Kia Optima 2015 Review

Kia Optima Si and GT
Local Launch Review
Southern Highlands, NSW

A company slogan like 'the power to surprise' can seem like so much marketing pap, but in the case of the previous generation Kia Optima, there was some substance to it. The old Optima was unexpectedly attractive when it was introduced here in 2011 and very well equipped for the price. And who could have believed there would be supply constraints and an order bank for a Kia?

The new Optima to arrive in this country is less of a surprise in some respects. One wouldn't call the styling of the new car 'adventurous' – and that in itself is kind of a surprise, after years of cleaner new designs from Hyundai's junior partner. But the new Optima is handsome in a market segment where bold styling can be a deal breaker.

For the local launch, Kia supplied seven units of the new Optima GT – powered by the 2.0-litre turbocharged engine – and three of the Optima Si, which sticks with the underwhelming 2.4-litre GDI (gasoline direct injection) engine that has been carried over with some tweaking for improved power and torque. Now Euro5-compliant and producing 138kW and 241Nm, it still feels peaky and demanding in the Optima application, despite Kia claiming the power and torque peaks occur lower in the rev range.

Not only is the Optima Si a so-so performer, with power and torque not really delivering strong acceleration until quite high in the rev range it sounds a bit thrashy up there as well. And that detracts from the otherwise outstanding NVH suppression in the new Optima. During the drive program the Optima Si used as little as 8.4L/100km, according to the trip computer.

In contrast with the naturally-aspirated engine in the entry-level model, the turbocharged 2.0-litre engine in the Optima GT is not only more refined, it's much punchier in the mid range, but it can guzzle fuel with the best of them – the trip computer posted a consumption figure of 15.0L/100km after being handed a flogging. Let the GT variant stretch its legs however, and it will use as little as 6.0L/100km or less on freeways.

If the engine is one good reason for choosing the GT over the fleet-focussed Optima Si, the different dynamic traits of the flagship is added ammunition for that argument. The Optima GT has a rack-mounted electric motor for its power steering system – versus a column-mounted set-up for the Optima Si. Steering feedback is altogether better in the case of the Optima GT. The Optima did exhibit some signs of torque steer, but that was in the Si variant, riding on 17-inch Continental tyres.

With 18-inch alloy wheels and Michelin tyres, the Optima GT steers more consistently and turns in more responsively than the Optima Si. The difference is dramatic, and the GT is nicer in corners in any drivetrain/steering mode than the Optima Si is in Sport mode. And the two concessions one might expect to make in selecting the Optima GT – ride and steering weight – are not concessions at all. The flagship rides virtually as well as the Optima Si, and the steering weight is actually lighter.

Both cars offered a firm brake pedal that was, nonetheless, progressive and brought the car to a soft stop.

At open-road speeds, the two variants were very quiet and composed. With the speedo reading 100km/h the engines were revving below 2000rpm. Tyre noise wasn't a particular problem on the country roads from Sydney to the Southern Highlands, but the Optima Si's suspension was audible crashing over bad bumps and potholes. Since the Optima GT runs basically the same suspension it would have been similarly noisy in the same scenario.

The driving position was user-friendly, although the seats could be better shaped for comfort and security in corners. Instruments are easy to read, controls are generally fairly straightforward, following the ergonomic conventions of other volume-selling manufacturers. The lane-departure warning chime (no 'stick shaker' for the steering wheel) is informative but unobtrusive. There is a speed limiter warning (as a voice prompt) that can be switched off if you find it annoying to be reminded you're still decelerating from 63km/h as you pass the 60km/h sign.

If there's one flaw in the Optima's cabin – in either grade – it's the lack of visual pizzazz. Compare even the Optima GT with a Mazda6 in broadly similar specification, and the Kia looks slightly frumpy. Kia offers the GT with a no-cost option of red leather trim, which does lift the interior a bit, but the dash remains a little uninspired. That said, the materials used were of the right quality and were soft and yielding to the touch.

At some point during the product planning process for the new Optima, it was decided to go with key start for the Optima Si, rather than a button, as in the Optima GT. Both variants come with shift paddles. But to my mind, buyers of the entry-level Optima might prefer a button to start the engine, and do without the shift paddles.

Packaging brings the new Optima up to scratch. There are acres of rear-seat accommodation for adults: plenty of head and legroom. And there are face-level vents back there, as one would hope, and a USB port back there ensures you'll hear few if any complaints from the kids.

Finger pulls in the boot unlatch the rear seats, but unlike the same facility in some Japanese cars, the Optima's seats don't flop forward. The user has to unlatch them from the boot and then dash around to fold them forward manually, unless the seat can be prodded with a long item being loaded from the boot, which is cavernous (510 litres), but the lid lifts on gooseneck hinges.

What is usually a space-wasting design feature has minimal impact on the Optima's effective luggage capacity, since it's such a large volume, and the hinges slide back into the boot without encroaching to any great degree on the boot space below them.

Price is likely to be a stumbling block for some prospective Optima buyers. At a starting point of $34,490 (plus ORCs) for the Optima Si, Kia has made it clear that it won't be stalking the Camry. The importer's logic is unimpeachable: since most buyers prefer upmarket specifications when they're ordering new cars, why bother with stripper-spec vehicles that offer little in the way of value other than bargain-basement pricing? Such models are potentially damaging for the brand, and rarely sell in the sort of numbers to justify carrying a subset of parts to support them.

But some might argue that Kia is selling a car that is overpriced. Kia counters that argument with a list of standard kit that includes safety features like lane-departure warning, autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and blind-spot detection for the Optima GT priced at $43,900 (plus ORCs). On top of that, both variants come with the usual features the market has learned to expect in a mid-$35K medium sedan – including alloy wheels, automatic transmission and climate control.

Kia admits that it could pluck the leather trim and sunroof out of the GT variant and sell it for under $40,000 – and that might even happen down the track.

In the meantime, the Optima that is most deserving of your consideration is going to set you back that extra $4000. Should that be a deal breaker? For some it will be, but the flagship Optima can deliver the value to support Kia's argument that this is where it should be positioned.

Now there's a surprise.

2015 Kia Optima Si pricing and specifications:
Price: $34,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 138kW/241Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 194g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA

2015 Kia Optima GT pricing and specifications:
Price: $43,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 180kW/350Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 199g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA

Also consider:
>> Ford Mondeo Titanium (from $44,290 plus ORCs)
>> Mazda6 Atenza (from $46,420 plus ORCs)
>> Volkswagen Passat 118 TSI (from $38,990 plus ORCs)