Quiet and Mostly Comfortable on First Road Trip - 2016 Kia Optima Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Quiet and Mostly Comfortable on First Road Trip - 2016 Kia Optima Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com's 2016 Kia Optima is quiet and rides comfortably on the highway, but front seat comfort is lackluster.

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longtimelurker

This is why the long-term mpg results on their fleet are so weird across different-size vehicles - a four-day trip, two adults and two small kids (but not babies or infants), and not a lot of luggage, and the first thought is a minvan or a three-row SUV? Why?

A mid-size family sedan is fine for this, plus the car needs highway miles, and the larger vehicles have already had a ton of highway miles and they're going to report some pie-in-the-sky fuel economy for them as a result. Everything gets skewed.

iamthestig

longtimelurker said:

This is why the long-term mpg results on their fleet are so weird across different-size vehicles - a four-day trip, two adults and two small kids (but not babies or infants), and not a lot of luggage, and the first thought is a minvan or a three-row SUV? Why?

A mid-size family sedan is fine for this, plus the car needs highway miles, and the larger vehicles have already had a ton of highway miles and they're going to report some pie-in-the-sky fuel economy for them as a result. Everything gets skewed.

True, but if I had the choice to take a family road trip in any of these vehicles, the Sedona or Pilot would be my first choices as well. While the Optima has plenty of room, I'd be attracted to the extra space and power of the larger vehicles. Is this the right thing to do? Should we really choose more than we need just because we can? These are philosophical questions. But as Americans, we often buy larger than we need, which is why we see so many three-row crossovers out there when something smaller would serve our purposes 95% of the time. Personally, I have two sedans in my "fleet" but if I were buying a new car today I would be shopping for a something like a Pilot or Highlander for my family of three.

darex

Do the headrests not click into three different positions, sequentially, forward and then aft? Many other Hyundai/Kia models do, and I'd be surprised if these do not.

longtimelurker

iamthestig said:

longtimelurker said:

This is why the long-term mpg results on their fleet are so weird across different-size vehicles - a four-day trip, two adults and two small kids (but not babies or infants), and not a lot of luggage, and the first thought is a minvan or a three-row SUV? Why?

A mid-size family sedan is fine for this, plus the car needs highway miles, and the larger vehicles have already had a ton of highway miles and they're going to report some pie-in-the-sky fuel economy for them as a result. Everything gets skewed.

True, but if I had the choice to take a family road trip in any of these vehicles, the Sedona or Pilot would be my first choices as well. While the Optima has plenty of room, I'd be attracted to the extra space and power of the larger vehicles. Is this the right thing to do? Should we really choose more than we need just because we can? These are philosophical questions. But as Americans, we often buy larger than we need, which is why we see so many three-row crossovers out there when something smaller would serve our purposes 95% of the time. Personally, I have two sedans in my "fleet" but if I were buying a new car today I would be shopping for a something like a Pilot or Highlander for my family of three.

I think we often buy larger than we need in a whole lot of things, and it's a bad idea because it's wasteful. JMO.

banhugh

How quiet is it on the highway? That is one of my criteria for a road trip
The

iamthestig

longtimelurker said:

I think we often buy larger than we need in a whole lot of things, and it's a bad idea because it's wasteful. JMO.

I agree 100%. But I'm still guilty of it as well... ;-)

Jacek

darex said:

Do the headrests not click into three different positions, sequentially, forward and then aft? Many other Hyundai/Kia models do, and I'd be surprised if these do not.

Sure it does (I have seen it here in Europe).. It was funny to read:
"complained about the head-restraint sticking too far forward.."

So negative opinion in this review about a feature I personally really like.