Kia Optima
New mid-sized Kia pushes the envelope in every direction
» Get the best price on a new Kia Kia Optima PlatinumLocal Launch
Yarra Valley, Vic
What we liked>> Dramatic styling
>> Dynamic cornering
>> Price, equipment and packaging
Not so much>> Engine struggles with weight
>> Ride reluctant to soak up bumps at lower speeds
>> Hmmm...
Overall rating: 4.0/5.0Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 4.0/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 4.5/5.0
Safety: 3.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 4.0/5.0
X-factor: 4.5/5.0
About our ratings
OVERVIEW-- A name from the past for Kia's future directionOptima is a fitting name for Kia's new medium-segment standard bearer. The latest offering from the Kia stable is a role model for achieving the best possible outcomes -- particularly given that the name 'Maxima' was already taken!
Optima is a familiar label to Kia owners, having graced the car succeeded by the practically invisible Magentis, which has been succeeded in turn by the new Optima. The new car is the antithesis of its immediate predecessor -- offering an imposing visual presence and a very competent specification in its market segment.
For many the Schreyer-penned styling of the new car is almost enough in itself, but under the skin the new Kia is as impressive as any rival. It's an amalgam of industry-standard safety, market-leading comfort and Japanese-level build quality with Hyundai/Kia's rapidly improving technical expertise in the area of smooth, fuel-efficient drivetrains.
But what really stands out -- beyond the car's styling and interior packaging -- is the special suspension tuning work done in Australia for local consumers.
Is it any wonder that the importer expects demand for the car here to exceed the factory's ability to supply? Based in Hwasung, South Korea, the plant building the car is already flat as a strap catering to global markets and Australia is likely to see just 1000 units shipped here for the first 12 months. To put that in perspective, that's less than a month's sales of Toyota's Camry. Once supply issues are resolved to the satisfaction of the local distribution network, Kia expects to sell something like 400 a month.
PRICE AND EQUIPMENT-- Substance and style for not that much doshAt $36,990 for just the one ('Platinum') variant, the Optima is nothing if not a bargain among its competition.
Standard equipment for the Optima Platinum includes 18-inch alloy wheels shod with Kumho 225/45 R18 tyres, cruise control with steering wheel controls, electric windows/mirrors (with auto-up/down for the front windows), panoramic sunroof, smart-key entry with push-button starting, auto door locking on the move, full leather trim, eight-adjustable powered driver's seat with two-position memory, four-way adjustable powered front-passenger's seat and a 60/40 split-folding rear seat.
In addition, the spec list extends to a colour TFT display (3.5-inch) for the seven-function trip computer, Bluetooth connectivity, dual-zone climate control, ventilated driver's seat, front-seat warming, cooling glovebox and Infinity brand eight-speaker six-disc CD audio system with MP3 compatibility and USB/aux input.
Metallic paint is priced at $450 and is the only option. Kia won't offer the Optima with satellite navigation before the fourth quarter of this year, at the earliest.
MECHANICAL-- 'RTS' for a Korean front-driver?Graeme Gambold's team at GTS was brought in by Kia to consult on the development of an Aussie-specific suspension calibration for the Optima. As with Kia's Sportage, it's the local tweaking that distinguishes the Kia models from their Hyundai equivalents in the way they drive. For the Optima, the standard springs and dampers were chucked in favour of heavier springs and Sachs dampers that provide some built-in compliance to absorb smaller imperfections in the road. According to Gambold it was felt that the dampers were key to setting up an 'optimised' suspension system for Australia.
The Optima is powered by the same direct-injected 2.4-litre Theta II four-cylinder petrol engine under the bonnet of the Hyundai i45. Peak power and torque figures are the same for both cars (148kW/250Nm). In combined cycle testing, the Optima uses 7.9L/100km and emits 189g/km of CO2, although real-world fuel use can be reduced by as much as 9.1 per cent through Kia's Active Eco System, which operates the engine, the sequential-shift six-speed automatic transmission and the climate control to achieve the best practical efficiency.
The front (drive) wheels are steered by a hydraulically-assisted rack-and-pinion system through a 10.9m turning circle. Suspension comprises MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link IRS system at the rear. Brakes are ventilated discs at the front, solid discs behind. The standard 18-inch alloy wheels come shod with 225/45 R18 Kumho tyres and the spare is a full-size unit, also alloy.
PACKAGING-- Straight-forward but stylish designFollowing the pattern of other cars in the medium segment, the Optima is actually quite large. In fact it's longer than any of its chief competitors -- including the i45. Only in width is it trumped by the i45 and the Honda Accord Euro.
The large-car dimensions contribute to interior space of course -- and luggage capacity. Boasting 505 litres of boot space, the Optima is approaching the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore, but places runner-up to the Toyota Camry, the Mazda6 and the i45.
There's so much kit fitted as standard in the Optima and, to Kia's credit, the little luxuries inside work to spec, helping to create a prestige ambience that's quite unlike that of a lot of the Kia's competitors in the medium-car segment.
The ventilation and cooling for the driver's seat, for instance -- brilliant. Pairing a Bluetooth phone is easily done via the Setup button in the centre fascia. Most things ergonomic are designed to accommodate the driver's needs to a high level. More important controls are placed closer to the driver and are intuitive to use. The indicator stalk is on the right side of the steering column, scrolling through the TFT trip computer display in the centre of the instrument binnacle is dead easy and the whole centre fascia is angled 9.4 degrees towards the driver for ease of use.
The perception of prestige is aided by the Optima's build quality, which seemed at least up to par by the standards of the competition. Both the doors and the boot lid closed softly. Materials were soft and luxurious also. The design of the interior was stylish and properly appointed. There was a grip handle in the underside of the lid to haul it down too; not so much a sign of quality as a sign of thoughtful design perhaps.
One minor concern with the driver's comfort is the panoramic sunroof. It encroaches on headroom slightly, forcing taller drivers to recline the backrest to compensate. Then you're almost outside the range of reach adjustment for the steering wheel or too close to the pedals.
Other than the domino effect happening in the driver's position, the Optima is nicely commodious. The seats are a little flat in the cushion and lacking the sort of lateral hold a car with this sort of cornering ability warrants, but most typical owners will find them quite acceptable.
The Optima could be an excellent family car in the longer term. Plenty of boot space for weekends away or the kids' sporting gear, plus adult levels of head-, knee- and legroom in the rear. If small kids are around, the camera display in the rear-view mirror is a useful safety feature. It ensures that nobody below the window line is standing at the rear of the car, which is laudable, but it's not of great benefit if you're the sort of driver to back using the mirrors.
With the added complication of the reversing camera display, not only is the driver swivelling the head from side to side, but looking up and down as well -- while adjusting the eye for three different focal lengths (camera in the mirror and exterior mirrors on the right and left).
SAFETY-- No-compromise safety at this price pointKia has fingers crossed for a five-star ANCAP rating, based on the car's impeccable construction method and passive safety features, including seatbelt reminders for all five seating positions. Among the passive safety features are front/front-side/side-curtain airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners/load-limiters and active front headrests.
The Optima also features the following standard active safety features: Static cornering lights, rear parking sensors, reversing camera (display in the mirror), stability control, ABS/EBD, Brake Assist, traction control, Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), auto-on/off HID headlights, LED day running lights, LED tail lights and front/rear fog lights.
Kia claims that the LED tail lights illuminate faster than conventional (incandescent) tail lights by between 170 and 200m/secs, leaving an extra 5.6m-long stretch of braking distance for the car behind.
COMPETITORS-- Optima angling for a place on the daisTwins under the skin, the Optima and the Hyundai i45 are marketed along very different lines in Australia. There's a basic (sub-$30,000) i45 that is even available with a manual transmission and undercuts the Optima by thousands of dollars, but once the added equipment is entered into the equation the Optima is roughly $1000 better value than the closest comparable Hyundai variant.
With the Optima, Kia has moved up a tier within the medium-car segment. Dynamically the Kia is right up there with Honda Accord Euro, Mazda6 and the Ford Mondeo. Truth be told, it's probably a match for two of those in build quality stakes and betters the third.
That's to say nothing of other medium segment cars. The Optima is, according to Kia, slightly larger in most dimensions than the Toyota Camry and it's also expected to achieve a 'safer' rating when ANCAP tests the car down the track.
ON THE ROAD-- Cornering prowess offset by peaky power deliveryThere's a new dynamic benchmark in the VFACTS medium passenger-car segment with the arrival of the new Optima. If by chance you were put off the idea of buying Korean in this market sector by reports you've read, fear not. The Kia shares a lot with the Hyundai i45, but dynamically the two are chalk and cheese.
With Oz-specific suspension calibration by renowned local technical specialist Graeme Gambold, the Optima is distinctly puntable.
If anything, some prospective buyers might find the Kia's ride a little on the firm side at lower speeds, but the ride/handling compromise at speeds above 60km/h is right up there with the likes of Honda's Accord Euro and the Mazda6 for touring. Based on brief opportunities to give the Optima a bit of stick during the drive program, you can feel the front wheels' grip through corners and a progressive turn-in to corners.
The steering is light enough for typical mid-size buyers, but as speeds rise and the g force loads up, the weight of the steering is less aloof. The work done matching the springs, dampers and anti-roll bars has resulted in leading edge dynamics in this segment, with limited deflection over bumps and negligible body roll. Cornering just gets better the higher the car's speed. As a chassis, the Optima could be very strong indeed with the power and torque of a direct-injected 3.0-litre V6 or a turbodiesel.
As it stands the 250Nm and 148kW of output from the 2.4-litre four come in at the wrong end of the rev range for this fairly hefty sedan. Even with a willingness to work hard above 4000rpm, combined with the outstanding six-speed automatic transmission, the engine doesn't shine in traffic light grands prix -- although it complements the car's cornering ability beautifully when the driver is using the box sequentially in point-to-point motoring. And it's a refined engine that will keep up in traffic. The direct-injected engine sounds better than the Accord Euro's mill, but perhaps not as good as the Mazda6's for sportiness.
Over the course of some open road, some twisty country roads and a modicum of inner urban work it registered fuel consumption of around 10.4L/100km, which is not too shabby for a heavy car powered by a 2.4-litre engine. Owners can probably expect to do better.
As mentioned already, the six-speed automatic transmission changes gear with a deftness that's practically unheard of in a car at this price.
NVH seemed fairly low, but the roads were generally of a better standard than the country roads chosen by Hyundai for the i45 launch. Certainly there was nothing to report for the engine during freeway cruising and the same could be said of the car's aerodynamics -- a fairly commendable 0.29Cd, according to Kia. So the Optima is not just aesthetically pleasing, Peter Schreyer's bold styling works in a practical way too.
Like the styling, other design objectives appear to have been achieved with consummate ease during the development of the Optima -- a car that offers European style, Asian design pragmatism and -- significantly for this market -- Aussie honing.
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