@wheelsaustralia 133
WEEK 15
3
003383City traffic lowers the bar for our humble sedan
DRIVING a long-termer might seem at odds
with the motoring journo’s job of testing lots
of models, but it’s the other cars I drive that
give me a better perspective on the Kia.
A recent run of hot-rodded German,
Japanese and local medium/large sedans
contributed to this month’s low kay-count.
And the halving of torque from 700Nm (Merc
C63 S) to the Optima’s 350Nm, with the
simultaneous loss of premo-Euro interior
finish, would surely be quite a come-down.
Turns out it wasn’t too bad, though.
Given a slight adjustment in expectations to
account for the fact the Kia costs less than
a third of the Benz, the cabin only offended
one out of five senses (though I didn’t lick
anything – see breakout). And the Kia’s ride
was certainly more forgiving.
Meanwhile, neither the Benz nor the
M3 I had for a while made my drive home
much more exciting. By the time I wound
up the BMW’s twin-turbo six, it started to
feel antisocial and dangerous, so I ended up
in nana mode while getting mildly annoyed
by the low-speed ride and shunty dual-
clutch gearbox. The C63’s burble made the
compromises worth it, of course, and they’re
both must-drive thrillers on the open road.
By comparison, the Kia benefits from a
torque-converter automatic transmission
and not having to overcome the inertia of a
beefy engine and drivetrain; it fairly whizzed
up to speed in the urban rush-hour zone. It
hadn’t occurred to me that the 1600kg Korean
sedan is actually quite lively until back-to-
backing with the Germans.
I can’t help but take my old WRX to the
office at least once a week. It’s desperately
lacking in active and passive safety – I’ve
almost backed into cars when reverse
parking because I half-expect to hear warning
beeps – but it frequently demonstrates how
much less fun cars have become. The low-
speed engine NVH is woeful, but the glaring
lack of refinement comes in a reasonable
trade-off for the unfailing involvement. Hey,
I want to drive, not go along for the ride.
I guess some buyers do just want to bean occupant and on that front, if you’ve not
experienced one for a while, you might be
surprised how vault-like a modern Kia is.
The Optima’s doors are heavy, the body feels
drum-tight over bumps, which are ridden
pretty well, and it’s quiet.
By comparison with everything I’ve driven
lately, the kids seem miles away from me in
the back seat, and a big, solid car is exactly
what I want for family duty.
The flipside is that I feel I’m shoehorning
the Optima through the urban rat-run I blitz
regularly in the Rex – the Optima is about
the same size as a VZ Commodore, while the
tinny, tiny Subie is smaller than a VB.
JAMES WHITBOURNBack in the game
GULPING
Back to the daily
grind, consumption
returned to the mid-14s
this month; I still need
to empty a tank out
of townDate acquired:February 2016
Price as tested:$43,990
This month: 356km @ 14.4L/100km
Overall: 1587km @ 13.2L/100kmURBAN COUNTRY SPORTS FAMILY MOTORWAY
Making sense of plastic
Taste and smell being interlinked, I wouldn’t expect to like the
flavour of the Kia’s trim because I’m not a fan of its new-car smell;
it’s a bit plasticky. Audis have the best-smelling interiors, I reckon,
and it wouldn’t surprise me to discover there’s a small team atIngolstadt dedicated to developing fragrant plastics, leather and
adhesives. Since Kia has a history of nicking staff from the four-
ringed maker – Peter Schreyer is now doing great work as design
chief there – they should get those guys on board immediately.