It would seem that Kia is relinquishing the Optima name for its mid-size sedan in its upcoming generation. This news comes as a result of an EPA petitioning for the new 2021 model. The updated variant scheduled to show up in the not so distant future will rather be known as the Kia K5 to coordinate the name it utilizes in its home market, Korea. Kia had implied a year ago that this name change could occur, refering to worldwide promoting reasons. In the U.S., Kia has offered a moderate size sedan in the name Optima for four generations now, lasting for more than two decades.
Reports initially surfaced on Tuesday regarding an EPA posting for a 2021 Kia K5, which appears to be a solid pointer that the Optima name won’t return when the succeeding generation of this mid-size vehicle debuts for Americans.
The official EPA mileage appraisals, additionally affirm that the 2021 Kia K5 will offer an all-wheel-drive choice in the U.S. The single model recorded has a turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-four, an eight-speed programmed transmission, and all-wheel drive. This equivalent motor makes 180 pull and 191 lb-ft of torque in the sibling Hyundai Sonata as well, which, however, doesn’t offer an AWD drivetrain.
With AWD discretionary this time around, the K5/Optima will join a developing rundown of sedans that offer the option of an all-wheel-drive drivetrain, and the mileage gauges are right in the ballpark for the section. The Subaru Legacy returns a combined mpg figure of 30, the Nissan Altima muscles 30 mpg, and the Toyota Camry presents combined 29 mpg.
Why Kia would jettison the Optima name, which has been around in the US since 2000, is a bit hazy. Maybe it’s simply a straightforward combination to get its model names in line globally. Kia has not yet affirmed the name change for the U.S. advertise, and furthermore isn’t stating if different U.S. models will be renamed to coordinate the K5. In Korea, Kia’s various other sedan offerings use K names, as well: what we know as the Forte is known as the K3, the Cadenza is the K7, and the K900 is the K9.
We hope to hear progressively about the new K5 inside the following some months, as Kia should discharge more data for the U.S. market in front of the sedan’s launch here before the year’s over.
