New York 2015: A Preview Of The Next Kia Optima
March 26th, 2015 7:44 AM
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This is all we’ve got on the new Kia Optima. You’ll have to wait until next week for official details, but expect the same specs as the current Hyundai Sonata.
More by Derek Kreindler
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Hey Blake, nice Camry.
I don't think Hyundai/Kia is weaksaucing its engines as much as it's retuning them for better real-world performance and economy. Before this year's Sonata, one had to flog the car a bit to extract anything close to the 200hp the 2.4-liter NA engine offered. And that was very bad for fuel mileage as witnessed by a lot of angry owners who complained they weren't hitting anywhere near the EPA numbers. Car and Driver said they didn't really miss the extra 15 horsepower in real-world driving. And, of course, the pre-production turbo wasn't breathing right. I'd withhold judgement on the new Kia until it hits the showrooms. But, frankly, the 1.6-liter Eco is the Sonata that interests me. I'd like to see what a Kia version would be like. Heck, I'd like the see the Eco powertrain in the Veloster.
I'm driving a '15 2.4 Sonata now, and came with a gnat's a** of getting a loaded '14 Optima SX turbo. It was a close call (the Optima was wildly discounted) but a slightly higher base price and slightly more expensive insurance made the Optima about 80 bucks a month more than the Sonata. That combined with the vague feeling that the Optima just wasn't put together quite as well on the inside to give the win to the Hyundai despite its 90hp disadvantage and lack of vented seats, power mirrors, and panoramic sunroof (which admittedly was very cool). All of that said, this looks rather nice and will probably be on my radar in 2017 assuming circumstances have not conspired favorably enough to see me cross-shopping the Genesis, A4 and S60...
I really want to love the Optima and did almost love it when they first came out in the last gen body style. I thought the interior was fantastic and it could be head with a stick. Now? Meh. Give me a Mazda6 anyway of the week.