My Kia Optima, Korean luxury
Discussion
Decided to part exchange my Alfa Giulietta for something that would be calm and relaxing to drive.
After a promising Volvo S80 sold just before I was due to see it and a Citroen C6 didn’t click with me I went to view a much younger Kia Optima saloon.
Doesn’t seem to be a popular model so could get a top of the range “3” that is much younger than the competition for the same money.
Forecourt short on the way home, first time owning such a large car but recently been driving a van so not too daunting.
Drove to parents house and dad helped me with a wash and polish. He got out his favourite Mers polish which he never did for my Alfa’s
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/hk99EdrS[/url]
A few photos of the features that sold the car to me, 12 speakers and a sub to make up for the lack of v6 engine sound.
Heated and ventilated seats, warming is good but the jury is out on the cooling feature.
Interesting design for the fog lights, would expect them to be the daylight lights.
Car feels planted and goes around the corners well for a barge.
After a promising Volvo S80 sold just before I was due to see it and a Citroen C6 didn’t click with me I went to view a much younger Kia Optima saloon.
Doesn’t seem to be a popular model so could get a top of the range “3” that is much younger than the competition for the same money.
Forecourt short on the way home, first time owning such a large car but recently been driving a van so not too daunting.
Drove to parents house and dad helped me with a wash and polish. He got out his favourite Mers polish which he never did for my Alfa’s
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/hk99EdrS[/url]A few photos of the features that sold the car to me, 12 speakers and a sub to make up for the lack of v6 engine sound.
Heated and ventilated seats, warming is good but the jury is out on the cooling feature.
Interesting design for the fog lights, would expect them to be the daylight lights.
Car feels planted and goes around the corners well for a barge.
Edited by V6Nelo on Saturday 28th August 15:33
Summit_Detailing said:
Nice choice, started to see a few locally being used as taxi's which I always think is a good sign from a reliability/durability point of view.
Happy motoring!
Cheers,
Chris
Oh no, I used to tease my colleague/friend about his E Class being the choice of taxi drivers, he got it one day when waiting for his wife and some stranger tried to or got into his car Happy motoring!
Cheers,
Chris
But true they are a good crowd to monitor to see how well a car holds up.
It has partially heated seats for the rear passengers too so would get bonus stars
My brother has the estate version and he absolutely loves it. His is the Diesel auto, I'm driven it on a few occasions and it is in fact a very nice car to drive, totally different to my MX5 (obviously) but comfy, quick enough, all the toys you could want . Shame they no longer make them.
DodgyGeezer said:
There is something quite satisfying in driving a non-premium barge (family car is a 2017 Superb). Theres a lot to be said for a good toy count (which actually work!) and waft-ability
The Superb was also a candidate, seems to have gained popularity now which resulted in slightly higher prices, never got around to test drive one. Does have some cool toys.Got to cover a few hundred miles Sunday so looking forwards to wafting
BenjiA said:
Looks really good, I certainly haven't seen many around, how many years has it got left of the warranty? I presume these ave 7 years which are transferrable?
Don’t think I’ve seen one on the road apart from an electric/hybrid estate in London last week when I visited.Should have a year left but missed a service in 2019 so yet to find out the effect that has. Maybe just a problem with engine faults if can’t confirm oil change.
It is transferable.
I've been in one of these... As a taxi (sorry) got talking to the driver about it. "best car I've had" he said, he'd swapped a 5 series BMW for it and found the Kia better to drive and more reliable.
I was in the car for about 45 mins mix of town and motorway and it was super comfortable, defo felt I was getting the executive experience sat in the back.
I like that it's rare too.
I was in the car for about 45 mins mix of town and motorway and it was super comfortable, defo felt I was getting the executive experience sat in the back.
I like that it's rare too.
I considered one of these but decided I didn’t need the extra space, there’s never more than two of us in the car and I don’t carry much. Bought a Proceed with a year and bit of warranty left instead. They’re very reliable but parts can be a little pricey. If you’re using Kia for servicing book online via the Kia website and the price is lower than contacting a dealer directly.
Also take care of your paint mine is black and covered in swirls and holograms, desperately needs a correction detail I just don’t think it’s justifiable on a 25k a year plus daily.
Also take care of your paint mine is black and covered in swirls and holograms, desperately needs a correction detail I just don’t think it’s justifiable on a 25k a year plus daily.
Roboticarm said:
I've been in one of these... As a taxi (sorry) got talking to the driver about it. "best car I've had" he said, he'd swapped a 5 series BMW for it and found the Kia better to drive and more reliable.
I was in the car for about 45 mins mix of town and motorway and it was super comfortable, defo felt I was getting the executive experience sat in the back.
I like that it's rare too.
The 5 series was on my radar too, the candidate was a few years older and without the toys, also like being a bit different.I was in the car for about 45 mins mix of town and motorway and it was super comfortable, defo felt I was getting the executive experience sat in the back.
I like that it's rare too.
Don’t know if I’ll get to experience a drive whilst sitting in the back but is very spacious and comfy.
Whilst in Korea I never got to ride in this or the higher segment taxi. Always hoped a Genesis would pull up.
Edited by V6Nelo on Thursday 2nd September 16:02
Chrishum said:
I considered one of these but decided I didn’t need the extra space, there’s never more than two of us in the car and I don’t carry much. Bought a Proceed with a year and bit of warranty left instead. They’re very reliable but parts can be a little pricey. If you’re using Kia for servicing book online via the Kia website and the price is lower than contacting a dealer directly.
Also take care of your paint mine is black and covered in swirls and holograms, desperately needs a correction detail I just don’t think it’s justifiable on a 25k a year plus daily.
Got chatting to a local owner of a Ceed, he maxed the spec so also had the auto parking, lane keep, sunroof and leather. Impressive for a Focus class car. The Proceed does look good, especially in wagon form and bit more practical. I didn’t really need the space of the Optima but hey Ho Also take care of your paint mine is black and covered in swirls and holograms, desperately needs a correction detail I just don’t think it’s justifiable on a 25k a year plus daily.
Noticed too that the online service prices were cheaper than going direct to the dealers. I’m not used to dealers as previously just went to specialists.
I am missing the dedicated forums, stores and specialists that I got used to in the Alfa world.
Tyre Smoke said:
I've got it's sister as a taxi (Hyundai i40 Touring) which hasn't missed a beat in four years and 187k miles (and counting). Supremely comfortable and effortless to drive, which is what you want in a car you're sat in all day.
Impressive mileage for no big jobs, hope the Optima is the same, had spent a fair bit on fixing cars over the years.Be interesting to see how the i40, Optima and now Genesis all compare in comfort, toys and NVH
V6Nelo said:
Tyre Smoke said:
I've got it's sister as a taxi (Hyundai i40 Touring) which hasn't missed a beat in four years and 187k miles (and counting). Supremely comfortable and effortless to drive, which is what you want in a car you're sat in all day.
Impressive mileage for no big jobs, hope the Optima is the same, had spent a fair bit on fixing cars over the years.Be interesting to see how the i40, Optima and now Genesis all compare in comfort, toys and NVH
Boot swallowing up the gear for a few days away without having to stack anything, will see how practical it turns out to be over time.
Doing what’s it was designed for, devouring motorways and got us to Norfolk in comfort.
Got to try out the lane keeping for a bit but will take some getting used to
Patch1875 said:
My mate has one as a taxi nice car to drive his engine went pop at 80k due to oil pump failure.
Oh no, hopefully that was a one off or part of the recall and no longer an issue. Although my last experience of modern cars is if there’s a known issue then I’ll experience it KIA to me as a brand have been getting better and better but they are underrated by many badge snobs still unfortunately.
KIA have to be one of the most improved brands over the last 10 years ?
I have the Pro Ceed GT and love it, plenty of toys as standard and it's a nice cabin to sit in and it's not missed a beat for me. Dad also has the Sportage GT Line S and again it's been an outstanding car.
Do like the look of the Optima's and usually see one on the way to work, if i needed a nice comfort cruiser i'd definitely be considering one.
KIA have to be one of the most improved brands over the last 10 years ?
I have the Pro Ceed GT and love it, plenty of toys as standard and it's a nice cabin to sit in and it's not missed a beat for me. Dad also has the Sportage GT Line S and again it's been an outstanding car.
Do like the look of the Optima's and usually see one on the way to work, if i needed a nice comfort cruiser i'd definitely be considering one.
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