Kia did a great job with the interior of the Optima. It looks very nice. It feels good. My one beef, though, would be this cluster: the shifter, seat heater buttons and iPod connector.
They are awkwardly placed. It's like no one thought what it would be like to drive the car and actually have an iPod connected to this cable.
First of all the shifter grip is much larger than it needs to be. And the iPod connector is longer than it needs to be and the cord itself is not very pliable. So when I connect my iPod Touch, I have to squeeze it into the bin behind the shifter. Otherwise, it keep popping out and sits on top of the seat heater buttons.
Next iteration, please rethink this setup. Thank you.
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
cutestangchick says:
11:44 AM, 04/26/11
Is the bin too small? Or the cable too long and inflexible to allow you to fit an iPod in there?
jdubbs115 says:
12:27 PM, 04/26/11
So you'd rather have Kia redesign the whole console instead of getting a better, shorter cable?
Ok.
Just clearing things up.
/s
breif says:
12:41 PM, 04/26/11
On a positive note, that might be the best Carbon Fibber (sic) I've seen in a production car.
1487 says:
01:02 PM, 04/26/11
use BT streaming, no cable needed.
dougtheeng says:
01:35 PM, 04/26/11
I believe all KIA's come with USB ports, so there is your music solution. I'll never go back to iPod.
tjpark01 says:
02:47 PM, 04/26/11
How many cars in this class have cooled seats, even as an option? In LA, this matters, a lot.
yellowperil says:
02:51 PM, 04/26/11
@breif
"Carbon fibber"
Did you come up with that? It's quite clever!
@Donna,
Was it you or someone else who complained that the shifter blocked access to the seat temperature buttons?
dderosa says:
03:02 PM, 04/26/11
It think it was James.
ed124c says:
03:34 PM, 04/26/11
I actually like the looks of the shifter area. Kinda like a BMW. The boot is a nice touch. And it is unusual to see the lack of a "lane change" to get into the manual mode. Very clever.
par_avion says:
04:02 PM, 04/26/11
Use a USB thumb drive instead of a clunky iPod.
jm1212 says:
07:34 PM, 04/26/11
@brief LOL, that gave me a good laugh on a day that i needed it.
as for the shifter, I agree...it looks kinda dorky. a shifter more like the Sonata's, with sportier intentions, would have been a better choice.