Kia looks poised to kill off the current
Optima nameplate in the United States and re-badge the new model as the 2021
Kia K5 – the same name it uses in Korea. When select members of the motoring
press sampled the new Kia K5 in Korea last year, the car manufacturer hinted
that it could drop the Optima badge Stateside. While searching through the
EPA’s fuel economy website, Motor Trend recently discovered the 2021 Optima has
been listed as the ‘K5,’ seemingly confirming the name change.
For the record, we reached out to Kia for
a comment, but they haven’t responded yet. Just a single model is listed on the
EPA website. It mentions a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that’s
mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission driving all four wheels.
While the website doesn’t provide any
specifics about how powerful this engine will be in the K5, this same engine is
rated at 180 hp and 259 Nm in the existing Hyundai Sonata sister
car. Fuel economy figures reveal the 2021 Kia K5 is rated at 26 mpg in the
city, 34 mpg on the highway, and 29 mpg combined.
While no other engines are listed by the
EPA, we do know that the K5 is available with a host of different powertrains,
depending on the market. In certain countries, it is sold with two 2.0-liter
engines, the first of which delivers 150 hp and 192 Nm while the
second is rated at 158 hp and 196 Nm of torque. There is also a
2.5-liter GDi engine on offer with 191 hp and 246 Nm of torque.
Sitting atop the North American range is
expected to be a K5 GT model that uses a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine good for
286 hp and 422 Nm of torque. It remains unclear when this variant
could launch.
