Press the Sport Button - 2016 Kia Optima Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited February 2016 in Kia
imagePress the Sport Button - 2016 Kia Optima Long-Term Road Test

When driving the 2016 Kia Optima, Edmunds editor James Riswick recommends pressing the Sport button if you actually want the car to move.

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  • gslippygslippy Member Posts: 514
    This is concerning. My 13 Optima Hybrid does the same thing. Sometimes it takes 2-3 seconds for the engine to respond to commands from the bridge. This is downright dangerous, such as when you're sitting in the turn lane, and decide you just want to re-merge with traffic and go through the light. Pressing the throttle results in nothing.

    Like this Optima, mine responds better if the "Eco" mode is turned off. Similar to this one, in mine Eco mode is the default setting, and must be disabled upon every start.
  • daryleasondaryleason Member Posts: 501
    On some cars, I question if the "sport" mode really does anything at all. On the Optima, it appears to do something, which may not make it drive the way you want, but does seem to do something. The new F-150 has a "sport" setting on it's base model 3.6 Liter NA version (I had one as a rental). I tried it, but didn't notice one bit of difference. Half the time, I'm convinced it's an automotive placebo. "It's in Sport! It's really doing something better now."
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    edited February 2016
    This begs the question as to which mode was used during performance testing? A quick scan of that entry revealed no clue.
  • jrizjriz Member Posts: 10
    From the test sheet: "Sport drive mode and manual shift mode didn't make an appreciable difference in shift quality or speed, but showed acceleration improvement. Fastest acceleration was achieved in these settings by holding both gas and brake pedals until the tach reached around 1,500 rpm."

    -James Riswick
  • agentorangeagentorange Member Posts: 893
    So much for my quick scan. :-(
  • subytrojansubytrojan Member Posts: 120
    edited February 2016
    Are 6th and 7th gears used in Sport mode or does the tranny only use five?
  • jklag11jklag11 Member Posts: 3
    That's 100% my experience with rental Hyundai/Kia products I've had over the last few years. If it's not in Sport mode it's undriveable. And as you noted, it doesn't hold your preferred setting when you turn it off. It's gotten to the point I'm almost tempted to ask if they have any of those terrible old rental Impalas still available when I travel.
  • veedubber86veedubber86 Member Posts: 57
    This article sums up why I would never buy a Kia. Thanks for the laugh about Eco mode!
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