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2016 Kia Optima Wagon Rendered, But It's Not Going to Be Built

Since the days of Volvo-driving soccer moms, the wagon has been a dormant part of the automotive industry. Subaru is pretty much the only car company in America to be successful with this boxy design, but that doesn't mean others shouldn't try.
2016 Kia Optima SW 1 photo
Photo: X-Tomi Design
You guys are looking at a rendering of the all-new Kia Optima sedan transformed into a sports wagon. It's a sexy looking thing, especially when you compare it to the Passat NMS, but recent reports suggest Kia is against putting one into production.

Before showing the 2016 Optima at the New York Auto Show, Kia previewed its design with a concept called the Sportspace. It was presented in bright red paint on the floor of the Geneva Motor Show in March and we don't think there was a single person who didn't like it.

In a recent interview, Orth Hendricks, Kia Motors America product planning VP told AutoGuide that the company “looked at it. It’s a beautiful car, and obviously it’s a big deal in Europe mainly because they love estates over there.”

Apparently, there isn't enough demand to make it worth their while, so they simply aren't going to bother making one. But this could just be a case of the feet not knowing what the head is thinking. After all, why would Kia go to all the trouble to make a near-production concept that it's never going to build?

They could just be baiting us into writing about a car they're not going to make only to find out what the consumer response would be.

Reverse-engineering the Optima into a wagon could help the brand hugely. Kia doesn't have a separate mid-size sedan for Europe and the USA like Hyundai does, so there's no sister car to the i40 Touring. It's a shame, since we've been told by some European VW dealers that the Passat Variant is their biggest seller of 2015.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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