Kia K5 Optima – Ahead of its class .. how far ahead?

Kia kicked off their roadshow yesterday at 1 Utama shopping mall and I had the liberty of checking out the vehicles on display.

As you can see, they brought their entire family of cars out. You can find the Forte Koup, Forte, Sorento, Sportage, Rondo MPV and, of course the new K5 Optima …. the reason why I went there.

I don’t know about other countries but finding a test drive unit in Malaysia is as rare as finding a nun in a bikini. So when paultan.org reported that the road show would also feature a K5 for test drive, I could barely wait. A colleague and I were early to the road show where as you can see in the picture, not many people about. A nice sales advisor came up to us as we were checking out the Sportage and I asked for a test drive. The Sportage for my colleague and the K5 for me. Upon registering, we went up to the front entrance where the cars were parked. As we made our way to the road, we could see 4 models standing by to be sampled by potential buyers

As the K5 was parked in front, we took a spin on it first (followed by the Sportage). The dimension specifications list is as follows:

Length : 4,845
Width :  1,830
Height : 1,455
Wheelbase : 2,795
Engine : Theta II 2.0 litre MPI
Max power : 165PS @ 6,200rpm
Max torque : 198Nm @ 4,600rpm

Upon pressing the START/STOP button, drivers are entertained with a needle sweep display. The controls are intuitive …. push it to D and off you go. When I test any vehicle, I would look at 4 aspects:

Performance (straight line acceleration)
Ride and handling
NVH
Gadgetry (ie sound system, sunroof, etc)

The supervision cluster, unlike other Kia makes features a colored MFD which made it look upmarket. On it, information such as fuel consumption, distance, distance to empty, elapsed time and steering wheel alignment can be shown to drivers.

I am amazed at the handling. Though the test route was short (drive from the park to Sri Pentas then back) and didn’t give us much opportunity to test corners, I do note the car is more composed than its sister, the Sonata which is fidgety at speeds and corners. I’ve never driven a Korean that exhibits this characteristic: The car literally glues to the ground like a continental. The car’s 18″ rims certainly contributes to this stability but vehicle stability isn’t about slapping the largest sized possible for a car. It’s a complex formula involving suspension, wheels, steering and others. I have to say Kia has really outdone itself in the K5. I daresay this is the best Korean drive to date in Malaysia.

In terms of pulling power, the Theta II 2.0litre does it’s job pretty well. This is not a sports car and not a turbocharged so don’t drive it like one. Some finds at low RPM, the acceleration can be somewhat sluggish but I felt it was significantly better than other models such as the Sportage and Hyundai Sonata that uses the same engine. At mid to high range, things gets lively. Overtaking can be done with ease and honestly, if I am driving this car, I’d take it slow so that everyone can feast their eyes on it ….. and me in it. Yeah, vanity. If you got it, flaunt it!

Also to add, in my previous experience with the Sportage and Sonata, I was let down by the strained sound the engine makes when pushed more briskly. I was rather surprised to note the engine whine was more subdued … different tuning or better firewall, I can’t be sure. For a person who’s easily irritated by the slightest noise intrusion, this is certainly a turn for the better.

The steering uses hydraulic power assist so it’s a little on the heavy side (but not as bad as a Peugeot 308). The weighted steering do communicate beautifully with me that I feel confident in taking corners at higher speeds. If things get too hot, I can always depend on car’s Electronic Stability Program (ESP) to save me from an embarrassing spin. Paddle shifters on the steering provides additional “entertainment” should the driver decides to manually change gears for greater kick.

Lots of buttons to satisfy gadget freaks like me

The sound system features a 8-speaker setup provided by Infinity, an American manufacturer that offers mid to high end car and home hi-fi systems. The bass response is excellent while listening to the radio but a more detailed review on the staging, imaging and clarity would require audiophile CDs which I didn’t have at the time of the testing.

In terms terms of legroom space, it’s certainly adequate (damn, I look fat. Must tug in the tummy more the next time I take a shot like this). There are aluminum sports pedals and the gas pedal is of the organ configuration type which is supposedly less straineous to the driver’s right leg. The rear inclination of the rear seats are of an angle that’s comfortable for long distance drives.

Boot space is huge, more than enough for a family picnic. Should more space be required, the rear seats can be easily folded down by pulling the levers that can be found at the roof of the boot (note the two PULL levers in the picture).

At the end of the test drive, don’t forget to fill up a form to qualify you for Euro 2012 tickets and win a trip to Ukraine. Yours truly was the first entry.

Some more details in comparison:

I’ve also done a comparison of specs. The comparison is taking into account price as close to the K5 as possible. Please note that there may be some inaccurate information here despite my best efforts to check the specs on official Malaysia manufacturer’s websites so if there are any errors, please let me know and I will correct it accordingly.

In summary, the features where the K5 offers better than the competition is as follows:-

1) High Intensity Discharge (HID) headlights
2) DRL (Daytime Running Lights)
3) Automatic lights
4) Rain sensing wipers (same as Sonata)
5) Power driver seats with memory
6) Cruise control (same as Sonata)
7) Shiftronic paddle shifters
8) 6 airbags
9) Electronic Stability Program (ESP) (same as Sonata)
10) Hill Assist Control (HAC)
11) Cornering Brake Control (CBC)
12) Impact sensing auto door unlock
13) Gas shock absorbers and High Performance Dampers with sliding valve mechanism
14) Premium Infinity sound system
15) Power dual sunroof
16) 5 years warranty with unlimited mileage

So is it ahead of it’s class? For me, it`s a resounding YES!

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