2012 Kia Optima

Rating from rrwilliams64

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"I wanted the SX with Technology package. Fully loaded, every option...Turbo, Navigation, Panoramic sunroof, rear camera, heated/cooled seats, heated steering wheel, and numerous other goodies. With the performance and styling of the SX package, it has a European feel- "athletic" in its more tightly tuned suspension yet still very comfortable. Road and driving feel is tangible with the perfectly balanced steering. (Note, the SX has the MUCH better performance of the Hankook tires rather than the lacking Nexen brand of the EX. Night and day) Styling is sporty and aggressive without overreaching. I've had numerous queries re: "what car is that?". I got black on black, tastefully (and legally) tinted the glass, opted for the premium rims Quite the distinctive looker. And lastly...a 5 yr/60K warranty bumper to bumper? That's just icing on the cake. What's not to love? Drive an Optima, Altima, Accord, Camry and Mazda 6 (similar trim lines) and you'll realize the same...the Optima is the clear class leader in performance and value."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Just getting around

Rating from biom

(5)
Comfort:		4 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"I've owned an Optima EX-T for a year now and the only complaint I have is from my kids after four or five hours of riding in the back seat they get a little numb. I've driven by myself 6 hour trips and the driver seat is one of the best I've sat in. Of course, I'm 6'2" and have plenty of leg room. One thing to note if the passenger seat is only horizontally adjustable. One this I really kia would have done was to add a fully functional (similar to driver) seat. I do not drive that fast 75 on interstates and managing 30-32mpg. Very happy with that considering my F150 drank fuel. One thing that threw me off was the traction of the korean made tires. After the first 5000 is when you really appreciate them. They offer a soft ride but before that it seemed to loose a little traction and they felt stiff My wife and I both noticed this. Not sure if all tires are like that and I'm sure there is some sort of break in that was needed. I also looked and drove the SX model, but I did not need the little (paddle shifters) and a few other items which dropped the cost significantly. Also the sound (Infinity) can't beat any records but they come a long way from stock systems. I really like the UVO/Infinity w/sub. Nice clean sound at decent sound levels as well."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Work

Rating from DaJudge

(1)
Comfort:		1 out of 5
Performance:		2 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		3 out of 5
Interior Design:		2 out of 5
Value for the Money:		1 out of 5
Reliability:		1 out of 5

"The steering is horrible, the wheel is connected to the tires with a rubber band. The gas pedal is an on/off switch. The seats are so bad my leg went numb! I have driven some junky cars in my life and could not believe that a modern car could be this bad!"

I would recommend this car to a friend: No

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Chris

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"I have purchased twelve new vehicles since I started driving. All makes and types and the Kia optima is by far my favorite!"

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Transporting family

Rating from The Optimist

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"I love this car... it has all of the features that I was looking for... ie; gas economy, stylish, affordable."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: Used

Primary use for this car: Just getting around

Rating from Old Gray in Indiaia

(4)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		4 out of 5
Value for the Money:		3 out of 5
Reliability:		1 out of 5

"I loved my Otima EX /GDI. It looks great and the performance was stunning. Everything a car guy would want until at 20K miles the engine blew up. I don't know what the cause was as the car is still in the shop. Very dissapointing as I use this car on the expressway for my daily 55 mile commute and always use the ECO application to save gas. Up until yesterday I recommended this car to everyone. I can't do that anymore with a blown engine."

I would recommend this car to a friend: No

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from Mean Mike

(5)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		5 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		5 out of 5

"I have had my 2012 SX for over a year, 14k miles and not a single issue. Me and the wife think it is the best out of the box car we have ever owned. When I purchased this car, I looked at BMW, Lexus, Infinity, VW, Dodge Charger, Ford Mustang GT, CHev Camaro SS, and several others, this car has more to offer that any of the others, better quality and is the only one manufactured in the USA by american union workers! Yeah team. My car is perfect in every way, great power, great MPG, great looking (turbo wheels), and it has more options. You can beat this car! Buy the SX model."

I would recommend this car to a friend: Yes

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting

Rating from zrxz1dave

(1)
Comfort:		5 out of 5
Performance:		1 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		5 out of 5
Value for the Money:		1 out of 5
Reliability:		1 out of 5

"I bought a brand new loaded Optima at a sticker price of almost 35,000.00. As soon as I got it home the radio didn't work right. A couple weeks down the road the check engine light came on and it wasn't running right. They replaced the chip in the turbo and said it was from accelerating too fast. About a month later with 4,000 miles on the car, the engine started to shake and vibrate. The dealer said the engine was set too lean and has burnt the valves. They say they are going to put a new engine in it but it has been in the shop for a month waiting for it to come in. I've never had any new car need a new engine in 4,000 miles no matter how it was driven. Now I have a used KIA Rio loaner(stripped down model) and the check engine light is on in it. Thought I had something really nice at first. NEVER AGAIN will I ever purchase a KIA product."

I would recommend this car to a friend: No

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Transporting family

Rating from The Night Hawk

(1)
Comfort:		1 out of 5
Performance:		1 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		1 out of 5
Interior Design:		1 out of 5
Value for the Money:		1 out of 5
Reliability:		1 out of 5

"I Bought a 2012 Kia optima, because i liked the design and interesting new looks it had. Little did i know this was going to be the worst car in history.Now i have bought about 6 Cars in my short 36 years and i have never encountered a car like this. At 1250 miles the check engine light came on, i thought the gas cap just wasn't on tight enough, i brought the vehicle in. The said its common for the kia's to be in the shop more often than others. Though they're warranty does cover some of the things that go wrong it doesn't compensate for the wasted time in the shop. Now i brought my 2012 Kia into the kia dealer mechanical shop 6 times for different problems, everything from airbags to actual engine problems. Just last week i traded in my 2012 kia optima sx with 8740 miles on it, to a hyundai dealer for a Sonata Limited and that has been the bestdecision this year for me. I highly recomend nobody to purchase a kia. Unless you want to waste time in and auto shop!"

I would recommend this car to a friend: No

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Work

Rating from funkster01

(2)
Comfort:		4 out of 5
Performance:		4 out of 5
Exterior Styling:		5 out of 5
Interior Design:		4 out of 5
Value for the Money:		5 out of 5
Reliability:		1 out of 5

"I bought my new car thinking that I had a winner. Then, 600 miles later I knew that I had a lemon. At 600 miles the brake warning indicator illuminated. I immediately took it to the dealership and they could find nothing wrong with it except the brake warning indicator was on. This continued to happen every couple hundred miles. It has been into the dealership six different times for the problem; where they have reset the computer (even though no codes stored) replaced the parking brake switch, replaced the brake boost pump (3 times now) and replaced the vacumm pump. The problem remains to this day. I contacted KIA global who sent me back to KIA regional who have stalled me for months. I am still waiting on an appointment for a supposed expert to look at my car. I now have 7,000 miles on my car and it continues to have brake issues. During one of the failures I had to brake especially hard and had no anti-lock braking. The brakes locked up and the car started to fishtail to the left almost causing an accident; although I did have brakes. Along with the brakes you have to factor in the steering issues. The KIA Optima has electric power steering and unlike hydraulic power steering the electric has to be continuously corrected while driving. This continuous correcting leads to hand fatigue after minimal driving. It is okay for around the town driving, but get out on the highway for an hour and your hands will start to cramp up. For all of those interested you can find information on the steering and brake issues at the National Highway and Traffic Safety website. In conclusion: I would really like to recommend this car, but the brake problems, steering issues and the lack of customer support speak volumes on the likelihood of reoccurence for future customers. KIA has to make some improvements to the car and their services before I can recommend it."

I would recommend this car to a friend: No

This vehicle was purchased: New

Primary use for this car: Commuting