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The Kia Optima Sportswagon is to go on sale from September 15, priced from £22,295.

The Optima Sportswagon was designed in Europe and will be sold only in Europe.

The car has a minimum of 552 litres of cargo space, including two underfloor trays, and 1,686 litres with the rear seats folded. Stylish integrated roof rails are standard.

The saloon and estate are identical in length (4,855mm) and width (1,860mm), but the Sportswagon is 5mm taller at 1,470mm because of the roof rails.

Like the Optima saloon, it is sold exclusively with a highly efficient, torquey and refined 1.7-litre turbodiesel engine. And it is available with a full suite of advanced connectivity and active driver assistance technologies, including Android Auto, Apple CarPlay (available later in the production run), Kia Connected Services powered by TomTom®, a harman/kardon eight-speaker audio system, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Smart Cruise Control and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

There are three trim lines for the new Optima Sportswagon – 2, 3 and GT-Line S – echoing those available for the Optima saloon. A sporty high-performance GT version will make that four variants early in 2017.

Standard equipment also matches what is available on the corresponding saloon and is targeted at business users who make up the vast majority of buyers in this sector of the market. There are, however, certain additions exclusive to the estate. Roof rails are standard with all three trim lines, along with a luggage area DC power socket, a handle for one-touch folding of the rear seats, a luggage side partition and towing connection preparation. Level 3 adds a luggage rail system, boot lip trim and privacy glass in the rear doors, rear quarterlights and tailgate. GT-Line S is further distinguished by a Smart Powered Tailgate.

The entry-level 2 grade comes as standard with a 7.0-inch satellite navigation system with European mapping and a reversing camera, steering wheel-mounted controls, front and rear USB ports, dual automatic air conditioning with ioniser, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearshifter, cruise control with a speed limiter, electrically heated folding mirrors, a six-speaker DAB radio with MP3 compatibility and Bluetooth with music streaming. It has 17-inch alloy wheels, body-coloured door handles and mirrors, dual projection headlights with static cornering lights and LED daytime running lights, powered two-way driver's seat lumbar adjustment and remote central locking with a fold-away key, while the comprehensive safety provisions include Electronic Stability Control and Vehicle Stability Management, Hill-start Assist Control, Tyre Pressure Monitoring and an Electronic Parking Brake.

Grade 3 upgrades the navigation screen to 8.0 inches, has an eight-way power-adjustable driver's memory seat with four-way electronic lumbar adjustment, heated front seats and dual projection headlights. The exterior is distinguished by 18-inch alloy wheels, chrome and body colour exterior door handles, LED front foglights and rear combination lamps and chrome-coloured side sill mouldings. The black cloth seats have faux leather sections and there are satin chrome highlights on the touch-screen bezel. Rear electric windows with an auto up/down function and an anti-trap safety feature are also found on grade 3 along with a premium vision instrument cluster, satin chrome interior door handles and gloss black window switch panels. A harman/kardon Premium Sound system is also standard, while if the optional 7DCT automatic transmission is chosen there are paddle shifters for manual control and a Drive Mode Select function. Additional driver aids on grade 3 include Lane Keep Assist and a Speed Limit Warning.

GT-Line S supplements all this with different design 18-inch alloy wheels, a wireless mobile phone charger, 360-degree Around View Monitor, a Smart Park Assist System, Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Adaptive Smart Cruise Control, High Beam Assist, Autonomous Emergency Braking and a Smart Powered Tailgate. It has a tilting and sliding panoramic sunroof, LED headlights with automatic levelling, dynamic cornering lights, black leather upholstery with ventilated front seats and heated outer rear seats, alloy pedals, stainless steel door scuff plates, a smart key with illuminated start/stop button, LED front map lights and rear reading lights and ambient interior lighting.

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