A jacked-up wagon could be an ideal alternative to the Sportage.
Kia’s portfolio has expanded to include many crossovers, SUVs and sedans in recent years. The South Korean brand isn’t like other automakers who are trying to carve niches and then adding multiple derivatives.
The jacked up wagon is one the oldest segments of modern automobile technology. It was a niche that Subaru and Volvo have successfully carved out with their Cross Country models. This segment is also dominated by the VW Group, which includes Audi’s Allroad and Skoda’s Scout as well as the core brand’s Alltrack model. Our Russian friends at Kolesa have created the following rendering, which shows a new player in rugged wagon gaming. It is based on the K5.
The K5 was previously known as the Optima in many markets. It is now a sedan-only model. Kia’s K5 has a longer roof, and plastic body cladding around wheel arches. This would be an answer to the above models. However, there is not a lot of demand for lifted wagons. People shopping in this market tend to prefer the older models that have been optimizing (get?). The recipe has been in use for many years.
It’s not so crazy to make the K5 a wagon, considering that the previous generation Optima was sold in select markets as an SW and twinned together with a Hyundai i40 Sportwagon. It is unknown if Kia plans to return to the more practical body style, but there may be bigger fish to fry with the EV tsunami.
We would be happy to have more options than the SUV craze. Especially since lifted wagons are objectively as good, if not better than crossovers. The digital version of this adventurous Kia K5 is not yet available, so we don’t think it will be in the real world.