Kia Opirus

The Kia Opirus was a full-size car manufactured and marketed by Kia Motors that was launched in April 2003 — and was marketed globally under various nameplates, prominently as the Amanti. It was considered to be Kia's flagship vehicle.

As Kia's first entry into the large-car market, the Opirus/Amanti had been marketed in a single trim level and only as a sedan. It shared some components with its now-defunct corporate cousin, the Hyundai Grandeur XG, including its 3.5 L V6 engine. For 2007, the Kia Opirus received various upgrades, including suspension and styling revisions, and the addition of the same engine as the current Hyundai Grandeur (Azera), this time being a 3.8L V6 engine.

In the U.S., the Amanti was recognized as the "Most Appealing Premium Midsize Car" by J.D. Power and Associates' 2005 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study.

The 2007 Amanti outscored several luxury cars in Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) side-impact crash testing, to earn the highest rating of Good.^[2]

As of December 17, 2010, the Kia website no longer listed the Amanti as a production model.^[3]

Successor

The Kia VG concept (Kia KND-5, production model named Cadenza) was reported to be successor of Amanti, based on the platform for the next generation of Hyundai Azera.^[4]

The Kia Cadenza, officially unveiled on October 18, 2009, is completely redesigned to reflect Kia's new design style. The Cadenza will replace the Kia Amanti, and features many features found on more expensive luxury cars, such as a heated steering wheel, power extendable seat cushions, automatic windshield defogger, and cooled front seats.^[5] Like the Amanti, the Opirus is only equipped with an automatic transmission.

References

External links

• Kia Opirus official site
• Amanti Homepage
• Cars.com review
• ConsumerGuide review
• Kia Amanti Research Guide