This is the Kia K4, a compact saloon that will be on display at the New York Auto Show (NYAS) at the end of this month. It's our first proper look at the car's exterior and interior. The K4 may well make its way over to Europe as a kind of replacement for the Optima - although in the US, where it is being revealed to the world first, it's replacing the Forte, a smaller saloon that was once known as the Shuma.
Opposites United
The K4 is said to embody Kia's 'Opposites United' design philosophy, perhaps the most obvious element where this is visible being the unusual pillar behind the rear doors. This is part of a visual process where Kia's designers are twisting the connections of logically aligned squares in a seemingly illogical fashion - the carmaker's words, not ours - and so it is referred to in-house as, yes, 'Twist Logic'.
Overall, though, the K4 is a handsome enough thing and looks close to production-ready, meaning that the car - which is faithful to the original design sketches - should look a lot like this when it eventually goes on sale.
Other details of the Kia K4 include large, vertical headlamps positioned at the outer edges of the car's body, with 'star map' lighting technology and daytime running lamps further adding definition, the latter items segueing into the chrome horizontal strips of the 'Tiger nose' grille.
At the rear of the K4's fastback form, more upright light clusters tie in the front and rear appearance. These lamp units reach horizontally as well to give the Kia a greater emphasis on width.
Karim Habib, the executive vice-president of Kia and head of its global design team as well, said: "Every contour, curve and detail of the K4 has been carefully considered and crafted to adhere to Kia's design philosophy, Opposites United, bringing together clean faceted surfacing and technological details in a bold, cohesive statement. Every aspect further strengthens the relationship between brand and design.
"With the design of the K4, we are building on what we've learnt and making those values accessible to even more people, by bringing a product that is relevant and meaningful, to inspire the way they think, move and live."
Interior looks production-ready
Inside, the K4 has again more production-ready signifiers, including the dash architecture. Looking much like the cabin of an EV6, a large, widescreen infotainment display and digital instrument cluster are blended together in one panel, with most of the car's key features oriented towards the driver.
But while the driving position is high-tech, the rest of the Kia's passenger compartment has been designed to feel comfortable, warm and inviting. To that end, the K4 includes a range of direct and indirect lighting options to illuminate the cabin at night so that you can tune the ambience of the interior just so.
Kia has further cooked up some new seating trims, materials, patterns and colours for the K4's cabin, including Medium Grey, Slate Green, Canyon Brown and Onyx Black.
The Korean car company will reveal more details on the K4, including production timelines and which markets of the world it is destined for, when the vehicle has its global premiere on March 27 in New York. It has not yet been confirmed for sale on the Irish market.