Impressive Warranty

Hyundai is Kia's corporate parent, so the Optima gets Hyundai's impressive warranty; it includes 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain protection and 5-year/60,000-mile roadside assistance.

Kia is putting more marketing muscle behind the new Optima. Its predecessor received little marketing support, and most folks wanting a Kia sedan brushed past it in showrooms and headed for the automaker's Spectra model.

The front-wheel-drive Optima has quick steering and a decent ride, but the softness of an older Buick and thus just average handling. The brake pedal has a linear action to help provide smooth stops.

    See also:

    Enhancing occupant and pedestrian safety
    Fitted as standard in most European countries, new safety features will include ESC with a new Roll-over Sensor that deploys the side airbags, curtain airbags and seatbelt pretensioners when requi ...

    Bulb wattage
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    Fine-tuning an already competitive Ride & Handling package
    When they developed the original Kia cee'd, Kia's European chassis engineers based in Germany were determined to ensure that the newcomer was among the 'segment-best' for ride and handling - targe ...