Spy shots of (supposedly) the China-specs Kia K3 sedan hit the world wide web!
Courtesy of auto.163.com, we are bringing you some new spy shots of the 2013 Kia K3 sedan, which has been caught testing on Chinese roads. The new compact sedan will be produced in China by Dongfeng-Yueda-Kia joint venture and is scheduled to go on sale in November this year.
The all-new Kia K3 will fit between the Kia K2 (Kia Rio in the USA) and Kia K5 (known as Kia Optima) and will compete against latest offerings from Ford, Toyota and VW.
Judging by the latest spy photos, the 2013 Kia K3 will sport the same overall exterior design lay-out as the forth-coming Kia Forte sedan. However, unique signature grille, reshaped bumpers and differently styled tail-lamps will set the K3 apart from the 2013 Forte sedan.
At this point, we have little information about the K3′s powertrain technology. We believe the car is based on the same platform as the next-generation Kia cee’d and Forte sedan and features one of the carmaker’s highly-advanced four-cylinder engines (1.6L GDI or 1.8L Nu) coupled with 6-speed automatic transmission.
For now, enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for more details as they become available.
Kia K3 spy shots:
January 15th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
Are you sure pic number 3 and 4 are the same car? I noticed that the outlining of the rear window seem well different. The outlining on pic three is edgey and square. But on pic 4 the outlining appears round and curvy like the Optima’s.
January 15th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Also are you sure pic 1 and 2 is the same car? The headlights appear different.
January 15th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
Hmmmmmm somthing is very fishy here very fish indeed. Picture 2′s headlights looks a LOT like that sketch Himi put up a few weeks ago.
January 15th, 2012 at 4:00 pm
The grilles and bumper aren’t exactly the same neither between the two. The only thing pic1 and 2 have in common is they touch the grille but not in the same way. Too bad we can’t see the side profile on pic 4 huh?
January 15th, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Ohh never mind pic four and 3 are the same as well as pic 1 and 2. My bad!!!
January 15th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
not a fan of the chrome rear garnish.
January 15th, 2012 at 10:40 pm
Yeah jtz it seems all those pictures are from the same car. Also there’s a picture of the wheel:
http://images.noticiasautomotivas.com.br/img/f/kia-cerato-china-3 . jpg (remove the spaces).
And also it it so damn similar to that Forte sketches. It’s possible Forte and K3 have different designs as well as Rio and K2.
January 16th, 2012 at 12:22 am
A new thought this K3 photos matches kkksstudio renders…
January 16th, 2012 at 4:45 am
Like the K9, it does not look like it will turn heads. If this is the Forte, I really hope the Koup didn’t lose its aggressiveness. The only thing that has improved on looks to me is the rear end because it reminds me of a mix between Optima and GT. The front end except the headlights also looks better. The headlights are awful. And please remove the chrome at the end it doesn’t look sporty but tacky. If they wanted chrome then they should have made it go through the C pillar like Optima and GT. Out of 5 stars I give the car 2 and a half. Dodge Dart gets 4.5 in the looks department.
January 16th, 2012 at 6:30 am
it is K9..not K3..try to compare wit any spyshot n u’ll see the similarity between both of them..
January 16th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
It is not K9… The side mirrors are different from those K9 spy shots as well as the A-pillar window.
January 16th, 2012 at 4:24 pm
Amen Ainnem. You should call yourself jtz Jr. Lol Also the K9 has that tacky side grille (Optima’s side grille is stylish not ugly and tacky). All the K9 greenhouse really is is a VW Passat Greenhouse that’s RWD with a V8. How is that suppose to stand out?
January 17th, 2012 at 8:37 pm
looks like a baby Optima, which is a good thing.
I do think that Hyundai is going to fall this year in sales. Their styling is going horribly wrong. They really need a design genius like Schreyer to make their cars visually appealing
January 18th, 2012 at 12:54 am
Yeah Sagittarius. I’m not worried for the Optima to have to tackle the new Fusion it’s the Sonata to really worry about. That Fusion is one hell of a design one hell of a design indeed. It’s almost as if GM never expect that. Poor Chevy Malibu. I’m glad the Optima is stylish enough to still whip as by not aging nearly as fast as most midsize cars.
January 31st, 2012 at 11:09 pm
GUYS I CAUGHT SOMETHING NEW ON THE K3/FORTE!!!! Look at the C pillar. See the way it’s covered up? Something inbetween the black cover and the sheet like to fill in a gap or something. Something like a very edgy and sharp shoulder design on the car found on the Kia GT and Kia Optima. I BET YOU THIS CAR HAS SHARP SHOULDERS. If you look at the car from the 17th of Aug, it too has that covered up deep like that….. just like the latest spy shots found on the koreanblog. This car’s C pillar is a mystery. Also, did you notice something on Schyrer’s designs? Hint: Sportage, Optima, Kia GT, Rio, hint sides. Now when looking at these cars from the sides what stands out? I’ll tell you. The C PILLARS. Therefore, I gotta assume that this Car’s C pillar will also turn heads from the sides. Having a car turn heads from the side is pretty difficult. After all, the 2012′s Fusion front turn heads…….nothing special about the new Ford’s greenhouse. I also wonder about the Kia K9. Will it too have deep cut shoulders? I bet it will. Giving the car shoulders will help… after all, that Focus ain’t nothing to mess with. It came to the segment to whip some a** and the Forte ain’t going to lose easily. Bring it on FORD.
January 31st, 2012 at 11:12 pm
Also on the latest spy shots of the next Forte, the front end looks just like the Optima….. and yet it doesn’t… then it does and yet it looks like the K7.. and yet it doesn’t and yet it looks like the Rio…. and yet it doesn’t.. and yet it looks like the K9…. but then again it doesn’t…but then again it does and yet it doesn’t… but it does… but not quite…..Those headlights look very aggressive. Aggressive enough to attack its prey( Dodge Dart).
February 5th, 2012 at 6:02 am
JTZ,
I saw aston martin, mitsubishi in the headlights, And the profile of the Optima in the 2013 Ford Fusion…
THe fusion will do well. What is surprising is that American people still buy that bland Camry. I don’t see any reason, other than reliability to why i would purchase a Camry. THe truth is that Korean cars are now the most reliable. Perception still hasn’t caught up with reality.
camry sold 28K units alone in January. The Sonata really struggled against the new Camry. I suspect, until Hyundai changes their logo to someting more aesthetically pleasing, people will still not buy a nice Hyundai vehicle.
The Sonata was a nice car and still is, but it was released before the Japanese and Ford came in with new refreshes a year after basically.
I also think that Hyundai should release a vehicle AFTER other companies release theirs. THat is an advantage to have last licks. they can improve features, adjust strategies, change designs to fit need or trends.
February 5th, 2012 at 5:35 pm
I wouldn’t worry too much for Sonata. It will be tough but Hyundai is gonna have to give the sedan a serious facelift to tackle the new Fusion. It’s the Chevy Malibu to worry about. Just changing the C pillar and slapping the Camero’s tailights ain’t gonna work. The Optima may also have a tough year once the Fusion arrives. All the Optima really needs is a redesigned interior. If you ask me the GT should just take the Cadenza’s spot but have RWD to take on the new Taurus. The Cadenza missed it’s chance when the LaCross got redesigned. It needs a redesign before coming over here. Kia doesn’t need the Cadenza anyway just bring the GT