Car Moon

Kia is ready to talk pricing on its first ever hybrid vehicle in the States, the all-new Optima Hybrid, which we first saw at last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. A sister model to Hyundai’s Sonata Hybrid, with which is shares the same gasoline-electric powertrain, the Optima Hybrid will reach U.S. showrooms in June with a starting price of $26,500, not including a $750 destination and handling fee that lifts the cost to $27,250. By comparison, the hybrid version of the Sonata starts at $25,795, excluding destination charges. Read more »

This year's Super Bowl is just around the corner and automakers are getting ready to spend millions of dollars to draw the attention of buyers. For a second year in a row, Kia will be present at the event with a full marketing campaign incorporating TV, digital, print and social media as well as in-dealership components, all focusing on the 2011 Optima midsize sedan.

With everyone riding the "green wave" these days, it's no surprise that KIA launched its first-ever hybrid for the U.S. market, the Optima Hybrid. Combining the standard model's good looks with several technological innovations, the newest member of the Optima family returns a frugal 40 mpg (5.88 lt/100 km) on the highway.

"By adding our first-ever hybrid in the U.S. to the Optima lineup we are providing consumers with three powerful and fuel-efficient powertrain choices, and continuing KIA's philosophy of offering stylish, value-packed vehicles with outstanding fuel efficiency" said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing & communications, KMA.

The Optima Hybrid uses a full parallel hybrid system and can be driven in full-electric mode at speeds up to 62 mph (100 km/h). It also has a stop/start function, which eliminates idle fuel consumption and reduces overall emissions.

As the all-new 2011 Optima sedan will be hitting dealer lots in coming weeks, Kia decided to release detailed pricing on its promising contender in the mid-size sedan segment. Prices for the new Optima start $18,995, or $19,690 if you include the $695 destination and handling fee. This means the base Optima is priced on par with Chrysler's refreshed Sebring sedan, which has been renamed to 200 and starts at $19,995.

As some of you pointed out, Subaru was the culprit hiding behind the week-long 2011 Mediocrity campaign, which showed a beige-cladded first-generation Kia Optima in a scoop-like series of photos. Upon looking at the first set of images that arrived in our mailbox (read here), we knew that this was some sort of devious viral marketing campaign.

It is true that these type of campaigns can be rather cheap and yet extremely effective. However, they can also backfire. And in our opinion, that's the case with Subaru's effort to promote / convince us that the latest Legacy is the opposite of the so-called 'beige' mid-size sedans.

At the 2010 Paris Motor Show, we saw three new mid-size sedans making their way to the halls of the Parc des Expositions Porte de Versailles. Two of them, the all-new Peugeot 508 and the redesigned VW Passat B7, received their world premiere, while the Kia Optima was presented for the first time in Europe.

Now, we all know you can't and you shouldn't buy a car based upon looks or preliminary specs alone. It's the whole package that counts. However, in this case, we simply want to find out which one of these new family sedans captured your attention for the right reasons.

Place your vote in the poll after the jump and be sure to have your say in the comments section.

The Kia Optima, which made its original debut in New York, has crossed the pond to give the Europeans a little bit of that Korean flava (or is that German?) and rub the 2011 VW Passat B7's newly styled nose in the ground. Riding on the same platform as the "fluidic" Hyundai Sonata, the Optima brings Kia's "tiger" style to the mid-size saloon segment.

We not sure how Kia's marketing people are going to feel about this one (unless they're part of it...), but photos of an older generation Optima covered in beige cladding and featuring a badge with the word "MEDIOCRITY" have just landed in our mail box. Tony B, the tipster-reader-scooper who sent in the photos, claims he snagged the car in LA.

Of course, it didn't take long to figure out that this is a viral campaign of some sort. However, since we're gearing up for this week's Paris Motor Show, we're not going to waste our time looking for answers about a covered up Kia...

Kia may soon follow the increasingly popular automotive trend that is alphanumeric naming and abandon product names in its U.S. lineup, according to a recent statement by Hyundai Motor Co. Vice Chairman, Chung Eui-sun.

The automaker is already using a mix of alphanumeric and product names in South Korea and some other markets. For example, the recently revealed 2011 Optima and Cadenza sedans are known as the K5 and K7 respectively in the company's home market, while the Forte is said to become the K3.

During last week's press days of the 2010 New York International Auto Show, Kia took the veils off the all-new 2011 Optima mid-size sedan (click here for details) that will carry the same name in all markets outside Korea.

While the new Optima will arrive in Kia's U.S. showrooms this fall, European buyers will have to wait until Spring of 2011 to get their hands on the Korean firm's D-segment sedan that will compete with the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Citroen C5.

Taking pride of place at Kia's New York Auto Show stand is the all-new 2011 Optima that will arrive U.S. showrooms in early fall.

Designed at Kia's studios in Frankfurt, Germany and Irvine, California under the guidance of Peter Schreyer, the all-new Optima is longer, wider, lower and most importantly, miles sexier than the vehicle it replaces.

Even though it looks nothing like the Sonata, the 2011 Optima actually shares the midsize platform and mechanical hardware with Hyundai's proposal in the segment.

Our man Phil is making good use of his digital camera at the New York Auto Show sending us 'live' photos of all the new models being presented at the Jacobs Javits Center.

This here is the all-new and very promising 2011 Kia Optima sedan that will go on sale in the U.S. this fall and in Europe next spring. The South Korean automaker's press conference at the NY Show isn't until tomorrow, so we don't have all the details on the mid-size saloon yet.

What we do know is that the Optima is a sister model to the also new Hyundai Sonata so expect to see the range comprising the same four-cylinder gasoline and hybrid powertrains. More photos after the jump.

This is a look at the upcoming Kia Optima's interior. I'll lay this out there: It looks like it could be pretty good.

According to a post on Kia's Korean website (yes, we let do-no-evil Google handle the translation), the Optima's interior will feature "Bio-Care" heated seats, heated steering wheel... [and] a Driver-oriented sporty stylish and ergonomic interior design." That's a lot of adjectives, but it looks the part.

Kia's newest Optima (or Magentis/K5, depending on the market), that's set for a New York Auto Show debut at the end of the month, has been caught out on the town, somewhere in Korea. Found on TheCarBlogger (courtesy of the tall, dark and handsome Sanghoon), the site points out that this is likely the base model due to the seriously-undersized wheels. We'll agree.

What remains questionable is the Kia's C-pillar, which is reminiscent of an upside-down Hofmeister kink. Looks like we're going to have to see that in person; otherwise, looking pretty crisp.

Getting ready to debut its tiger-style in New York is the Kia Optima or, in other markets' case, the Magentis. Set to go on sale this Fall (Spring 2011 in Europe), the new Optima is clearly light years ahead of the outgoing model in regards to looks.

Big news other than the leap forward in design is that, much like the recently-debuted Sportage, the new model is "longer, wider, and lower"; that seems to be the name of the game.

This, along with its longer wheelbase, will provide more space in order to go up against D-segment top dogs like the Passat, Camry, and Mondeo.

An all-new generation of the Kia Magentis, known in several markets including the U.S. as the Optima, will have its world premiere at the New York International Auto Show in early April.

The teaser sketches of the 2011 Magentis suggest that the new sedan with the coupe-like roofline will be a much more interesting affair in terms of design than today's model and possibly more sportier looking than the larger Cadenza that will replace the Opirus in the States.

Kia said that the new Magentis will also be longer, lower and wider than the previous model, featuring a significantly longer wheelbase and will offer "considerably more" space for both people and luggage.

It's only been a year or so since Kia gave the Optima, which is called Lotze in South Korea and Magentis in Europe, a mid-life makeover, but Hyundai's subsidiary has just announced the domestic market launch of a subtly revised 2010 model year. The new looks aren't so obvious as the exterior styling changes are limited to a new mesh grille, dark headlamps, new LED tail lights, black treatment for the lower part of the rear bumper and newly designed 17-inch alloy wheels.

Same maker (aka the Hyundai Group), same problem (potentially excessive corrosion of the front sub-frame), different car. What initially started out in April 2008 as a recall for the 1999-2002MY Hyundai Sonata sedans over rust-related issues, has spread out to a number of models throughout the Hyundai and Kia range. In addition to the Hyundai Sonata '99-'02, XG300 and XG350 '01-'04, Elantra '01-'03, Coupe '03 and the Santa Fe '01-'03, the South Korean automaker has now issued a recall for a total of 36,538 MY2001-2004 Kia Optima sedans sold in the so-called 'Salt-Belt' states.