The new Kia Optima 1.7 CRDi is the latest offering from the Korean manufacturer and is a truly impressive machine. Despite only having a 1.7 16v 4 cylinder diesel engine, it provides a claimed 134bhp and 236lbft torque giving very good and deceptive performance on the road. There is a good reason for this also, as on the dynamometer the vehicle produced an extremely impressive 151bhp and 248lbft giving it performance to match those of the outgoing 2.0 turbo diesels from other manufacturers.
Equipped with the latest EDC17 common rail diesel technology from Bosch, it is very well equipped and provides levels of refinement up there with the best in the market. After extensive development, aimed purely at a very linear power delivery to suit the C-Segments cruising abilities, we managed to achieve a very linear 178bhp and 277lbft giving it strong performance whilst maintaining the refined nature of the car. We actually managed to achieve more from this engine with ease; however, the goal with this wasn’t maximum performance but more for improved refinement. A job well done…
