The New Kia Optima – now with a new engine!

 

Here you have an Optima sitting quietly at the Red Cube showroom in PJ. It looks like any showroom Optima … immaculately clean …. stylish …. and to prospective buyers, looking like a cute pet just yearning for you to take it home by you putting your signature on the confirmation order and cheque book. It’s almost been a year since it was launched in December and yet, everywhere it goes, the Optima has one of the most commanding road presence found here in Malaysia.

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Yet, competition remains strong and as the European Union continues to enforce stricter emission laws, automakers like Kia and Hyundai has no choice but continue to innovate and introduce newer engine technology to meet and exceed these standards. The latest “Nu” range of engines is created to address this issue and over in this part of the world, the Optimas sold here are now equipped with it.

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Above is how the Theta II engine looks like in the Optima’s bay.

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Pop the hood on the Nu Optima and y0u’ll discover a new engine cover with the alphabet CVVL which stands for Continuous Variable Valve Lift. The CVVL system controls both air intake and exhaust to optimize performance, emission and, like everything else, improved fuel economy. No official catalog has been released on its improvements over the Theta II but what we can see is that the Nu has a rated PS of 165 @ 6,200rpm with 198Nm of torque at 4,600rpm which is exactly the same as its predecessor and it’s paired to the same 6-speed automatic gearbox (Note: International reports indicate that rated power has improved to 170 or 172PS with 3Nm increase to 201. Until the official release from NazaKia, I am inclined to report what little evidence I have now). The difference comes in its lighter weight which translates to about 3-5% improvement on fuel economy. That’s like, what? An extra 20-30km per full tank?

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Not exactly anything spectacular, is it? But wait! There’s more …..

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As this is primarily meant to target the Euro zone, Kia has made some minor modifications inside:-

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Nu powered center fascia

Theta II fascia

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You now have airbags indicator at the bottom of the air conditioning controls. Not impressed? How about this then:-

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Nu steering wheel

Theta II steering wheel

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Redesigned steering wheel (ignore the K5 logo on the lower steering wheel. Picture taken from friend’s car who changed the logo).

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Nu

Theta II

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Icon on the left steering spoke has a “recycle” symbol instead of “MODE”

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Nu

Theta II

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Whereas on the right, the cruise control icons are a little different.

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Not impressed? Here’s the biggest change of all in the cabin:

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Left stalk of Nu Optima

Left stalk of Theta II Optima

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Right stalk of Nu Optima

Right stalk of Theta II Optima

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Noticed something? Kia swapped the signal/wiper orientation from an Asian orientation to a continental one. Signal is now on the left and wiper is on the right so as not to confused the Europeans.

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Aside from, other specifications remains the same …. and that goes the same for its price of RM143,888.00 OTR inclusive of road tax and insurance so before those complain that despite the new engine, the difference between the old and new is almost non-existent, you’re not paying anything extra to get a new tech. Alas, no test unit for the Nu powered Optima yet, even the SAs aren’t properly briefed yet. Do visit a Kia showroom and see if you can spot any other differences between the new Nu and older Theta II.

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