2011 Kia Optima unveiled
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That's VERY handsome. Sure it's going to remind us of other things we've seen before (the overwhelming impression I get from the profile shot is the Jag XF) but at this price range this Kia is extremely appealing. Now I'm curious about the interior.
Last edited by speedflex; Mar 14, 2010 at 03:37 PM.
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Hyundai is not going anywhere and I think we as enthusiasts and fanatics should try to learn as much about this blossoming company as we can. I know many of us ( including me) had written off the brand from back in the day when we would witness 1-2 year old Hyundai excels burning oil.
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From: A better place
I knew it, it does NOT look like the Cadenza, it looks more downmarket. All the people that claimed the Cadenza would be coming to North America as the next-gen Optima, where are you now 
?
It looks similar to a Taurus from the front. Not a big fan of the cheese-grater wheels, nor the big blind spot that is the D-pillar. The side profile is very similar to the E60 5 Series, right down to the M5-style fender vents.
Overall it looks decent.
I'm curious about price and the interior.
Agreed. Hyundai/Kia is trying to entice buyers with flashy styling (some might say gimmicky) that they imitate from a number of competitors, but styling that has zero family resemblance to previous generations. They are in some cases even lacking details compared to previous generations. For example, look at the design of the 2011 Sonata's trunk hinges, compared to the previous generation Sonata.
?It looks similar to a Taurus from the front. Not a big fan of the cheese-grater wheels, nor the big blind spot that is the D-pillar. The side profile is very similar to the E60 5 Series, right down to the M5-style fender vents.
Overall it looks decent.
I'm curious about price and the interior.
A decent offering, if still quite unoriginal. Kind of getting tired of these Korean companies either copying everything out there or totally changing their design theme with each new redesign. This kills brand resale and admits to constant failure.
But it's in the details they are most lost. Kia's new corporate grille doesn't cut it. It's uneven, out of balance, busy, and has no class. The whole thing looks like the uneven road surface symbol of a construction sign or a lego block. How is the shape of a lego elegant? And these rims are hard on the eyes. Are the spokes the same? Are they staggered? Why make them staggered if they almost look the same thickness? It takes too much time for the eye to figure this all out. Lastly, there is way too much going on with the LED strip and foglight. Either integrate them all into one module or have one or the other. Stacking them ontop each other is rundundant and overdone. Is this the genious thinking of that heralded Audi designer? I am disappointed.
Again, it's the details. GM makes the same mistakes with their cars.
But it's in the details they are most lost. Kia's new corporate grille doesn't cut it. It's uneven, out of balance, busy, and has no class. The whole thing looks like the uneven road surface symbol of a construction sign or a lego block. How is the shape of a lego elegant? And these rims are hard on the eyes. Are the spokes the same? Are they staggered? Why make them staggered if they almost look the same thickness? It takes too much time for the eye to figure this all out. Lastly, there is way too much going on with the LED strip and foglight. Either integrate them all into one module or have one or the other. Stacking them ontop each other is rundundant and overdone. Is this the genious thinking of that heralded Audi designer? I am disappointed.
Again, it's the details. GM makes the same mistakes with their cars.
Hyundai/Kia is trying to entice buyers with flashy styling (some might say gimmicky) that they imitate from a number of competitors, but styling that has zero family resemblance to previous generations. They are in some cases even lacking details compared to previous generations. For example, look at the design of the 2011 Sonata's trunk hinges, compared to the previous generation Sonata.
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Certainly not in this thread, but a bit on this forum (in another thread), and mostly on other forums I saw plenty of people claiming the Cadenza would be coming to North America as the next-gen Optima. Clearly, this is not the case.
How about, the cars will be hard to distinguish on the road? They will age quite poorly? You're right, most people couldn't identify a Kia, but this new styling language doesn't solve that problem. The new Kia models have a big mix of styling cues from different competitors. These new models won't stand out as a Kia either, because people will probably mistake them for Hondas, or Fords, or some other brand. Even look at the tiny, non-descript badge on new Kia models. It's as if even Kia itself doesn't want their new models to be identified as Kias.
How about, the cars will be hard to distinguish on the road? They will age quite poorly? You're right, most people couldn't identify a Kia, but this new styling language doesn't solve that problem. The new Kia models have a big mix of styling cues from different competitors. These new models won't stand out as a Kia either, because people will probably mistake them for Hondas, or Fords, or some other brand. Even look at the tiny, non-descript badge on new Kia models. It's as if even Kia itself doesn't want their new models to be identified as Kias.
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From: il
Thread Starter
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,439
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From: il
How about, the cars will be hard to distinguish on the road? They will age quite poorly? You're right, most people couldn't identify a Kia, but this new styling language doesn't solve that problem. The new Kia models have a big mix of styling cues from different competitors. These new models won't stand out as a Kia either, because people will probably mistake them for Hondas, or Fords, or some other brand. Even look at the tiny, non-descript badge on new Kia models. It's as if even Kia itself doesn't want their new models to be identified as Kias.
Kia = birth of a new brand.
that's the theme on both hyundai/kia. no more boring cars, no more bad reps. no more design failure. no more underwhlemed performance, no more 'not good enough'.
everything is new. that's what kia wants. they do not have anything to do with the past. it's all Peter Schreyer's show right now. in korea and at kia, people consider him as a savior of the company. so basically from now on you will see Hyundai using similar 'fluidic sculpture' design language, and for Kia, the 'tiger' grill and schreyer line for all the new stuff.
no more identity crisis for hyundai/kia if you ask me.
and since when having a small font = 'we don't want people to know it's kia?' i like the fact that logo is small now. kia logo was too big and logo itself looks severely outdated. if they wanted people to think it's not kia then they could've easily remove the logo like Genesis did.
Last edited by joe80; Mar 15, 2010 at 11:37 AM.