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So while the Optima is not seen as being the best of the class, it is viewed as being a very good mid-sized sedan and superior to some cars that are seen as standards in this class, e.g. the Camry. And of course it has the long Kia warranty. That makes it an intriguing buy for someone who doesn't mind paying about $7000 or more less for a car that doesn't have every attribute of an Accord or Altima, but is a solid, well-rounded mid-sized car.
Wheel size diameter is an aesthetics issue, for the most part. The only time its not is when companies put random obscure tire sizes like 205/60R16 on their vehicles to crush any hopes of actually finding any kind of a performance tire. Most other vehicles use a 205/55R16 that can be found in types from mild to wild.
I had an Optima for a rental car a few months ago, I found it adequate in every way while carrying 4 adults on in-town trips in Michigan. I also had a Sonata V6 that felt powerful, if a little bland, but totally adequate to run around Cincy.
Neither vehicle made me want to run out and buy it right then (of course the Accord didn't either, my folks did instead lol).
We shopped the Fusion/Milan and Sonata four most carefully before buying
Friend just bought a Sonata, not sure what he paid as he had two cars to trade and he might not be as frugal as I am in driving a bargain. Just drove his car for a few blocks and it seems more comfortable. Frankly I'd prefer the Sonata (short drive) and last gen Malibu Maxx (my personal drive) when it comes to comfort. My wife doesn't mind the Optima a bit for comfort but I'm roughly a foot taller. The Optima is only about a cubic foot smaller than the Sonata but it has more headroom. Who needs eight inches of above the head room if five inches is adequate. More important to get the leg room.
The Optima's platform is closer to the Elantra than a Sonata (struts v. links), but seems sportier in handling (not important to me)-- this is probably my 17 inch Michelins v. his 16 inch Michelin Energies (from experience Energies are lousy oem tires at least in my 01 Elantra).
As far as the GM electric steering. It's part of the reason why GM cars got good gas mileage. Vagueness and expensive repairs were negatives. I don't mind the GM steering at all but can notice it after I drive the Optima. Same thing with the engine. Doesn't bother me but the Optima's four is smoother and revs better than the Malibu's six (which does get as good mileage), so if I was doing short term comparisons it would bother me.
I haven't done a careful check but I think GM cars 08 EPA estimated mileages v. 07 has gone down less than the typical GM car. Now maybe somebody can do the research and prove me right or wrong on this.
The appearance package has nice interior lighting, 17" tires and WHAT?
LOL Long night
Sonata owners-- a quick drive of my friends Sonata indicated only one trip computer-- did I get that right? If so, that's about as dim as missing the MPG readout.
BTW-- Kia figures miles to empty so gas mileage is easily doable.
That the Sonata has a trip computer that shows average MPG (the Optima doesn't have this)-- the computer in most cars is usually optimistic though. That's why I need two trip odometers. One for measuring trips, one to accurately measure mileage between fillups.
Unless my quick look at the Sonata was in err, it looked to me like the Sonata only had one trip odometer. Correct?
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I think I have seen a couple of those Optimas around. I don't think Kia is selling too many in my area, though other styles, like their SUV and minivans seem to sell here. Guess it is a good car. I did not research it, or take any test drives in one. You may want to test drive a V6 SE Accord some day on a twisty road. And it has very good passing speed and a good launch off the line. Interior is first class. That said, there is a lot of good mid-sized cars of all brands out there, and little if any are rated anywhere near poor these days. Seems you can not go too wrong. Close-out i4 Sonatas for $16K = wow, that is priced low :shades: With 27% going to fleet, resale may suck a bit.
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All those Accords you see on every corner were bought for good reasons. Maybe there are a few good reasons why you don't see so many Elantras.
How many "other people" are driving a certain car should have no affect on what you buy, one way or the other, IMO. That's allowing others to have influence on what you drive.
People in the midwest originally from other places buy Subarus :P
I don't know, we got AWD and a wagon with a manual transmission for no price penalty and very slight fuel economy penalty over the Accord, which was our benchmark at the time.
The Subaru feels much sportier to me than the Accord, but the Accord seems to have much more room in the back seat, even with the infant seat in the middle. Oh and the LATCH system works better in the Honda too.
The Subaru handling is a lot more fun, it is phenomenal in the snow, and can tote 2700 lbs. I think once we get into child seats from infant seats, the differences will be less significant.
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Why not? nothing wrong with wanting to stand out, or be different.
This doesn't apply to the present generation Civic which is a big change and (could be argued) quite daring. Guess I am getting old because I for one don't like that digital dash.
I do like the Fit, however, so that shows that I'm not intrinsically anti-Honda. Too bad they're so rare on the lots.
Personally, something with big heavy squishy tires and a raised center of gravity, and "dual duty" suspension was totally unappealing to me, so we went with the regular Legacy wagon. As an added benefit, we can actually find our car in the parking lot.
At this time we were also cross shopping the Accord, but no wagon version, no AWD and proud pricing kept us away.
When I lived in CA, I had the only Contour SE for miles around, but when I moved to MI, it started getting lost in parking lots too.
Try it for a bit before deciding you don't like it. It is very well set up for older drivers. It is a form of horizon display...the numbers appear at optical infinity, or on the "horizon." This is great for older drivers (or anyone near-sighted that requires corrective lenses for distance) because it reduces/eliminates the time needed to go from looking at something far away to something close up and back again (its called accommodation). The Prius, the Inisght, and the Civic all have similar display technologies.
And, some people like the fact that they'll see a few dozen of the same kind of car they drive every time they go for a drive. That happened to me a lot when I owned a Grand Caravan--they're all over the place. To each his own.
One of the reasons this discussion is not as fun as it could be is that it's nearly impossible to say something about why you like your car without having someone beat you over the head about it, and tell you how stupid you are for thinking that way. :sick:
I don't think that's what people were expressing...I interpreted what they wrote as saying that there were several compelling reasons to buy car-x, and the fact that they were less common than camcords was a bonus. There were many reasons why I chose to buy a Mazda6 which among the bigger reasons were that the hatchback was more practical since it had a much bigger loading area than a trunk, great handling including its amazing brakes, had good reliability according to Consumer Reports and Jd Powers, and it was thousands less than what I could get an Accord for (another reason less popular can be a huge positive). But I did consider it a bonus that the Mazda6 was nowhere near as common. It's nice when I walk out of a store and see my car as an attractive standout in the sea of vanilla-ish camcords and bloated SUV's.
My sentiments exactly, Zzzoom6. The only difference is we have a 2007 SEL AWD Fusion.
You're correct & I agree with you that the Sonata is not up there yet although steering, handling, suspension, engine & interior issues may just be a matter of perspective but don't forget that the 2007 SE Sonata is at least $5,000 cheaper than the $22k V6 Accord mentioned here.
With that comparison, where the Sonata is about 85%-90% of the V6 Accord, I'd say paying for a Sonata, say the 2007 SE, at an objective price that's about 70% of the V6 Accord is a pretty good deal to me :shades: Of course, people with moolah will certainly don't mind to spend more for a car with a perceived higher quality.
It's also nice to walk up to my car in the parking lot knowing it's what I consider to be the best midsize sedan in this segment. I'm certainly not going to buy a car I like less, because there are fewer of them around. :confuse:
a lot of people will rush out and get the new 08 accord for the same reason..........not many other on the road yet.
Wouldn't completely dis the digital speedometer because what does a ten minute drive really tell you about living with the car. We still would have carefully considered a Fit but they only had one on the lot and wouldn't let us drive it unless we looked very, very serious.
For some reason honda is limiting the production on the fit. I can't imagine why, It looks like a pretty good car.
There could also simply be a plant capacity problem with the Fit, since it's sold around the world. The new U.S. plant will help there.
But, back to mid-sized sedans...
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I honestly don't care how many of the brand of car I drive are on the road. Bro-in-law who does much more extensive research than me when buying a car, just ended up with a basic Accord. The reasons? They are the same reasons I would buy one over the competition. Not to mention Honda is giving away the '07s.
For example the Mazda6 has been available with $1750-$2000 rebates since Nov 2006. Intellichoice ignores this and shows a phoney ~$2000 difference in depreciation between Accord and Mazda6.
I also found some flaws in their maintenance costs. For example on my car, Mazda6, their detailed maintenance costs mistakenly indicate that it does not have extended life coolant and does not have extended life trans fluid. They also project tire replacement cost at about $80 more than an Accord, I am pretty sure I can get the same tire price whether they are being put on an Accord or a Mazda6.
Their insurance costs also have nothing to do with my reality. My insurance costs vary little, whatever model I choose and are far lower (about 1/3) than what they list. At most my insurance cost, from one model to another, might vary by maybe $200 or so over 5 years.
I am not as familiar with the Sonata, but I bet the intellichoice figures are just as full of errors for that car.
No some of us choose to think for ourselves and do a little checking on numbers like those reported by (un)intellichoice.
You tell me...when was the last time Accords were available with $2000 rebates, that were ignored by (un)intellichoice? Not to mention when was the last time you saw Accords advertised at $5000 below MSRP?
The point is all the errors are in favor of Accord, at least when compared to the Mazda6. It is the Accord that is shown with lower maintenance costs, lower insurance costs, and lower depreciation all of which are questionable.
If folks are going to throw this sort of garbage cost analysis on here, they should at least be willing to do a little work to defend the numbers, after the flaws have been pointed out again and again and again...that is assuming they actually believe the figures that intellichoice comes up with.
Explain to me how I end up buying a Mazda6 at a few nundred above invoice, when there is a $1750 rebate?
Explain to me how the 5 year maintenance cost of my Mazda6 is going to come to $1700, but the Accord is going to be around $1200? According to the maintenance schedule, all I will need to do is change oil, rotate tires, and do one replacement of an air filter and a cabin filter. Pretty sure that is going to come to maybe $600 total and then maybe another $600 if tires need replacing.
Even if you do keep your car for 10 years depreciation does make a difference. I got $5000 for my 12 year old Accord (92 EX). I doubt I could have got that for another brand.
You can haggle plenty off the MSRP. There doesn't have to be a rebate.
The point is all the errors are in favor of Accord,
Sure they are.