WATCH out Ford Mondeo, VW Passat and Vauxhall Insignia. Kia's new Optima flagship saloon, hailed by industry watchers as 'the best car yet to come out of Korea' is about to hit the streets of Britain.

The Optima has already racked up a whopping 300,000 sales worldwide.

It was Korea's best selling car within a month of going on sale in its home market and is in such demand in the United States that Kia is having to build it in Georgia.

Now it's ready to wow the UK with prices starting at £19,595.

Design chief Peter Schreyer, formerly of Audi, believes the Optima's stylish looks will ensure it enjoys a sales success previously unheard of for a large Kia saloon - the previous Magentis didn't exactly fly off the shelves.

The car firm's UK media chief Steve Kitson says they expect to easily sell about 1,700 Optimas this year - but that could be a lot more if a bigger allocation of cars is made available.

The Optima has been designed to appeal to fleet customers who make up the vast majority of Mondeo/Passat/Insignia buyers in the UK.

It is  powered only with a new 134bhp version of the efficient 1.7-litre diesel powerplant already seen in the Sportage and with several trim levels to cater for the business and private user.

It offers good fuel economy and low CO2 emissions which control the amount of VED road tax and company car Benefit-in-Kind tax we all pay in one way or another.

The arrival of the Optima means that Kia has a competitive car in all the key sectors for Britain's fleet and leasing industry - Picanto, Rio, cee'd and now the Optima.

Kia's corporate sales have rocketed in the past twelve months - up 145% for a market share that improved from 1.58% to 2.42%. Kitson is confident they will make further progress with the arrival of Optima.

The saloon offers features never before seen in a Kia including a high-end audio system delivering 550 watts of sound through 12 speakers in eight locations around the car.

Self-parking, heated and cooled seats, cornering lights and an automatic cabin defogging system are all available - depending on trim and model. A six speed automatic gearbox is also an option.

Longer, lower and wider than the Magentis, the Optima has a fairly macho appearance - reflected in the car's rising waistline with muscular wheelarches and a sleek coupe rear end look, even though it's a saloon with a boot lid. Nicely styled front and rear light clusters complete the premium look.

Inside it gets even better because the long wheelbase of 2,795mm gives really good rear seat legroom and the quality of fixtures and fittings is also praiseworthy. 

The only downside for the versions with the sunroof is the lack of headroom for six-footers.

There is a large 505-litre boot with a relatively low rear sill to make loading easier and the rear seat backs can be folded down to increase the load space significantly, although being a saloon loading has to be done through the boot or side doors. In Europe that is why hatchbacks are more popular.

Kia says no five door version is planned but an estate might follow if there is enough demand around the world.

Oddment spaces abound in the cabin - a cooled glovebox, centre console box, front and rear cupholders, sunglasses holder, space for bottle sin all four doors and a centre console tray big enough for a mobile phone next to AUX and USB points.

There are disc brakes all round, ventilated at the front with anti-lock brakes, electronic brakeforce distribution and brake assist.

All models are fitted with electronic stability control to counter any skids - either because of bad weather or driver over-exuberance.

An emergency stop signalling system rapidly flashes the brake lights to warn following drivers.

Every Optima has front, side and curtain airbags plus active front head restraints to reduce whiplash.

The 1.7-litre, 134bhp, turbodiesel unit develops 239lb/ft of torque from 2,000rpm and despite it being less than the normal 2.0-litre capacity in this class, it is adequately lively and responsive.

Top speed is 125mph and zero to 60mph takes a spritely 10.2 seconds.

Using a six-speed gearbox the ratios are nicely chosen so the engine remains responsive at low speeds even in high gears.

The official 57.6mpg in the combined cycle looks impressive and a drive in commuter land traffic and on the motorways the Optima with the manual gearbox returned 51.4mpg. Still impressive as the first half of the drive was in stop/start traffic.

The automatic version is slightly slower - 122mph and 11.5 seconds.

The big advantage the manual version has over the automatic is the much lower CO2 emissions, 128g/km versus 158g/km.

This means VED road tax costs for the manual version of zero for the first year and then £90 from the second year onwards. The automatic model VED charge is £165 for every year.

Standard kit in all versions, sold in Kia's 1, 2 and 3 trim grades, include alloy wheels, air con, daytime running lights, leather steering wheel, Bluetooth, powered windows, electric folding mirrors, cruise control and a speed limiter.

Mid and high grade models, in Tech (for fleet buyers) or Luxe (more bling for private buyers) add window defogging, cornering lights, Infinity sound system, reversing camera, sat nav, panoramic sunroof and parellel parking assist.

All models come with Kia's unique transferable seven year warranty.

Prices range from £19,595 for the Optima '1' up to £25,995 for the Optima '3' automatic. The likely best sellers, the Optima '2' in either Luxe or Tech trim, cost £21,695.

Overall the classy Optima is a worthy flagship model.