Best thing about this car is the Kia badge. Why? Because it means heavy depreciation and that means bargain second hand prices.
That front end is actually not symmetrical nor are the various placements proportioned right, and doesn't look good at all in that pic. Looks like the Koreans are trying to work together in their pushes forward.
This car sure looks good. But my respect for Kia that I build up over the last 2 years, looking on how they improoved, was crushed when I had a 2012 Kia Optima for a week 2 weeks ago. It was one of the worst car I've ever driven. Horrible balance, horrible interior quality... I'm glad I'm back in my Q5 now.
No Giannis, I haven't. I was just so hugely disappointed with the Optima. (since the car is pretty good looking on the outside).
To be honest, I haven't seen the Optima, because it's not imported here. But the Cee'd is an amazing car for its money. Very good engines, VERY good equipped and the quality of the interior certainly doens't give away its price. And it's good to drive, too! I was impressed.
Here you go: It sure looks good. But the engine.. ooh my the engine. It felt like it took forever to get to 100km/h. Like 12 seconds. And then the balance of the car, was zero. The interior quality, the buttons... Oh my. Maybe it was a little bit harsh, cause Im used to Audis interior quality and ride balance, but I just was expecting more from this car. But I do also remember getting from a 2011 A4 Avant to a 2011 Volvo V50 and I couldnt believe my eyes how cheap the Volvo interior felt. I guess its what you compare with. Anyways, I do hope for their sake, that the K9 is more like the Cee'd that you describe.
^^ Is the car really that bad? Disappointing to hear. It's so much more inspiring than the Passat but if it drives and feels worse then I'm unimpressed.
I drove a Hybrid Optima and thought it was pretty good for the price especially. The Subaru Legacy I drove back to back with it felt very inferior in about everything save for maybe interior fit & finish tactile quality.
Yes, the Optima interior quality sucks. I went to a Kia dealer some months ago, saw the Picanto, Rio, Cerato/Forte, Optima and Cadenza. They all look VERY good from the outside, but the interior quality is horrible, specially on the Optima and Cadenza, b/c they're suposed to be more upscale models. Regards!
With KIA/Hyundai investing heavily in local infrastructure by erecting huge showrooms every where here in SA. The products from both manufacturers are making a huge impact onto our local market. And as Gianclaudio mentioned, design wise Peter Schreyer & kie are doing a good job (and good copy + paste job on certain models) Yet, interior (tactile+perceived) quality is sub-premium and way sub VAG - VW standards. That said the Koreans leads the Price War, their value for money offerings + lifetime warranty is simply staggering! While many local citizens are buying into both KIA & Hyundai (KIA Sportage being the most popular and 2nd hand ones has good residuals) it's VAG - VW who leads the local market. Let's hope it stays that way!
I saw some live pictures of the K9. It actually looks pretty terrible, and a typical Japanese or now Korean car German copy, i.e looking like a second rate version of the real thing. The Optima, however, did it's own thing really, and therefore looks individual and unique. The K9 is like the Genesis. To those that don't pay close enough attention, it has all the popping smoke to scream "BMW with more features/specs for a cheaper price!", and it a copy/paste job. But the Sonata's and Optima's under it are more daring in that they don't copy the big guys so much.... although the Sonata is mostly a Mercedes rip off, they did it well enough to where it has its own identity. All the design traits in the Optima can be not only traced to authentic European cars in which it is desperate to emulate, but even traced to other cars that attempt to copy European classic design traits, i.e I see a lot of Lexus GS, Buick, etc. Cars are starting to look too similar! We can all smack talk Mercedes' design directions for many of their upcoming and newest models, but for the most part, they're not mistakable as anything else. Right now is BMW's time to be copied, and damn are people doing it relentlessly.... mix that with BMW's own cars looking homogenized, and I'm sure their Designers are working around the clock to keep nuances extra refined and BMW-esque as to not be mistaken for anything else.
