At the 2015 Geneva motor show, Kia unveiled a very sleek shooting break concept car concept called the Sportsspace, and a year later the showcar will be returning to the venue but as a full production estate model, the Optima Sportswagon, where it will be on display alongside the company's first serious plug-in hybrid sedan.
The new car has lost some of the concept's flourishes such as its tailgate dedicated to the easy ingress and egress of skiing equipment and its four cocoon-like single seats, but it has traded them in for rear doors, a second row seating bench that can split 60:20:20 and a trunk that offers 553 liters of storage space before collapsing the back seats.
It's also been given a new name, the Optima Sportswagon.
"This is an important product for Kia in Europe, and it will increase our presence in this hugely important segment. In Europe, two thirds of all sales in the D-segment, and three quarters of all fleet sales in this class, are made up of tourers," said Michael Cole, Chief Operating Officer, Kia Motors Europe.
As well as practicality, the Sportswagon will offer a host of active safety systems and connectivity features including wireless smartphone charging plus Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility. It will also attempt to appeal to serious drivers. It will be available with a paddle-shift twin clutch transmission, and a GT version is in the pipeline.
Alongside the company's first large estate, the Optima plug-in hybrid will be making its European debut at this year's Geneva show (March 3-13). The sedan offers a 33-mile (53km) all-electric range and, when the electric and two-liter engine are working together, a combined 200bhp.
"Hybrid sales have more than doubled in Europe over the last five years, and are estimated to account for around 700,000 new car sales in Europe by 2020," said Cole. "The Optima Plug-in Hybrid will allow Kia to address the growing demand for low-emissions vehicles, and support us in our mission to hit our global 2020 target: to improve average fleet fuel efficiency by 25% over 2014 levels."
Kia says that the car's CO2 emissions shouldn't top 37g/km and as for fuel efficiency, the Optima uses regenerative braking to top up the battery and has a coasting mode for motorway driving. It also looks to save energy via its heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, which has a driver-only setting for when the car is being driven without passengers.
And, as with the Sportswagon, this Optima will be available with a package of active hazard-avoidance technologies including lane-keeping assist, blind spot detection and autonomous emergency braking.
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