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2016 Kia Optima Long-Term Road Test - Introduction
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2016 Kia Optima Long-Term Road Test - Introduction
A mild exterior redesign combined with a substantial redesign underneath the skin should make the 2016 Kia Optima a top-tier midsize family sedan. We're going to drive one for a year to find out.
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Kia/Hyndai has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. Everyone my age still remembers the crap-boxes they used to sell in the 80s (Excel), but I've owned a Kia Sephia that was really good. And my mother, who is a Jedi Driver (she may or may not be watching where she's driving, never does maintenance, and wills the car to still run and not hit anything) had a Kia Spectra that I know had almost 400k on the clock before she stopped driving it. If I was looking for a new economy car, a Kia or a Hyundai would be one of the first cars I'd look at due to features, warranty, and value/price.
This is the version I would be most interested in if it weren't for the fact that you cannot get heated front seats period. I would gladly have traded the memory (a feature I otherwise really like given the large difference in height between my wife and I) for heated seats. This seems like a very strange omission and kills an otherwise perfectly balanced mix of size, price, power, and fuel economy.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-2021 Sahara 4xe-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Early engine failures, electrical failures, steering that pulls one direction or the other, crummy OE tires that last about 15000 miles, overstating mpg, and so on. Wait til you need that warranty (trust me, you will). It is absolutely worthless. I consider it my sacred duty to warn anyone even thinking of putting out their hard earned money for their junk and fraud.
Now, if you've read this and still go with them, at least you've been warned.
Both get 4 stars, out of a possible 5.
Ditto the Camry and Fusion. The Malibu is slightly behind in those ratings.
YMMV and a good dealer can make up for a lot of a car's fault.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/hyundai-sonata-engine-failures-prompt-recall
Only the engines made in the Alabama plant were affected and it was because "metallic debris may not have been removed from the engine crankshaft during the manufacturing process. This could lead to restricted oil flow, damaging internal parts."
Even though 470K were recalled only 2% were (9400) were actually affected. (But that does not mean they actually failed) They went to a high pressure "wet blast" de burring system and the problem was solved. That % of failure is a heck of a lot lower than the LT1 disaster that Chevy faced with similar burrs from machining and defective oil filters but GM only replaced the engines that failed and did not recall the others like Hyundai had too.
Just what "additional protection" do you need? The engine was replaced and the new ones did not have the burrs in the oil. They also gave a 120K/10 year extended warranty on the short block. Sounds like a fair resolution.
http://www.hyundai-forums.com/yf-2011-sonata-i45/414281-recall-connecting-rod-wear-may-result-engine-stall.html
Kia optima engines were made in the same factory but kia denies they have a problem...
One thing (of many) that i have learned through this ordeal is you must keep proof of mx history, especially oil changes. Use of OEM filters is not necessary but recommended.
You really need to read the threads you post. I read every other page all the way through and most of the posts were just questions about the recall and how and what they would do. The dealer listens for a knock and if they hear one, they get a new short block installed with a 10year/100K mile extension to their engine. In no way are they replacing half a million engines like many are saying they are. Sure some people are demanding a new engine even if it does not have the rod knock, which is stupid since there is nothing wrong with those engines. Also people that are having to wait for new engines are being provided free rentals if their engine indeed fails.
One can Google any subject and get a bunch of hysterical threads all over the net.
I have real world experience with the failure and how it was addressed via warranty. No "New" engine for me, no warranty extension. Prospective buyers are entitled to this information, as much as they are the cheerleading, as they consider how to spend their hard earned money.
They screwed me, I'm gonna give it back the best I can.
Plus, the reason i am so pissed is that my trade value has decreased by $1500 due to the engine recall. My car passed the mickey-mouse magic laptop test but i am still negatively affected by this debacle. I may still consider another Hyundai but it is less likely than it was a month ago...