Kia Optima: Kia is on the march, so will its Mondeo rival take it further upfield?

摘要

Towards the end of 2011 we suggested that, with the arrival of its new Rio supermini, Kia had established a brand identity based on cars that were moderately pleasant to look at, moderately pleasant to sit in and moderately pleasant to drive. Damning with faint praise, perhaps, but not so long ago that approach would have been sufficient to make waves in the staid saloon-sized D-segment. Not any longer. Wary of the fiercely competitive (and unashamedly aspirational) executive market above it, mainstream manufacturers have spent the past decade turning their starchy four-door stock options into veritable blue chips. If Kia hopes to win buyers in this saturated marketplace, the new Optima will have to live up to the current high standard and give fleet buyers a reason to switch from the established class leaders.