2020 Kia Optima Lx on 2040-cars

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Kia using quality and technology to increase sales and brand prestige

Kia is a long way from hawking the anonymous lozenge known as the Sephia on our shores. That was only 1994, though, and in less than 20 years the company has gone from judging its aspirations against Japanese budget competition to walking auto show floors checking out the German standard-bearers for tips on how to increase sales and brand prestige. In an interview with Automotive News, Kia executives laid out their plan for carving out a Volkswagen-like niche for the company whereby they could be viewed as the premium pick in a volume segment. Concepts like the Kia Cub, above, would seem to point in this direction.
Kia is keen to make sure its sales targets don't impinge on its quest for better and better quality.
Kia's prime directive is "an unrelenting focus on quality." The Japanese brands earned a reputation for bulletproof reliability, and Kia is keen to make sure its sales targets don't impinge on its quest for better and better quality - neither in-house nor for its suppliers, a trade-off we've seen go wrong before. It has a Pilot Center that studies each new model for potential production problems before being given the approval for manufacture, and it isn't until the quality control department gives the okay that manufacture can begin.

Next-generation Kia Sorento snapped undergoing testing

Kia has been busy - a refreshed Sorento just arrived in showrooms for the 2014 model year and the Korean manufacturer is already out undergoing advanced testing in the next-generation model. How, pray tell, do we know how far along testing is? Notice any cladding, or coverings, aside from the regular vinyl camo? Right.
Our predictive talents aside, there are still a lot of questions about the next Sorento. We don't have much to go on with the technical specs, although we'll be thunderstruck if there isn't some form of the Hyundai/Kia 2.0-liter turbo under hood. Our spies report that this new model is somewhat larger than the current Sorento, hinting that it might be riding atop the same platform as the long-wheelbase Hyundai Santa Fe. That could indicate an available V6 model, as well. Judging by the profile views, we'd bet our bottom dollar this is a three-row model.
The conflicting nature of a refreshed Sorento hitting dealers and an advanced prototype out testing in Europe makes it difficult to pin down a date for the third-generation CUV's debut. We doubt we'll be seeing the new Sorento before the end of the year - a 2014 debut with a 2015 on-sale date just seems more likely in light of the newness of the refreshed model.

2014 Kia Optima is better by a nose

Kia is showing off a slew of vehicles here in New York, including the ever-so-slightly refreshed 2014 Optima sedan you see here. The brunt of the changes surround the new front fascia, with repositioned LED lighting above the headlamp units and some new quad-LED fogs rounding of a touched-up front bumper. At the rear, Kia has reworked the taillamps, and of course, LEDs are found there, as well.
Other changes to the Optima for 2014 include the additions of two new displays inside the cabin - a 4.3-inch TFT display in the gauge cluster and a larger, eight-inch high-resolution screen that houses the navigation and infotainment data. There are also new seats inside the Optima, which are hopefully more comfortable and offer better bolstering than the decidedly flat chairs found in the current car, plus Kia has added available new safety features like blind spot monitoring and cross-traffic alert.
The powertrain offerings have not changed for 2014 - base cars still get a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter engine while the SX models get the 2.0-liter turbo. There is, however, a new Drive Mode Select system specifically for the SX, which adjusts transmission shift points and steering weight for a more engaging dynamic, or so we're told. (The Optima Hybrid model did receive upgrades to its battery and electric motor just recently, but those changes technically hit during the 2013 model year - it is not immediately clear if the gas-electric model will receive the updates shown here).