The new Optima K5 launched – The New Game Changer

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The Kia Optima K5 has played a significant role in the development of kensomuse. Back in April 2012 when kensomuse was about a month old, Nazakia ran a contest in conjunction asking the public if the K5 was truly “Ahead of it’s class”. An article about the K5 was written a month earlier after attending a road show in 1 Utama and it was selected as the winning entry. It was the first ever media car being loaned to kensomuse for review and that started the whole series of car reviews you now enjoy here.

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And now, after almost 2 years of ranting, kensomuse finds itself staring at the latest incarnation of the K5 and experienced a sudden nostalgic feeling. Like passing by a very attractive woman who’s smiling at you, whom you suddenly remembered you’ve seen her before in college and that muscle in your heart being pulled is the exact same emotion, despite years of not seeing each other and you don’t even know her name!
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And the new K5 is doing the exact same thing to me. Launched yesterday in Kuala Lumpur, it might look a little different, with her LEDs being repositioned, redesigned fog lamps, a new bumper but there is no mistaking the K5 for any other D segment. If anything, the new K5 is even more distinct and stands out even more than its predecessor if that was possible. And unless you’re familiar with the previous TWO K5 “manifestations”, you might miss the differences.

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First of all, let’s look at the most obvious external differences between the newly launched facelift and the earlier one:-

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• Repositioned LED Daytime Running Lights from bumper to above the head lamps

• “Ice Cube” Front Fog Lamps

• New Front Bumper with Air Diffuser
• Honeycomb radiator grille replaced with black hexagonal tabs

• Redesigned rear LED combination lamps with a new sharp edge trunk lid design

• New 18″ sport rims

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On the inside, the most notable change is the steering wheel:-

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Evolution of the K5 steering wheel:

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The original Theta II engine equipped steering wheel has a Kia emblem (the above picture with the K5 emblem is an after market part)

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The Nu engine equipped steering wheel. Same shape and buttons orientation but symbol for Mode, Volume and Cruise Control is different.

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New K5 with the same Nu engine carried forward from the predecessor facelift steering wheel. Not only is the shape of the steering wheel different, the button design and layout has also been changed. Bluetooth telephony is now on the left spoke instead of bottom.

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The new K5 is the first Kia model that comes with Drive Select Mode. Not to be confused with the Cerato’s FlexSteer System which only tempers with the steering weight, the Drive Select Mode changes the car’s transmission, shift timing, throttle mapping and steering wheel weight. In ECO mode, it works similarly to its predecessor’s Active Eco Mode where everything is optimised for fuel efficiency. Normal is its default mode whereas SPORT mode lessens steering assist, making it heavier and allows for quicker steering response while gears are held longer. Short of having and tweaking the suspension set-up, this is very close to a continental car’s feature.

Considering that the new K5 no longer has a handbrake, the steering wheel is the one thing you’d be using all the time and such design gives a sporty, luxury feel …. almost like a:-

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The Supervision cluster now comes bigger in size at 4.3″ and the information is clearer and easier to read.

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Next up, we have the center fascia design:-

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Theta II fascia

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Nu fascia with airbag status indicators below the air conditioning buttons.

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Complete redesign of the air conditioning controls.

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The new K5 allows users to get touchy with the 4.3″ Touch Screen LCD complete with the same 8 Infinity Speaker System.

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Here’s the party piece of the new K5: Air-ventilated seats for both Driver and Front Passenger. First seen in the Cerato, the K5 is the first Kia model to be offering the same feature for the front passenger. Now everyone can show how pleasurable it is having leather seats without frying your bum after parking long in a hot afternoon.

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What’s also different is the disappearance of a handbrake and in its place is an electronic parking brake with Auto Hold.

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Everything else is more or less the same. The 2.0litre Nu engine still serves 165PS with 198Nm worth of torque. Safety wise, the 6 airbags, ESP, EBD, ABS, TCS, HAC, BAS are all carried forward.

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There is one element which we cannot determine though; road manners. Kia supposedly tweaked the dampers a little and this would affect the car’s comfort and handling. Only a proper test drive could ascertain if this is true.

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Last but not least, the asking price. At RM149,888 OTR inclusive of insurance, you’ll also enjoy a 5 years unlimited mileage warranty. That’s RM6,000 more than the earlier K5 and puts it head-to-head with the Honda Accord 2.0 VTi-L and the base spec Toyota Camry 2.0E. Ambitious pricing indeed and only time can tell if the new K5 will be as successful as it’s previous number.

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