Kia Heads Upmarket - Optima Premium - Page 2

SumoDog68 · 28-01-2011, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T3man

No good putting your head in the sand and letting the world pass you by. I have the luxury of being able to choose what I drive. I therefore choose front engined V8 rear wheel drive even though a Camry can probably do everything I do in a cheaper fashion. For people who are on a budget with a family to raise they will find this offering very very tempting.

Drive one for yourself instead of judging it by bias.

I don't like Kia /Hyundai product but I might change my mind if they make something aspirational for a change.

People on a budget with 37k to spend on a new car :-) I would recommend a corolla , mazda 3 or focus and pocket the difference :-)
As for driving it , I drive manual cars and Kia does not make Optima with manual gearbox. Maybe target audience is too preoccupied with shiny buttons to change their own gears :-)

mrghia · 28-01-2011, 09:27 PM

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. The are really well built and reliable as any thing (except the Carnival). And if you had a budget of $37k I would not buy a Corolla, mazda, focus just to pocket the difference would any one really look twice at a corolla? My mate is a Kia mechanic any they have just sold there Focus to get a Cerato Hatch he said that the are awsome to drive and built well.

Homer · 28-01-2011, 09:39 PM

I had one behind me today on Scarborough beach road.
Looked even better then in the photos...

Rodp · 28-01-2011, 11:18 PM

A good chunk of the KIA range look great on the road - the biggest problem for me is their looks don't match their performance.

They're well appointed, fit and finish seemed pretty good, price is right! I looked at a Kia Koup which I could have had for $22k drive away but the 0-100 in half a week wasn't going to cut it.

If I was looking for a new car for the missus, though.. perfect.

SumoDog68 · 29-01-2011, 07:45 AM

Quote:

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. The are really well built and reliable as any thing (except the Carnival). And if you had a budget of $37k I would not buy a Corolla, mazda, focus just to pocket the difference would any one really look twice at a corolla? My mate is a Kia mechanic any they have just sold there Focus to get a Cerato Hatch he said that the are awsome to drive and built well.

I don't want for anyone to look at my car twice - even my xr6T will be debadged and made to look like a na xr6 :-) but I guess that is me.

Glen 5150 · 29-01-2011, 08:28 AM

Lovely looking car, and brilliant marketing, but when push comes to shove, honestly, would you really consider buying one if you were aware of this company's past reputation with build quality. Yes, Kia and Hyundai have improved as manufacturers in recent years, but its not like the other manufactures have stood still either? It just looks impressive as Kia had the most to gain. Granted, they look extremely good value on paper, but try and sell one in 2-3 years time and that will soon wipe the smile off your face with their shocking resale value. After 5+ years they might aswell bury you with it, or you'll end up leaving it in your Will to your least favourite child.
Give me a plain looking Toyota or funky looking Mazda anyday!!!!!!!!

GT 160 · 29-01-2011, 08:36 AM

Will the turbo version make it to Aus ?

Lukeyson · 29-01-2011, 09:05 AM

The current Kia range is impressive IMO, in price and looks. would i own one? probably not, but good on them.

Remember back in the 80s & 90's when Kia Pride? and Avella? were re-badged as Ford Festivas? A job i had back late 90s had a fleet of them, and under the bonnet was one ford badge, everything else still kia branded. Made me laugh

duaned · 29-01-2011, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitzwa

Will the turbo version make it to Aus ?

I wish (if they have one) because with that feature list, and packing a few more killer wasps I would take one of these over a falcon without question. But as it stands in australia, I think cars like this with all the show should have the go to match. A n/a 2.4L 4 pot doesn't cut it for me.

duaned · 29-01-2011, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 5150gk

but try and sell one in 2-3 years time and that will soon wipe the smile off your face with their shocking resale value.

Certainly the same can be said for the falcadore.

Whitey-AMG · 29-01-2011, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duaned

I wish (if they have one) because with that feature list, and packing a few more killer wasps I would take one of these over a falcon without question. But as it stands in australia, I think cars like this with all the show should have the go to match. A n/a 2.4L 4 pot doesn't cut it for me.

Yes......that's what I thought too.
My car is a 270+ RWKW FPV GT........so when it came time to get an additional family car, I was skeptical about anything with less than 6 cylinders.
However, after test driving a MAZDA 6 , HONDA Accord , VW Jetta and SUZUKI KIZASHI, I was somewhat surprised at how frisky these little 4 pots can be. In the end, we opted for the KIZASHI which has an N/A 2.4. I can tell you that it is very capable , and unless you are towing a caravan or a horse float........it will easily haul around 4 people and a boot full of &*@p........and still return around 8 litres per 100 in heavy traffic. It is very chuckable in the twisties , ( despite being FWD ) , easy to park , easy on the fuel and has a fist load of standard equipment that would make the FORD execs wonder what the hell has hit them.

If the OPTIMA is anywhere near as good as the KIZASHI.........it will be a good car that will serve its owner well.

Yellow_Festiva · 29-01-2011, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lukeyson

The current Kia range is impressive IMO, in price and looks. would i own one? probably not, but good on them.

Remember back in the 80s & 90's when Kia Pride? and Avella? were re-badged as Ford Festivas? A job i had back late 90s had a fleet of them, and under the bonnet was one ford badge, everything else still kia branded. Made me laugh

And I can tell you something about those Festiva's. They were one of the best cars to come out of Korea for the price in the 90's.

If they were looked after, they were almost impossible to kill. Mine would still be going like new if I didn't have an accident a few years ago.

The Kia in question is a seriously good piece of kit. I think Kia stuffed up by not offering a lower spec manual version, say for $29,990 etc.

Having said that, from a manufacturing point of view I think offering limited model variants and options means they will be saving money on the production line. A fully specced car being built from scratch will not cost all that much more to build compared to a povo version.

Anyone who is looking for a mid-sized car would be foolish if they don't look at the Optima because 'I drove a few Korean cars in the past and they were crap'..

I just bought a new diesel Focus for the wife, had I had the extra 400mm of garage length there would have been a 90% chance the Optima would have been in the garage.

Glen 5150 · 29-01-2011, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duaned

Certainly the same can be said for the falcadore.

True, point taken, but atleast the Falcon and Commodore have a market base when it comes to second hand. I'm yet to meet a 1st car buyer or even someone that is chasing a second hand car that have put Kia on the top of their shopping list? That was the point i was trying to make mate. Why somebody would want short term gain (price) and long term pain (resale, reliability, durability) with one of these cars baffles me. As long as their market share is mostly to the Asian market unfortunately there always going to be built to a price, and in my eyes atleast seen as "reserve graders" compared to other manufacturers. Again, yes they've improved, but so has everybody else. Toyota could easily cut their profits to match these manufactures and they'd still make huge profits with their sales volume, but don't have to because of supply and demand?

Again, wonderful looking car though.

Yellow_Festiva · 29-01-2011, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

I don't like Kia /Hyundai product but I might change my mind if they make something aspirational for a change.

People on a budget with 37k to spend on a new car :-) I would recommend a corolla , mazda 3 or focus and pocket the difference :-)
As for driving it , I drive manual cars and Kia does not make Optima with manual gearbox. Maybe target audience is too preoccupied with shiny buttons to change their own gears :-)

Geeze... you are tough to please... MUCH more people here seem to like it rather than the very few that dislike it.

Corolla??? Mazda 3?? are the blinkers that tight on your head?? How much do you know about cars?? The Optima is up against the Camry, Mondeo, Mazda 6 etc.

Just say you went to your mate and told him you were buying a new Mondeo. What would you say to him if he said you should just buy a Focus and 'pocket the difference'.

Rastus · 29-01-2011, 10:56 AM

Nice, I like it! Hyundai and now Kia have come a long way.
A couple of year ago even I, a staunch Ford man, steered the Father In Law to an i30 Diesel Hatch, and it's been a great little car with zero problems. Runs on the sniff of an oily rag, and has some punch too. Truth be known, a Focus Diesel was just out of his range.
Twin brother to the i45 I read in that article, I though as much as soon as I saw it. And that wouldn't be a bad thing.

dannyhilton · 29-01-2011, 12:22 PM

Funny that Kia is supposed to be Hyundai's little brother, yet I find Hyundai styling absolutely awful compared to the much fresher, chiselled Kia design. In terms of kit, this thing is mind boggling. That alone will help it sell those 1,000 units quick smart I'm sure.

Bring on One Ford, a Falcon with MyFord Touch, Ford SYNC and all the other goodies from European and US Fords in my eye would obliterate this Kia.

Give the Koreans a few more years and they'll be on par. Give the Chinese another 10, and it'll be a very even playing field.

dylancox · 29-01-2011, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fled74

Not really. But if I ever bought this I'd de-badge it first thing.

A Ford badge would fit nicely in place of the Kia Oval Badge

. The opposite was done with the Kia Festiva a while back.

satria · 29-01-2011, 12:55 PM

My mate at work owns a 2010 Kia Sorrento which got best SUV over $40k which he is stoked about and whilst it IS quite a nice car you honestly still get that 'Korean' feel. Whilst the styling i think is definitely fresh and modern compared to cars a couple years old i still think it isn't exactly nice to look at for longer than say, 1 minute.

I'd happily live without that hideous badge in my garage though no matter what they pump out of their factories. De-badging is a must on all Kia's too, makes our roads uglier.

XCwillo · 29-01-2011, 01:04 PM

Kia have really tried imposing on the rest of the market lately. The Cerato was absalutely awesome and looked great, now this will just keep pushing it up there.
And hey, we all know atleast half its Killerwasps are from the LED strips!

hendoau99 · 29-01-2011, 03:34 PM

quicksand, i was talking about second hand cars a few years old from car dealerships.
but you are right when talking about new RRP prices.

GT 160 · 29-01-2011, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by duaned

I wish (if they have one) because with that feature list, and packing a few more killer wasps I would take one of these over a falcon without question. But as it stands in australia, I think cars like this with all the show should have the go to match. A n/a 2.4L 4 pot doesn't cut it for me.

Kia have 5 engine variations for the Optima including a hybrid and turbo (275hp) but these sadly maybe destined for the North American market only.

SumoDog68 · 29-01-2011, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Geeze... you are tough to please... MUCH more people here seem to like it rather than the very few that dislike it.

Corolla??? Mazda 3?? are the blinkers that tight on your head?? How much do you know about cars?? The Optima is up against the Camry, Mondeo, Mazda 6 etc.

Just say you went to your mate and told him you were buying a new Mondeo. What would you say to him if he said you should just buy a Focus and 'pocket the difference'.

Thanks for questioning my car knowledge just because I dont agree with Kia fanboys assessment of a new Kia special.
You are the bloke who thinks that festiva is one of the best cars to come of Korea and Optima must another one.
In my opinion Optima competes with class under not with Mazda 6 or Honda accord euro or mondeo.
Only good thing about Optima is that it looks good (compared to their previous offerings) - apart from that is run of the mill cheaply built korean car.
But if you like it I am quite happy for you . I hope you enjoy it.

DanielXR8 · 29-01-2011, 07:18 PM

This is an incredible value for money package. Now the precedent has been set, all the other manufactures will have to raise their game and over time they will.

For Ford this means ticking the boxes on the missing options on Mondeo. Falcon can only really compete in this model cycle by making everything in the XR50th as standard kit. Which really it should be in XR6 Turbo or XR8 (or equivalent) and above.

I suspect Kia Australia will be sending a delegation to Korea by March, begging for more cars. 1000 seems way to little for a car with this value and specification.

Dan

Dave3911 · 29-01-2011, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Thanks for questioning my car knowledge just because I dont agree with Kia fanboys assessment of a new Kia special.
You are the bloke who thinks that festiva is one of the best cars to come of Korea and Optima must another one.
In my opinion Optima competes with class under not with Mazda 6 or Honda accord euro or mondeo.
Only good thing about Optima is that it looks good (compared to their previous offerings) - apart from that is run of the mill cheaply built korean car.
But if you like it I am quite happy for you . I hope you enjoy it.

I wonder if the glove box will warp, LCD screens fade in the heat and almost every interior piece possible rattle on this Kia as much as my G6E......

Lets be realistic - we're making things 'on the cheap' here too....

mrghia · 29-01-2011, 09:42 PM

Every car company makes cars on the cheap even the euro car makers. You can't just look at where its made and judge it straight away any more. Look at Hyundai Korean company that has won the most awards world wide.
Does it mean now that we shouldn't buy a Fiesta now because they are made Thailand?

Yellow_Festiva · 29-01-2011, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Thanks for questioning my car knowledge just because I dont agree with Kia fanboys assessment of a new Kia special.
You are the bloke who thinks that festiva is one of the best cars to come of Korea and Optima must another one.
In my opinion Optima competes with class under not with Mazda 6 or Honda accord euro or mondeo.
Only good thing about Optima is that it looks good (compared to their previous offerings) - apart from that is run of the mill cheaply built korean car.
But if you like it I am quite happy for you . I hope you enjoy it.

Ok then. You say the Optima is in the same class as the Corolla, Mazda 3 and Focus. Please explain why.

In your reply I would like you to quote facts.. you know... dimensions, engine size, interior space, power, towing capacity, electronic gadetry, interior presentation, safety etc. After all that, mention price.

If you reply saying the usual tripe like "they are crap cause they are built cheap and I know so" like in previous posts then yes, you really are clueless and ignorant as evidently obvious already.

SumoDog68 · 30-01-2011, 08:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Ok then. You say the Optima is in the same class as the Corolla, Mazda 3 and Focus. Please explain why.

In your reply I would like you to quote facts.. you know... dimensions, engine size, interior space, power, towing capacity, electronic gadetry, interior presentation, safety etc. After all that, mention price.

If you reply saying the usual tripe like "they are crap cause they are built cheap and I know so" like in previous posts then yes, you really are clueless and ignorant as evidently obvious already.

I don't recall evaluating your personal attributes or indeed offending you. We don't have to agree on things and my opinion is naturally subjective.
I can understand that for someone who drove a Kia festiva Optima looks great.
For me Kia cars are equivalent of Maccas burger - on paper or in the photos it looks great ,it has got the size , it has got the bun ,it is seasoned and it smells like food but hamburger it is not.

**DJR-351** · 30-01-2011, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

.... - apart from that is run of the mill cheaply built korean car.

Sorry bud but that comment is so out of date, the build quality out of Korea is easily on a par with FOA an Holden, the only problem they have is the stigma of past practices and comments from the uninformed such as yourself....

Brazen · 30-01-2011, 10:55 AM

I just love the three piece opening panaramic roof. I have been in an E-Class sedan with one and it was like almost being in a convertible, makes the car feel like a million bucks.

SumoDog68 · 30-01-2011, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJR-351

Sorry bud but that comment is so out of date, the build quality out of Korea is easily on a par with FOA an Holden, the only problem they have is the stigma of past practices and comments from the uninformed such as yourself....

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 ?