airbags, automatic brake hold, front and rear parking sensors, plus a reverse camera appear to be standard here.
For those who are interested, the Optima GT is now open for booking. However, pricing will only be announced when the car is officially launched tomorrow, so stay tuned.
UPDATE: The Kia Optima GT’s price has been revealed – RM179,888 (on-the-road with insurance).
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VW wannabe. Looks good though. Well done Kia!
zero to 100 km/h in 7.4 seconds, too slowww
Habis la W212 e250. Only handling merc better
Amazing how Kia aka Hyundai has come up. This shows, working hard pays. If you lepak and sleep during work hours, you cannot produce a car that is in demand.
That true. Deswai i told u, work harder and less complain. Ur life will be easier and better. Then no need rantings here.
Agree. Toyolta showroom empty so come here bash other brands
Thats what happens when crappy brand relies on lousy salesmen
Kosong spec again..is it so costly to put the Blind Spot Detection onto the car? Kia recent products launch/refresh has been consistently missing out the key safety. This formula that works in the 80s and 90s wont work in the 20s. Prepare to suffer low turnover rate.
Mazda6 2.2D more engaging.
Diesel ? No thanks
Most likely to end up like ford mondeo. Everybody wants fuel efficient car with adequate power. Not high powered n thirsty car which you cant fully utilize in Malaysian road
Perdana2 got similar styling, good fuel efficient with adequate power.
And jepunis RV too
How do u know it thirsty?
FC rate didnt mention here.
It is a turbo car. U dont need to rev until the turbo kick in all the time.
If u can afford above RM150K car, what the matter with reasonable 2.0 L engine of D-segment
The Great Exec Has Arrive
OMG no paddle shifters? Next…
Tak baca ke… with paddle shifter
It is strange that the high engine output figures do not translate to high performance. BMW’s 2.0 turbo in the 328i and 528i/530i churns out about the same hp and torque but with a much faster 0-100 times. I wonder why….
Dude, never ever compare pure paper specs. There is so much more than that. How the power from the engine is put to the wheels is a whole different story.
That why Korean cars still suck big time. Its very very easy to make a powerful engine, but its not easy to transfer that power to the wheels efficiently.
That is what the Germans and Japs are geniuses in.
German measure their power using on wheel dyno. Korean measure using engine dyno. Thats y kia gt rated power almost same like bmw but straightline performance not even close. FYI on wheel dyno measured power is about 10% lower than engine dyno, thus actual power on wheel for kia is only about 220 hp only
Volvo also no power , try drag it with a similar audi, it will be left behind
Bob..
There is not such german measure at wheel while korean measure at engine.
It depends on how they write. Hp or bhp.
Paultan put hp. From aus website mention bhp.
True figure is proven by dyno. Its no you to conclude only 220
U can convert KW from engine to hp online. Just google for unit converter
because of more efficient gearbox maybe?
the bmw uses 8speed auto closer ratio gearing and faster shifting time while this optima only uses 6 speed auto. Trust me in the real life experience, nobody will ever record their 0-100 timing. the optima is d segment sedan that is 1/3 the price of a 530i. it is definitely faster than their main rival camry/accord tho.
Bro, you also know how to say “BMW”, how can you compare BMW to KIA. I’m not saying KIA is not good, but come on la, how much are you paying for a Kia compared to a BMW?
For your info, a BMW 318i can be had for around 190k after discount. Who in the world would buy this crap from KIA?
The bimmer might have less power but its fun to drive and it has a better badge .And the refinement is top notch.
Wait til ur maintenance and service kicks in for a Beemer.
bmw has free service up to 100k km.
Oh Naza Kia, they will price this car for 200k ++ for sure but again those active safety system like in Ioniq is missing…Not worth with that price..Get the germany trio instead!! Bad move naza
Yeah. Really wondering if Naza kia will do a suicidal pricing as what they did with the carnival. If this car bypasses a Mazda 6’s price (which is the upper pricing limit for non-european marque) then there is no reason for this to even be in Malaysia.
175k most likely , already heard from them
after 6 months, 15k rebate. after 1 year, old stocks are given 25k off list price – perhaps as much as 40k.
On paper la. U try and drive. No way it will feel that powerful. Korean car still lacking in that department.
Their technology in transferring engine power to the wheels still is way behind Jap and Germans.
Plus, that TFT screen and dashboard look ugly as hell.
Welcome back…..refreshing to have the Korean bashers back……..consistently bringing us comments that are more entertaining than Kim Jung Un
TherealMaserati, who are you? You tok as if you have test drive this car before. Or you are here to bash Kia. Calm your nenepok, wait till PT give review after they have officially driven the car.
This must be the more powerful turbo engine of Japanese/Korean made cars available in Malaysia. Looking forward to have a test drive. Existing!
headlight led + drl = A7 wannabe
rear light = lancer + maserati wannabe
oh..just copy paste.
the same european designers for audi and maserati.. hence its not a copy… since its coming from the same person who designed them all
But why shape like FD headlights with FC chrome strip? And the prius foglights?
if not mistaken, Kia did the same fog lamp arrangement lightly earlier than prius, especially the Korean Domestic Market.
KIA if not mistaken uses the quad LED lights, not this design.
KIA – Kopying In Action
Bro safety 1st, who is the “same person who designed them all” that you are referring?
The head designer of Maserati cars since 2009 is Mr Marco Tencone & Mr Peter Schreyer is the designer for KIA Optima.
Just asking so that I can learn something today.
Did your car have steering wheel & seat? Ford Model T wannabe.
Just try being sarcastic.
ya of course i know who the designer is…what i want to say is why new optima headlight led drl just like OLD A7..thats all. conclusion, exterior outdated. but still, when u tailgating car in front of u just like myvi n vios..they will give u way cos thought A7 behind them. when pass, they sure regret cos its just a kia.
and interior of OLD A7 is much much better than this new optima..if can copy paste too sure syok drive this optima. conclusion, oh i should not compare kia with audi..just toooo far to reach same level.
Drive the car before commenting on its power la, you bashers.
At least 20 years ahead of Proton Perdana.
its one generation ahead of camry n accord as well.. japs are way behind on their bread n butter models when they are trying hard to compete with the germans on their halo range…
What a joke. C segnenter kimchi ride is like below A p1 segmenter.
Dun let me starting to talk about handling
And sausage 3 r at least 20 years ahead of kimchi. Ur point?
The exterior is nice but the dashboard just kill the deal
Price tag announcement gonna make everybody laugh/impress. lets wait how much they will price it
typical comments at paultan… bash here bash there…like everyone here is car engineer or drive sport car already…WTF…
Wow the specs look great. Memory seat, sunroof, auto park etc. Sorry which Japanese cars in the same segment offer this spec? Non. Well done Kia. Keep up the great work.
Wow nice spec car… but that’s about it. Pipu will say it’s very good, very nice, good buy and all but will stay away from it. Such a waste.
please make it below rm 160K,
and look forward for the new camry 8 speed with 2.0 turbo engine.its that possible UMW will bring in?
after what Honda done to Toyota in the car sales, it is possible UMW will. along with CHR. i have high hopes UMW will deliver because Toyota is indeed a very nice car.
What happen to the paddle shifters? Alamak no fun to drive la like this…KIA are u joking?
and also includes steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
Nothing below 170k
interior looks like 1980s , deal breaker
not that powerful actually
On paper, the Optima looks Gud. The fact sheet looks promising if not awesome for a car. I think the price will be the determining factor in a competitive sector.
If I were to say this K5 beats All current D-segment sedan in terms of Horse Power, i wonder how many will bash me for saying so. Cheers & Peace folks.
ryder0707 then what is this “also includes steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.”
Stupid to compare N/A ENGINE to TURBOCHARGED ENGINE.
Inb4 there’s the Ford Mondeo with 2.0 liter turbo churning 250hp..
EEV ? With BMW M Ride & Handling?
kia kia kia, trying to be a beemer but can’t…the interior design is still a long way to go…..
BMW interior design is same like 20 years ago.
Blindspot detection and lane departure warning gone.. same as the grand carnival. Thanks to high pricing from the G which makes them cut corners.
Wow people here comment like they have PHD in Automotive Engineering either from MIT or UMIST and driving 530 or M5. Don’t expect with sub RM 200k price tags u r asking for BMW M or Merc AMG beater.
Ask DK , he is a 530 or M5 driver pretender
Kia should promote this car with features, not horse power.
For the horses, I would take a 2016 BMW 320i (7.2 secs) any day for RM180k.
Will wait for second hand, price a bit high…
great car with great price..but screen kinda small
Good car. Shame about the brand perception due to distributor, service level & RV.