The Sweet Spot: Kia Optima sedan
What is it?
As the Kia Stinger’s less glamorous, athletic or famous cousin, the Optima sedan flies under the radar in Australia. Positioned as a medium-sized sedan to rival the likes of Volkswagen’s Passat, the Optima was the most expensive and luxurious passenger car in the Kia range until the Stinger rolled into town.
How many models can I choose from?
Just two, the Optima Si and its bigger brother, the Optima GT. The main difference lies under the bonnet – the Si uses a naturally aspirated 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine with 138kW and 241Nm outputs, whereas the range-topping GT gets a turbocharged 2.0-litre unit that makes 180kW and 350Nm. Both cars drive the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.
The Si features 17-inch wheels, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, five seats with cloth trim and a 7-inch touchscreen with sat nav and a six-speaker stereo.
Stepping up to the GT brings wider 18-inch wheels with tyre pressure monitors, smart keys, safety gear including blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert systems, adaptive headlamps, heated and cooled leather seats with electric adjustment, a panoramic sunroof and sports touches including a flat-bottomed heated steering wheel wrapped in perforated leather. The GT also gets an 8-inch touch screen with premium 10-speaker Harman Kardon stereo including a subwoofer and external amplifier.
What do they cost?
Kia Optima Si - $34,490 plus on-road costs
Kia Optima GT - $44,490 plus on-road costs
Kia isn’t officially doing drive-away price deals on the Optima right now, but it is offering finance with no deposit and no repayments until February 2018. If you hunt around you can find dealers offering that same promotion on new Optima GT sedans priced from $39,990 drive-away.
That’s a great deal, representing savings of almost $10,000.
Any options I need to know about?
Flat white is the only standard colour, with metallic paint priced at $595 extra on both models. Si customers can choose from five hues including white, silver, blue, grey and red, while GT buyers get additional pearl white and black options.
The GT comes with black leather as standard, but people who pay for pearl white, grey or black paint can replace that with red leather at no extra cost.
Is it expensive to own?
Kia has one of the best consumer guarantees on the road – a comprehensive package including a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, seven years of capped price servicing and seven years of roadside assistance.
Optima Si customers need to pay for maintenance every 12 months or 15,000 kilometres, with servicing set to cost $1677 for the first 60,000 kilometres.
But the Optima GT has surprisingly more frequent service intervals, with maintenance due every six months or 7500km, costing $2465 over the first four years or 60,000 kilometres of ownership.
Which s the most economical model?
The Si uses a touch less fuel than the GT, coming in 0.2L/100km under the turbo version’s 8.5L/100km fuel use.
That’s a very minor difference in the real world – it could be less than $50 over the course of 15,000 kilometres of driving each year. We wouldn’t split this pair purely by fuel use.
Which is the safest model?
The Optima has a five-star ANCAP rating thanks to standard features such as autonomous emergency braking and active cruise control. That said, Kia reserves some of its best safety kit for the Optima GT, making it the safer option.
Which is the best model to drive?
It has to be the GT, with effortless punch from its turbocharged engine and more grip from bigger wheels with much wider Michelin tyres, the GT is easily the driver’s pick.
That said, four-door Kia customers focused on dynamics are likely to head across the showroom to check out the rear-wheel-drive Stinger V6, the most driver-centric car offered by the brand.
Should I buy one now?
Quite possibly – and it’s all because of that Stinger. Hype surrounding the twin-turbo sedan is in overdrive, so now might be the right time to do a deal on an Optima GT. If you can live without the Stinger’s swoopy styling and tail-happy dynamics, the Optima GT brings similar levels of kit and refinement at a reduced cost – a similarly-specced four-cylinder Stinger GT-Line costs $55,990 plus on-road costs.
Where’s the sweet spot?
The Optima GT is the one to get. It’s more polished to drive and features all the luxury and safety gear you could want. Go in hard and you should be able to come away with a deal.