THE Magentis-replacing Kia Optima of 2011 was like walking into a funky-looking new coffee shop and finding out their best brew tastes like the inside of your dishwasher’s waste outlet.

As an exercise in styling it was a triumph that set Kia onto its design-led brand transformation from bargain basic transport to a genuinely desirable alternative to the Japanese mainstream.

But the dull, plasticy interior demonstrated that Kia still had one foot in the past, as did the lifeless handling.

Happily, that’s all changed with the latest version, with the turbocharged, top-spec GT variant tested here feeling even better than it looks and, crucially, much more expensive than it really is.

Click here for the full review...