GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Kia teases first Optima wagon

Kia has released the first teaser image of its fourth-generation Optima flagship ahead of the Geneva motor show starting March 3.

Interestingly, however, Kia describes the unnamed vehicle only as a D-segment concept. Meantime, the all-new Optima sedan is not expected to debut until the New York motor show a month later.

Motoring.com.au understands the show car you see here is in fact a concept that previews both the redesigned Optima sedan -- to appear in the Big Apple in April -- and Kia's first Optima wagon, which is why the rear half of the car remains hidden.

"The concept has been created as a spacious and versatile accessory to an active lifestyle, as a purposeful, energetic design study for the style-conscious, and as a sanctuary from the stresses of the modern world," said Kia.

Both Optima models will gain Kia’s family ‘tiger nose’ grille, as seen on the Geneva wagon concept, which the Korean brand says has lines that are both “confident” and “powerful”.

The concept is said to be near-production ready and points to a new family of mid-size models from Kia, including sedan, wagon and possibly coupe derivatives, powered by petrol, turbo-petrol and hybrid powertrains.

Under its skin the flagship Kia is far more technologically advanced than the car it replaces and will be offered with the state-of-the-art twin-charged diesel hybrid powertrain presented in the Optima T-Hybrid show car at the Paris show last September.

Kia Australia has already confirmed it is interested in offering both the Optima turbo and hybrid here, but it's unclear if both  petrol-electric and diesel-electric versions will be made available.

Kia sells only around 100 Optimas a month in Australia, where new mid-size models to be launched this year alone include the new Subaru Liberty, Hyundai Sonata, Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat, and the facelifted Mazda6 and Toyota Camry.

However, it hopes the new wagon body style and broader powertrain range will make the next-gen Optima more popular with buyers and help it score a bigger slice of the market long dominated by the Melbourne-made Camry.

Expect Kia's new Optima to arrive in Australia in the fourth quarter of 2015.