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:
Automatic transaxle
Automatic transaxle operation
All normal forward driving is done
with the shift lever in the D (Drive)
position.
To move the shift lever from the P
(Park) position, the brake pedal must
be d ...
Manual transaxle
Manual transaxle operation
The manual transaxle has 5 forward
gears.
This shift pattern is imprinted on the shift
knob. The transaxle is fully synchronized
in all forward gears so shifting to e ...
Remote keyless entry
Remote keyless entry system
operations
Lock (1)
All doors (and tailgate) are locked if the
lock button is pressed.
If all doors (and tailgate) are closed, the
hazard warning lights will blink ...