Optima drivers will get twin front airbags, twin side airbags and curtain airbags. All cars feature ABS with brake assist, emergency stop signalling, stability control, and vehicle stability management and hill-start assist. The car hasn’t been crash-tested by Euro NCAP yet but Kia has a decent record and we expect it to perform well.

This is a four-door saloon so you don’t get kind of the flexibility for loading as you would in a hatchback. Still, there’s a sizeable boot of 505 litres and you can fold down the rear seats to increase the load capacity if need be. If you regularly want to transport larger items then you’ll probably go for one of the competitor’s more practical five-door hatchbacks.

There are some nice touches though. Rear passengers get cup-holders in a central fold-down armrest and in the side panels, and the 60:40 rear-seat fold-down mechanism is ridiculously easy: simply pull two toggles located inside the boot of the car and you get a near-flat loading area. It’s not all great news though. The almost coupe-like sloping roof compromises headroom and it restricts visibility out of the rear.

Rear-seat legroom is more than ample though.