Am looking at a new Kia Optima to replace my 9 year old Nissan Maxima. Have looked at a lot of reviews and looks like Kia have really lifted their game in te last couple of years.The 7 year warranty sways me towards this car. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated on whether I should go this way or something else in the price range
Thanks
And get a 3 year warranty with a company closing local production which will make parts difficult to get for bodywork/trim etc?
Get the Kia for piece of mind, you look like you keep the car for a long time and will benefit from the extra warranty (if you need to use it, probably won't)
Bullsh!t.. Manufacturers are required to maintain parts supply for 10 years after they stop selling a model.
There will be absolutely no troubles sourcing parts for Camry's in the next 20 years.
When I worked at Holden,2005-2009, there was trouble sourcing parts for 4 year old cars cause suppliers businesses were going under. Now they are leaving how many of the local parts suppliers are going to stick around? Plus they dont 'have to' supply parts for 10 years, they have to have 10 years supply available. Big difference. Depending on demand this could be exhausted in 5-7 years. Even if they do import parts, no guarantee the colours will match. Safer to go with the Kia, Toyota trade on their reputation, but you'll need a water pump in 4 years.
@Test Tickles:
Yep, my bad on the difference in definitions.
So let's say 5 years worth of parts… After that, there's only a few hundred thousand of vehicles that will come available through wreckers.
Then there's the overseas parts availability given this is a localised version of a global design for a vast majority of components.
Finally, there's the ever increasing availability of 3D printed/sintered parts which is only going to accelerate in popularity and become cheaper.
@captobvious:
Fair point to you and scubacoles, and I know people won't care too much about colours, trims after a while. But I know from industry experience Toyota aren't what they once were, and having worked with Toyota and Kia product as mechanic and service advisor level, the Korean quality will be there for 7 year, couldn't say the same for Toyota. I have seen corollas with 4 years and 35k on the clock getting water pumps with the owner footing the bill, even Holden's not that bad.
They're not comparable. A better match would be the Toyota Camry Atara SX which is priced at $36k. Kia is the better option.
Even better is the Aurion AT-X
http://www.toyota.com.au/special-offers-and-great-value/2016…
Great V6 engine for $29,990. Can't beat that for money value.
That's a good price :)
Even the Holden Malibu is worth a look at for $25,990 d/a
Very underrated car
Rented this car for our last road trip on the great ocean road, fantastic car and very fun to drive
We recently bought a Hyundai Sonata, which is almost the same car.
I researched and drove Camry, Accord, Mondeo and Liberty, which all had their good and bad points.
I then drove a Sonata, and it felt so good that I bought it there and then :-)
Full disclosure: We traded in a 14 year old Sonata for the new one, and nothing had ever gone wrong with it in the 12 years that we owned it.
Did you get the turbo?
Looked at that, but my wife hates leather seats!
The 2.4l has heaps of grunt for around town and the suburbs (138kW versus 132kW for the old 2.7l V6), and overtakes fine on 110kph+ roads, plus lots better fuel consumption.
I've had turbos before, and would have liked even more grunt, but both trim levels with the turbo have leather seats.
The 2.4 and 6-speed auto are a fine pairing for me.
The 14yr old sonata was powered by a japanese mitsubishi 4g63 hence you got the long legs out of it.
Completely wrong.
That 2 litre 4 cylinder engine was used in 1992 to 1995 Elantra, and did not resemble our Sonata's quad-cam V6 in any way.
In any event, the engine is a small part of the whole package, which was seriously reliable.
Based on the mitsibishi engine tech, there was even a v6 donated from the galant in overseas sonatas. The 4g was used up until the early 4th gen sonata in oz and was definitely the main powerplant in the 3rd gen oz delivered sonatas.
I only remembered this because i considered retrieving the heads from the sonata to dodgy fix an evo.
That 2 litre 4 cylinder engine was used in 1992 to 1995 Elantra
Sorry to nitpick…
The first-gen Lantras were all under 2l, IIRC they topped out at 1.8.
The 2l engine was available from 1998 on the GLS facelift (slotted grille).
I hope you're not trading in the Maxima OP, cos' they have dreadful resale value…
personally I don't like the optima, but it's a good car, well built, great warranty, so if you like it, go for it !
I've got an 2015 Optima (platinum model) and I've got to say I couldn't be happier. I started out looking for a used Sorento or Sportage. I saw the Optima at a dealer and didn't like it straight away, the wife loved it though.
I've already got a Platinum Sorento for the wife so I know the build quality is tip top and I was more than comfortable with another Kia.
After researching a while I absolutely HAD to have an Optima.
Everything in it is so refined even compared to a few year older Sorento.
Stereo is fantastic, Nav is great, comfortable, easy to drive, quiet to drive, keyless entry AND start, exceptionally smooth on the road, sleek looks, adequate performance (although the turbo would be nice), sunroof, leather, heated AND cooled seats. It even drops your seat back when you turn it off so you can get out easier. Great size boot and back seat too.
I absolutely love mine but I scored mine at a bargain which helps me like it more. 26k privately with only 8000k on it.
Do yourself a favour and go drive one before deciding against it.
You're welcome to ask any questions you like.
Which one si or gt? I cross shopped the Optima GT, Mazda 6 Atenza and subaru liberty premium before deciding to get the mazda 6.
Things I liked about the kia over the mazda
Side mirrors automatically tilt down when reversing
Has FRONT parking camera
Rear parking camera has multiple viewing angles you can select
Guide lines on reverse camera move when you turn the steering wheel
Headroom for rear seats significantly better
Heated AND cooled seats
Things I think are worse than the mazda
Interior has vast swathes of what I think look like very cheap hard plastic. Biggest offender is the back of the driver and passenger seats. Looks ugly and not nice to bump knees into of you're in the back seat.
This cheap plastic is also on the dash and door panels. If I'm spending $43k on a car I expect it to have a premium interior.
Engine is less powerful. On paper the kia has more kW but it weighs more too. In my opinion the mazda feels more powerful. The turbo in the GT is to meet emission regulations not for performance.
Engine is thirstier for fuel by a significant margin.
The rear speaker protrudes into the boot by a lot. I just know that I'm gonna hit it one day while loading something into the boot. They should have at least put a baffle over it or something.
Service intervals for the GT are 6 months vs 12 for the mazda. That's one extra day off work you need to take each year to look after the kia.
Things the mazda has that kia doesn't
Lane keep assist. On highway car can self steer to stay in the middle of the lane. If you put on the radar cruise control as well, the car literally drives itself on the highway.
In the end the interior quality was probably the biggest deciding factor. Which is a shame because otherwise the Optima is a fantastic car. Kia could make it so much better by simply swapping every instance of the hard plastic with soft touch material and making the back of the driver and passenger seats scooped to create more legroom for rear passengers.
I bought an Optima in late 2014 (MY2015) was really pleased with it, kind of regret selling it but also love my 4WD and wanted a bigger one - The optima doesn't climb rocks as well as a Patrol ;) I spent at least 6 months looking at various cars and originally thought it was too expensive for a Kia, but after looking around at the likes of Lexus, Merc and many others ended up with the Kia. Only downside was paint was a little thin, but they're all going that way these days. Previously had been driving BMW's for 15 years (at least I stuck to a car with 3 letters).
Mitsubishi lancer
20g's
how can you go wrong
5 year warranty
And hasn't changed much in 8yrs… besides a different stereo, and rims
You can go wrong by driving a Lancer .
If you're gonna go down low you may as well get into the Hyundai i30s and Kia Ceratos which are under $20k driveaway and up to 7yrs warranty.
Also not being designed in 2006 is nice.
Nissan Altima.
The latest competition "Australia's Best Car" did award them first prize:
http://australiasbestcars.com.au/car/757/kia-optima-gtI'm not sure how well these tests are performed.
Or if there is corruption (eg/ The Oscar's = you essentially BUY the title of Best Picture etc etc).
// informative-rant
Kia has a stigma for making affordable but CHEAP cars.
Their quality has been going up-and-up ever since the 2000's alongside its cousin Hyundai.
However, even as their structural/internal quality went up… one thing that didn't was their design.
It's always been bad design matched to bad build materials (plastic).
However, this last generation has really upped their game.
There seems to be less random plastics. There is an actual focus on design.
And they seem to know that each car segment values things differently.
So I think its a quite nice car, not sure exactly how it stacks compared to the Hondas, Mazdas, Subarus of today.
Some other reviews out there also say they're a nice car. Still don't compare it to competitors.
It might be a case where a Subaru competitor is actually on-par with the Kia… but costs $6,000 extra.
However, that $6,000 might be worth spending to say "hey its a Subie" "nah, its not a Kia"… and the resale value.
// end-informative-rant.
So its up to you, at the end of the day to figure out what is important to you in buying a car in this semi-luxury market.
If you do get the Optima, embrace the Kia badge. Owners who replace it for the 'K' badge are as bad as Commodore owners who whack on a Chevy badge.
Update on my purchase.
After visiting the tire kickers" all week I can report that I have purchased the Optima Si.
I looked at the Toyota Aurion, Subaru Liberty, Mazda 6, Hyundai Sonata as well as the Optima.
Toyota - To me the shape is still the same as it has been for years (Camry) and not really wanting to negotiate (Must have already made budget)
Subaru Liberty & Mazda 6 both nice cars but dearer than the Optima and would have to pay for options that are standard in the Optima - 3 year warranty
Hyundai Sonata basically same built as Optima but dearer 5 year warranty
Once I decided the Optima was the one I got then to through in weather shields all round and a couple of small extras such as additional map updates for the GPS but the real clincher for the deal is the 7 year warranty from Kia and the dealer will add 3 years additional warranty at the end of the manufacturer warranty.(Total 10 years)
The final "wash up" was a change over of $28500 after my trade of the Maxima 2007 (147000km)
Picking up my new Silky Silver Kia Optima new week, wish me luck !
Congrats, good luck and enjoy!
Well done on the purchase mate
tbh too overpriced for a kia. Si @ $35k and GT @ $43k
just get a camry on the current driveaway plate run out sale starting @ $28k for a altise - http://www.toyota.com.au/special-offers-and-great-value