Kia Heads Upmarket - Optima Premium

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Where in my comment did I compare Kia build quality to Ford and Holden?
Reputations for quality take years to forge and Kia has none. Just because they decided to build a car and say it competes with established players in the segment it doesn't mean it is true. Then they use the old sales trick of limited supply - we can only get a thousand better rush in and get one now or you will miss out :-)
If you were to build a house and were choosing builders would you choose mr Honda who has built thousands, mr Toyota who's built millions mr Mazda whose funky designes come in range of practical options or mr Kia who made living building kennels but thinks he can do a really good job with your house ?

Better not buy a Lamborghini then........Hell.........they've only been around since the 50's and they specialised in Tractors only !!!!. Only been making cars since the 60's and they only sell around 1500 cars per year........STEER CLEAR OF THAT MOB.....I'm not sure they know what they're doing either.......

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by ESP

Better not buy a Lamborghini then........Hell.........they've only been around since the 50's and they specialised in Tractors only !!!!. Only been making cars since the 60's and they only sell around 1500 cars per year........STEER CLEAR OF THAT MOB.....I'm not sure they know what they're doing either.......

Your parallel doe not stand as Lamborghini started making supercars to compete with Ferrari , stuck to supercars and never strayed into cheap hatches. BTW it did take Lamborghini quite a number of years to get recognition .
To compare Lamborghini story to Kia is a bit far fetched anyway .
As Kia Optima has so many appearant fans let's monitor it's future sales. People tend to spend on well proven products.

[mrghia]

I know where you are coming from, but if you look at Toyota Recall list at the moment they seem to recalling them as quick as the build them and they are a quality car. It's like people saying that the new Holden Cruze is a quality car still comes from Korea still made by Daewoo same as the rest of there small car line up. No one would buy them as a Daewoo but put a Holden badge and magically they are great.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Your parallel doe not stand as Lamborghini started making supercars to compete with Ferrari , stuck to supercars and never strayed into cheap hatches. BTW it did take Lamborghini quite a number of years to get recognition .
To compare Lamborghini story to Kia is a bit far fetched anyway .
As Kia Optima has so many appearant fans let's monitor it's future sales. People tend to spend on well proven products.

The more you reply the more you embarrass yourself. Quit while your behind.

As for people spending on well proven products... tell me what group of car companies has experienced the highest growth and sales over the past 5 years.

How many Hyundai / Kia cars have you owned to be so against a brand?? I'm assuming your expert opinion on build quality / reliability and design efficiency must come from first hand experience...... right??

I know... you will reply with some nonsensical rubbish and dodge both questions like before.

[4.0i_SiX]

People who dont care about cars will buy the cheapest car they can but at the same time they want the car that offers the most features ( bang for your buck ) They will only keep the car for a few years then trade it in. Hyundai etc are all offering 5 year warranties and that is helping people gain some confidence in the brand. Even if it falls apart after the warranty period ( which it probably will )

Toyota used to be a quality product, theyre mostly built in mexico now and quality is down across the board

[SumoDog68]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

The more you reply the more you embarrass yourself. Quit while your behind.

As for people spending on well proven products... tell me what group of car companies has experienced the highest growth and sales over the past 5 years.

How many Hyundai / Kia cars have you owned to be so against a brand?? I'm assuming your expert opinion on build quality / reliability and design efficiency must come from first hand experience...... right??

I know... you will reply with some nonsensical rubbish and dodge both questions like before.

Why are getting so worked up about the subject. Aren't I allowed to dislike Kia product ? I stated at the beginning that I don't like Kia product.
I worked in car manufacturing for 12 years and been car enthusiast for last 25.
I don't want to own a Kia / Hyundai product as I don't like their product.
Hyundai equals cheap and Kia is even cheaper. Next step for the Korean giants is to get rid of a cheap image and move into premium segments where profits are greater. Optima is part of this new strategy.
I wish them good luck but I won't be buying one yet :-)

[Whitey-AMG]

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Why are getting so worked up about the subject. Aren't I allowed to dislike Kia product ? I stated at the beginning that I don't like Kia product.
I worked in car manufacturing for 12 years and been car enthusiast for last 25.
I don't want to own a Kia / Hyundai product as I don't like their product.
Hyundai equals cheap and Kia is even cheaper. Next step for the Korean giants is to get rid of a cheap image and move into premium segments where profits are greater. Optima is part of this new strategy.
I wish them good luck but I won't be buying one yet :-)

fair enough then. I think KIA , like Hyundai are all too aware of the imminent Chinese onslaught and are positioning themselves appropriately. Although it may not be on your shopping list , methinks it will appeal to a large number of consumers looking for a well priced , well equipped medium sized car with decent dynamics and peace of mind warranty longevity. As time goes on , many euro marks are also trying to compete in this segment with BMW making many of the 3 series in South Africa now. Even mercedes are doing the same.

The one thing that KIA and Hyundai are very good at is aggressive pursuit of new designs and new technologies at an affordable cost. Ironically , its these sorts of companies that push the boundaries and force many others to offer similar technologies at more affordable prices....doesn't mean we all end up buying KIA's.....but it may mean the next small to medium car you buy is better overall value due to this immense competition.

[fairBA]

The Falcon being compared to 4cy FWD diseasels -
suppose we'ed better get used to it.

[banarcus]

These things will outsell the Falcon. Look what the other Korean imports did to Ford's local line up.

[rocket67]

Originally Posted by 4.0i_SiX

People who dont care about cars will buy the cheapest car they can but at the same time they want the car that offers the most features ( bang for your buck ) They will only keep the car for a few years then trade it in. Hyundai etc are all offering 5 year warranties and that is helping people gain some confidence in the brand. Even if it falls apart after the warranty period ( which it probably will )

Toyota used to be a quality product, theyre mostly built in mexico now and quality is down across the board

I beg to differ. These cars do not fall apart after 5 years at all!
Spoke with a bloke on friday who wants to buy his wife a newer Hyundai to replace her old Excel which has over 300,000 klms on the odometer. She refuses to part with the old car until it breaks down. He has been thrashing the car all last week and it just will not die.
Check on Ebay etc - plenty of old Hyundais with well over 250,000klms.

I am currently driving from Hillbank to Woodville twice a day. At my disposal is a WK V8 Statesman, BF Falcon and a Hyundai i30. All 3 cars in great nick.
Which car do i drive? The i30 every time. Not because of the lower petrol cost. It is just a very easy car to drive. Not overly fast, but does everything i want it to do without fuss and in comfort, with excellent cold air conditioning to boot.
My wife for some illogical reason absolutely despises the BF - maybe the crappy dashboard. But she is in hospital which is why i go to Woodville twice a day.
Maybe some of you guys need to remove your blinkers before trashing these cars.

Rocket.

[TruBlu351]

Originally Posted by mrghia

Every thing that Kia has made recently has been brilliant like the Kia Cerato Coupe to look at it in some angle it resembles a Audi R8.

That's what I thought when I first saw it.......but then realised that the new designer @ Kia is the ex chief designer from Audi!!.....Peter Schreyer. Looks like Kia's investment in the right design team is paying off.

Saw a nice midnight black Optima the other day at work and it looked mighty fine.

They also have a new K9 V8 which supposedly puts out 435hp......RWD too!! Will be interesting to see this one hit the market. Looks a tad like a Maserati!

[4.0i_SiX]

As a mechanic I still could not bring myself to own one of these. We are still replacing low kilometre engines in later model Hyundai Tucsons and the later kia carnivals with the "revised" v6 engines that arent supposed to go bang. admittedly not as many as commodores....

Im liking the styling of the new kia's particularly this optima, but the dash looks like something from a 90's Audi

[csv8]

Suzuki had plans for a V6 Kizashi..but didn't proceed..that would be interesting!!

[Bossxr8]

The Koreans still haven't figured out to make a car steer, ride and handle properly, and until they do, I will continue to write them off, no matter how good their quality is.

You only need to look at Wheels car of the year to see how many Korean vehicles failed solely because they don't do any of the above very well.

Adds credence to the fact that many of their suspension engineers don't even have licences to drive. How can you be a suspension engineer and not have a licence?

[Nikked]

Seen one at a Holden dealer, man does it make the VE look dated

[4.0i_SiX]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

The Koreans still haven't figured out to make a car steer, ride and handle properly

Thats because they are built to a budget, Macpherson strut front ends are cutting edge.......

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by 4.0i_SiX

Thats because they are built to a budget, Macpherson strut front ends are cutting edge.......

New BMW's are going back to a falcon style set up...

[1TUFFUTE]

i really like the look of these cars..they look even better in the flesh aswell. Problem is aslong as they keep the name KIA i cant and wont ever buy one...and if it was free id still puke.....funny i dont have a problem with hyundai tho. For me when kia decided to really step up their game they shoulda done the name aswell

[1TUFFUTE]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

The Koreans still haven't figured out to make a car steer, ride and handle properly, and until they do, I will continue to write them off, no matter how good their quality is.

You only need to look at Wheels car of the year to see how many Korean vehicles failed solely because they don't do any of the above very well.

Adds credence to the fact that many of their suspension engineers don't even have licences to drive. How can you be a suspension engineer and not have a licence?

haha what the......

[uranium_death]

The interior looks too busy and outdated with the dash, but the back looks great.
If you could get a Ford with that exterior with a dash as practical as the Falcon and with a bit of grunt in the engine (and either AWD or RWD), and I would be taking a look...

[WILDB]

I've driven several of these and while they may be well put together and feature packed, they just don't do it for me - both in looks and how they drive. In my opinion the motor sounds rather like the Kia/Hyundai R-series diesels when you give them a bit...

[Chopped]

Nice looking car IMO. Plenty of kit for the price, but you can also get a fairly decent spec Mazda 6 for pretty much the same money.

I have heard the Optima drink heaps of petrol in the real world though.

[TheSneakiness]

Ever since reading this thread I've seen quite a few running round here (in the royal blue colour) and they do stand out from the crowd.