Is Kia cool? Kia is cool. Just look as this Opirus, an premium midsize sedan with a front that mixes the best of Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz.
The Kia Opirus was manufactured from 2003 until 2010 with a facelift in 2007. Our black Beijing car is a post-facelift example, complete with a red Opirus badge on the B-pillar. In some markets, including the United States, it was marketed as the Kia Amanti. The Opirus shared some platform-components with the Hyundai Grandeur XG.
The interior looked a bit messy and the leather a bit worn. But happily, everything was original.
The Kia Opirus was available in just one trim level, which included such luxuries as an infotainment system and electrically adjustable seats. The facelifted Opirus was powered by a Lambda 3.8 liter V6 engine, good for 263 hp and 348 Nm. Power went to the front wheels via a five-speed automatic.
The Kia Opirus was officially marketed in China, with sales starting in 2004. Price for the facelifted car in 2009 started at 308.000 yuan. That was not a bad deal for the car so Kia sold quite a lot of them, and today they are a relatively common sight on the road. This however is changing fast as the latest anti-pollution laws make life hard for any old car.
Black license plates were issued to foreign owned companies from the 1980’s to the mid 00’s. These companies could buy a car locally, and they were also allowed to import their own cars.
In the old days black-plated cars had some privileges comparable to diplomatic cars; no police officer would dare to stop them and they could basically park wherever they wanted without fear of a fine.
Nowadays, a black-plated car is counted just like all the others. The government does not issue new black plates anymore but those who have one can keep it until eternity.
The classy Opirus badge on the back.
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