Kia launches new estate version of Optima

The Optima saloon has been joined by an estate version called the Sportswagon, adding increased practicality to the range

Kia Optima Sportswagon - rear three-quarters

The Kia Optima is now available as a five-door estate, called the Optima Sportswagon, sitting alongside the four-door saloon in the range.

It's been designed in Europe and is exclusive to European markets. Our first glimpse of the estate was the Sportspace concept that was shown at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. The Sportswagon is based on the saloon meaning that it is the same length (4,855mm), width (1,860mm) and only 5mm taller (1,470mm) due to its roof rails.

The Sportswagon is identical to the saloon at the front, which is no bad thing as the current Optima is an attractive looking car. The changes start from the b-pillars back, where the side of the car and roof are extended to accommodate the shape of the estate rear end.

With a primary aim to add space and practicality there are two underfloor storage trays, an electrically operated tailgate and the rear seats split and fold 40/20/40, at the touch of a button. With the back seats in place, the boot has 552-litres of capacity which is less than a Skoda Superb Estate with 660-litres of capacity but more than a Ford Mondeo Estate with 500-litres of capacity.

Kia Optima Sportswagon - front three-quarters

Drop the rear seats to extend the load bay and the Optima Sportswagen has 1,686-litres, which again beats the Mondeo Estate but is dwarfed by the 1,950-litres that the Superb Estate offers.

The Sportswagon gets the same 1.7-litre diesel engine that’s in the saloon and develops 139bhp and 251lb ft of torque, which results in a 0-60mph time of 9.8seconds with a six-speed manual gearbox, while the seven-speed auto takes 10.7 seconds. The manual returns a claimed 64.2mpg on a combined cycle with CO2 emission of 113g/km, with those figures worsening to 61.4mpg and 120g/CO2 for the automatic, respectively.

With the automatic, you also get Drive Mode Select which has three settings; Normal, Eco and Sport; and steering wheel-mounted paddles.

It’s available in the trim levels; 2, 3 and GT-Line S, with a more sporty GT version arriving in early 2017.

Trim level 2 comes with 17in alloy wheels, a 7.0-inch sat-nav screen, reversing camera, dual automatic air con, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearshifter, cruise control, electrically heated folding mirrors, a six-speaker DAB radio with MP3 compatibility and Bluetooth with music streaming.

If that’s not enough then trim level 3 upgrades the sat nav to an 8.0-inch screen, 18in alloy wheels, has eight-way power adjustable driver's memory seat with lumbar, part faux leather seats with the front seats being heated and a Harman/Kardon sound system.

GT-Line S trim gets 18in alloy wheels, panoramic sunroof, LED headlights, black leather seats, a wireless mobile phone charger, 360-degree view, park assist, blind spot detection with rear cross alert, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking and a powered tailgate.

On sale from 15 September, the Optima Sportswagon is priced from £22,295 to £30,595.