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2021 Kia Optima revealed in K5 form for South Korea

Less than a week after teaser drawings were released, the 2021 Kia Optima midsize sedan has been revealed in the form of the South Korean-market K5. The overall design matches the renderings closely, giving the car a more aggressive look, but it is still clearly an Optima. The company hasn't revealed the car's interior and mechanical specs, though. The front of the new Optima is more blunt with a grille that leans forward almost like that of a Dodge Charger. The headlights blend into the grille, and it has parts that trail off into the fenders. The grille has a three-dimensional mesh that Kia says was inspired by the rough texture of shark skin. The sides of the car feature modest curves to give it a muscular look. The greenhouse has a similar shape to that of the current car, with fastback rear pillars and tall rear quarter windows. Chrome bars trace the roof rails to the base of the rear pillars like on the current car, but now they meet in a curve around the top of the trunk lid. At the back is the most significant departure from the current car, a full-width taillight bar. With the car revealed in South Korea, it probably won't be long before we see the American-market car revealed. Under the skin will probably be the same powertrains as those in the new Hyundai Sonata. That means a choice of either a naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine making 191 horsepower or a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder making 180 horsepower. Both will be coupled to an eight-speed automatic. Expect hybrid variants and possibly a more powerful turbo 2.0-liter engine coming down the road.

2021 Kia K5 First Drive | Comfy, cool, but not quite king

Despite the sedan market continuing to lose market share to crossovers and SUVs every year, it’s still a segment that sells millions of units a year. ItÂ’s also one of the most hotly contested segments with strong offerings from Honda, Toyota and Mazda among others, which means itÂ’s hard to stand out. But the 2021 Kia K5 aims to do exactly that. It discards the long-running Optima nameplate for the model's Korean-market alphanumeric designation, and adopts the most dramatic styling Kia has ever used on a midsize sedan. Kia has coupled that with a stylish, quality interior, and a driving experience that is exceedingly comfortable. It's not particularly engaging to drive, which prevents it from being the segment's best, but itÂ’s a strong competitor thatÂ’s worth your consideration. Like the K5Â’s Optima predecessor, the K5 is mechanically related to the Hyundai Sonata, and shares powertrains with it. But this time, itÂ’s a bit choosier. The only engine available at launch is a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 180 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque coupled to an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Sonata's naturally aspirated four-cylinder is nowhere to be found. Fuel economy comes in at 27 mpg city, 37 mpg highway and 31 mpg combined for most trim levels, with the base LX basically getting 1 mpg better. 2021 Kia K5 GT-Line View 11 Photos The K5 will also offer all-wheel drive with this engine, again differing from the Hyundai. Later this year, a much more powerful 290-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter engine shared with the Sonata N-Line will be offered on the K5 GT. This version will be front-wheel-drive-only and get an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic instead of a traditional torque-converter unit. Kia is promising a 0-60 time of 5.8 seconds, which would be blisteringly quick for a family sedan. In the EX and GT-Line models we tested out, we found the standard engine had plenty of torque throughout the rev band, so it will comfortably haul you around, but never really excite. ItÂ’s mostly quiet, but pushing it hard will elicit some buzziness. The transmission is quite smooth and chooses gears well enough, but gear changes in manual mode are sluggish. Again, weÂ’re hoping the GT will liven things up a bit. Not being exciting is not necessarily a bad thing, though. It wonÂ’t be long before you discover that the K5Â’s advantage is its superb comfort.

2021 L.A. Auto Show roundup | All the reveals, reviews, pictures

The L.A. Auto Show took place this week for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. It was a show packed with news and reveals, which hasn't really been the case with other shows we've seen this year, and Autoblog was on the floor covering every minute of it. Well, Riswick and Stocksdale were, anyway. The rest of us were sitting at home in our sweatpants, but hey, we'll take credit anyway. Let's get to it. Hyundai Seven Concept This is the Hyundai Seven Concept, and it’s meant to act as a preview for an incoming electric SUV for the Ioniq brand. It leans more toward the concept side of the spectrum than a production car, but expect the final SUV to take design cues from the Seven Concept. Kia Concept EV9 The Hyundai Seven counterpart isn't the only big, bold electric SUV at L.A. this year. Kia has its own take, and it's a modernized version of the traditional boxy utility vehicle called the Concept EV9. It also previews one of the next production electric cars for the brand, which should look right at home next to things like the Telluride. 2023 Kia Sportage HEV As promised, the 2023 Kia Sportage HEV has been revealed. The hybrid powertrain makes the compact SUV the most powerful version available, and it goes on sale next year. The engine is a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder paired with a 44-kW electric motor. Total output is 226 horsepower. The company didn't give a torque number, but it should basically be the same as the Sorento HEV that has the same basic powertrain: 258 pound-feet. Those numbers are a healthy step up from the 187 horsepower of the base 2.5-liter engine. 2022 Range Rover If you noticed how extra smooth and suave the new Range Rover looked during its recent reveal, Autoblog's James Riswick got a design tour that revealed some of the technological secrets to its success. "Less is more" is harder to achieve than it looks. Fisker Ocean Fisker has brought the new Ocean EV to the L.A. Auto Show, with a public preview at Manhattan Beach and a presence at the show itself. You can watch the public show reveal above, and see more shots from the show floor below. Fisker says the Ocean will start at $37,499 before incentives. That entry model would be the Sport trim with a single, 275-horsepower motor driving the front wheels and 250 miles of estimated range. It also has a 0-60 time of 6.9 seconds. 2023 Toyota bZ4X This is the 2023 Toyota bZ4X, due to hit U.S.