Well, it can be satisfying to really take a hold of a car. That’s why some guys like a steering wheel with a thick rim that fills the palms.
But I am not among them. And there’s too much about the Kia Optima’s approach to sporting driving that amounts to no more than a kind of oversize statement.
That’s the style of performance these days. More steering effort. More suspension damping (especially more damping). More aggressive throttle action. More transmission shifting. More brake bite.
All these things can be fine in themselves, but unless it all comes together in a cohesive package of dynamic capability, what you get is a car that’s more like a piece of heavy machinery than an instrument for fast travel. You get stunts, not speed.
It’s not that the setup for the Kia Optima is bad, but it does remind me that driving fast has to do with fingertips, not biceps. That’s why every racer you’ll ever meet will describe the way a car steers by holding an imaginary wheel in front of him with this fingers, and there will none of that elbows-out wrestling stuff.
Michael Jordan, Executive Editor, Edmunds.com
perrito says:
08:44 AM, 08/25/11
"there will none of that elbows-out wrestling stuff."
- and there will BE none of...etc. ?
brian_k says:
08:57 AM, 08/25/11
This post reminds me of high school and my best friend's late 80s Pontiac Grand Prix. Fat tires, side skirts (of course), dual tip exhaust, heavy steering, bolstered seats. Looked like it would perform. Well, it made more noise than power. It was like they were checking the box for items that a sports car should have.
How features are executed and come together as a whole is so very important.
ampeg500 says:
09:26 AM, 08/25/11
First of all, "A thick rim that fills the palms."
greenpony says:
09:55 AM, 08/25/11
So would my dad like this car?
evergreen7 says:
11:37 AM, 08/25/11
Very strange blog with random thoughts but no real info about the Optima.
bassrockerx says:
01:07 PM, 08/25/11
Well the optima has to stand out to get attention. It has to take buyers away from the Nissan altima/maxima the vw passat or any other sports sedan in this segment. And just being the fastest around the track won't work they have to grab your attention and let you know that this is the fastest. I personally like the styling especially when you consider the competition
kplacer says:
03:12 PM, 08/25/11
I think what Jordan is saying is that the Optima is mostly sizzle and not much steak.
peartree1 says:
05:38 PM, 08/25/11
A modern-day Grand Am.
optimasx says:
05:40 PM, 08/25/11
This may not be a "sports" sedan, but rather a "sporty" looking one. That being said, go up to YouTube and check out videos of the car doing accident avoidance moves. I'd say it handles, tracks and goes where you point it when you need it most. Don't care that in day to day driving, it doesn't handle like a Porsche, but what Porsche gets 35-37 mpg at 75 mph?
enthused says:
07:56 PM, 08/25/11
Once again I'm left a bit confused by critical comments on the Optimas handling/performance. What exactly is it that critical commenters want the car to do? I dont take my cars on a skid pad, ever. I do commute every day to work, and drive all over kingdom-come on weekends taking kids to various sporting events. The Optima performs like a charm.
I get that in a test of all-out performance, drawing fine lines between the best, next best and the rest, that the Optima might not win the competition, but for what KIA is doing in this segment and delivering on a combination of styling and performance I'd say the car is unmatched.
Comparing the Optima to a Pontiac is a joke - Pontiacs for decades have tacked-on every plastic body piece they could, usually pieces that rose half-way up the door panels. Plus vents and scoops, etc. The cars have long looked silly. I see none of that in the Optima. The body pieces are well integrated into the lines of the car and not at all over the top. If you're going to criticize the styling of the Optima then you'd surely have to hold the Acura TL in the same regard - it has more body clading than the Optima. And it doesnt look nearly as good.
I appreciate critical review but give it all some context.
zoomzoom22 says:
10:05 PM, 08/25/11
This is a family sedan, not a race car. Duh.
hiwy2h3ll says:
12:37 AM, 08/26/11
@enthused
+100x
I too find it hard to understand the criticism when it comes to the Optima. The previous generation, although an adequate sedan, was considered boring and lacking character. Now that its wrapped in new distinctive sheet metal, it gets criticized because it looks too sporty for what it is. It seems some fail to acknowledge the Optima is manufactured to compete with Camry, Accord, Fusion, etc. Yet time and time again it gets compared to Lexus, BMW, and Audi and then is accused of not being able to deliver. The fact that some can't help but compare it to higher end models tells me KIA has a winner.
snortner says:
01:56 PM, 08/26/11
I think Kia has definitely achieved their goal of distinctive styling across their whole lineup including the Optima. I told a friend who knows and cares nothing about cars that I had test driven several cars including Fusion, Altima, Regal, and Optima. Every once and a while she mentions to me that she "saw one of those Optima's the other day". She's never mentions the Fusion or the Altima even though she probably sees 50x more of those cars.