2013 Kia Optima Diesel for USA?

The newly redesigned Optima made its debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show. This model has a much sleeker and aggressive profile courtesy of Kia design chief Peter Schreyer. In the European Markets, The Optima is equipped with a diesel engine that just might make it over to the North American market. A Hybrid model has already been released in the United States that uses the same drive train as the hybrid system found in the Hyundai Sonata. The appearance of the Optima CRDi diesel looks very similar to the Hybrid Version. Both models share the same special wheels, design touches and lowered ride height.

Performance
The 2013 Kia Optima Diesel is powered by a 1.7L (1,685cc) inline four-cylinder CRDi (Common Rail Direct Fuel Injection) turbo diesel. This engine produces 134 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and 244 lb-ft of torque from 2,000 to 2,500 rpm. Hyundai will add another more powerful 1.7L U2 CRDi diesel to the line up that produces 160 horsepower some time in 2012. This model was tested around 48 MPG combined in the UK which converts to 39.7 MPG US.

Kia's manufacturing philosophy is to build cars that are a good value for money. Do you think a low priced Kia Optima CRDi diesel would do well in North America? I've been asking my readers to leave there opinions in the comment section below. I think North America is ready for some of the diesel models that Europe gets including the Optima. The main hurdle in bringing diesel cars over is the emissions, but more and more manufactures are bring their engines up to world standards such as Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Kia plans on bringing a Optima wagon to the European market and a coupe to the North American market.

Courtesy of Google News