Test Car Specifications
Model tested: Kia Optima Sportswagon 1.7 CRDi 3 manual
Price: £24,495
Engine: 1.7-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel
Body style: family estate
CO2 emissions: 113g/km (Band C, £30 per year)
Combined economy: 64.2mpg
Top speed: 124mph
0-62mph: 9.8 seconds
Power: 139hp at 4,000rpm
Torque: 340Nm at 1,750- to 2,250rpm
Boot volume: 522- to 1,686 litres
What's this?
The Optima Sportswagon, a car that Kia has built specifically for its European customers, as it's not being offered in any other markets. That's their loss, as in transformation from smart saloon to estate the Optima's gained even more visual appeal. It's a sharp looker with crisp lines, though ultimate load-lugging capacity's been sacrificed a touch to those looks, as its 522- to 1,686-litre load space falls short of the best of its rivals. Pack less if you like its design, then, though in truth you'll be doing well to fill it.
Passenger space is good in the main cabin, while the interior follows Kia's usual well built norm, even if some of the materials - the dash top in particular - look a bit shiny and cheap. There's nothing wrong with the overall execution though, and Kia's value offering is typically high, with a seven-year warranty and a litany of standard equipment that is longer than your kid's Christmas list after a visit to the toy shop.
How does it drive?
As mainstream diesel estate cars go it's little surprise that the Kia Optima Sportswagon doesn't thrill, despite the promise of the name. There's no 'sport' about it, but the ride is commendably smooth, the performance adequate and the steering lightly weighted, if short on feel. That's not necessarily a complaint, as the Sportswagon will cruise comfortably and in reasonably hushed refinement - so long as you don't ask too much from the 1.7-litre CRDi turbodiesel engine, the sole powerplant option. Keep down the revs then for decent refinement and economy. Kia quotes 64.2mpg on average, though expect real-world results a good 10mpg shy of that, unless you're particularly light of foot.
The six-speed manual gearbox is slick in operation, though the rest of the car's so remote we'd probably take the economy penalty of the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission for even greater ease of use. The drive might not excite then, but there's plenty of stuff to play with inside. The central touch-screen works well, featuring all the connectivity, entertainment and information you could wish for, including satnav on all versions (with a slightly smaller seven-inch screen on the entry-level '2' grade in comparison to the eight-inch item fitted to '3' grade and above. Go for (auto only) GT-Line S and within that screen you'll gain things like a 360-degree around view display and Kia's full suite of safety kit, too. It's a £5,000 leap over lesser models, though and pushes the Sportswagon into competition with some tough rivals, not least Skoda's Superb in its upper trim levels, as well as some premium badged competition that might be lighter on kit but have greater ownership appeal.
Verdict
The new Optima Sportswagon is a sharp-looking, well-specified estate car from Kia that's unremarkable to drive, though entirely fit for purpose. With the market pinched by SUVs and premium players it's unlikely Kia's going to be hugely busy selling the Sportswagon, though we'd have it over its saloon relation purely on looks, while the additional practicality it brings is a bonus. Saying that, we'd be hard pushed not to spend our money on Skoda's similarly smart, though even more capacious Superb Estate instead.
Exterior Design
Interior Ambience
Passenger Space
Luggage Space
Safety
Comfort
Driving Dynamics
Powertrain
