This is Kia’s new Mondeo-fighter

You should be no stranger to the turnaround of Kia's fortunes by now. Ten years ago its saloon car offering was a boggle-eyed, chrome-grilled offering called the Magentis, with antiquated V6 engines at its heart.

Fast forward a decade and we have this, the all-new Optima which will make its public bow at the New York motor show in a couple of weeks.

Looks smart, don't you think? The current Optima is a fairly boldly styled thing, and while we've only a couple of sketches to go on for now, the new one appears to pick up where its predecessor will leave off with long, squinty headlights, a coupe-like sloping roofline and some chintzy running lights in its lower grille. Though cool as those huge alloy wheels look, expect slimmed down versions on a production Optima.

Little else is known about the Optima just yet, but expect further strides forward inside and plenty of tech on board, while in the UK at least, diesel engines will major. But a hybrid could feature, and we can expect something a bit sportier, too, as Michael Cole, CEO for Kia Motors Europe, told us at the Geneva motor show.

"We get the new Optima this year," Cole said. "Could we go to a wagon, and then from there a performance saloon? That would be a nice fit and product positioning for the Kia brand as part of our aspiration for the future."

The likely Optima wagon he references could be spun off the dashing Sportspace concept, which made its debut at Geneva.

More news should land when we first clap eyes on the Optima in New York in a couple of weeks. What do you reckon: have the Koreans finally hit the mainstream proper?