Kia Optima 1.6-litre turbo 'wouldn't make sense' for Australia - CarAdvice
The 2016 Kia Optima comes with the option of a much-discussed a new 1. 6-litre turbocharged engine for the North American market — an engine, we have learned, which will not make it to Australia. The decision to leave out the 1. 6-litre turbo – which is coupled to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission – appears to be due to local positioning and weakening demand in the medium-car segment. Kia Australia’s head of public relations, Kevin Hepworth, confirmed the car’s absence from Australia. “It wouldn’t make sense to put a 1. 6 [litre] that has an equivalency [in terms of relative power and price] with your 2. 4 [litre]. 6-litre turbo has 133kW of power and 264Nm of torque against the 2. 4’s 138kW and 241Nm. In North America, where the Optima is the best selling Kia with over 160,000 units sold in 2014 (compared with 1274 for Australia), the smaller-capacity... Kia Motors America vice president of product planning, Orth Hedrick, said there has been plenty of internal discussion around how to position the product in the lineup. In North America, the 1. 6-litre turbo will be placed under the 2. 0-litre turbo, which Australia is getting , and slightly higher than the 2. 4-litre naturally aspirated which sits alongside the hybrid. Source: www.caradvice.com.au
