Kia Optima (K5) Service Manuals

About The Kia Optima (K5)

In the year 2000 production of the Kia Optima began in South Korea and Russia.

It was classed as a mid-size car and took over from the Credos model that had previously run from the mid-1990s.

In Europe, the car was known as the Magentis during the early years it was also known as the Lotze and K5 in various parts of the world during its second generation.

First Generation Optima

The Optima was built on the Hyundai-Kia Y4 platform that was a joint project between the two companies as they began to work closely at the end of the 1990s.

This platform was put to work under many models from the two automakers including the Kia Carnival and the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Engine options for the original car were fairly restricted with a 2.4-liter, a 2.5-liter and a 2.7-liter gasoline powerplant on offer with no diesel option.

Safety ratings were terrible also, the IIHS in the US awarded the car only one out of five stars along with mostly “Poor” ratings and one “Average”.

Second Generation Optima

When the car came in with its second generation in 2005 the safety rating was massively improved to three out of five stars.

It was built on a global platform developed by Kia and offered a much wider range of engines including a diesel one for the first time.

In 2008 the model was updated halfway through the generation and was now 7cm longer with improved styling both inside and outside of the car.

A range of more economical engines was added to help push the affordable theme that Kia was going for with their cars.

Third Generation Optima

With the move into the third generation in 2010, the new Kia Optima was sitting on a platform engineered for it and its badge-engineered cousin the Hyundai Sonata.

The two companies had worked hard to make the car as safe as possible and it now shows as the car boasts a five out of five-star rating with IIHS when tested in 2011.

Inside of the car, you can now find many modern features such as ABS and other driver aids as standard as well as new options such as heated and cooled seats.

Fourth Generation Optima

For the 2016 model year, the new Optima was now available with a station wagon layout and a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

This Optima PHEV model could drive on electricity alone for 27 miles and can capture the lost potential energy during braking to recycle.

An active grille in the front of the new PHEV version can increase the aerodynamics when the cooling power of the wind wasn’t needed for the internal combustion engine.

Fifth Generation Optima

In 2019 the fifth-generation Kia Optima entered showrooms and the company is pushing the model as the K5 now globally.

The station wagon version was dropped and the standard shape was pushed to be more of a “fastback” with a longer more sloped design taking over.

This new model of the car pushes many new driver-aids as standard including forward collision avoidance and smart cruise control that relies on sensors around the car.