This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cars by /u/Redeemed_Expert9694 on 2025-08-09 06:09:28+00:00.
How I got the Car
In late 2015, my uncle, who has always been a car enthusiast, was shopping for a new car since he felt his 2013 911 Carrera S was a bit too flashy and wanted something more discreet for going to work and zipping around town.
His search criteria were simple: a nice interior, a long list of features, and a price under 40k. After some shopping, he ended up picking a Kia Optima SXL. During this same period, he often travelled a lot overseas for work, which meant he quite often left the Optima in my care to make sure it didn't sit for too long and made it to its service appointments. I, 17 at the time, was sadly deemed too inexperienced for the 911 (which was left with my older cousin).
Between January and April 2016, the Optima was kinda my daily transport, which was nice. I didn't own a car back then and mainly relied on walking, biking, or getting a ride from one of my friends with a car. If I ever really needed to drive, I could borrow my dad's '06 Azera or my mom's '09 Aspen. While I appreciate those cars for what they were now, back then, both seemed very boring, so driving around a new techy car like the Optima in my last year of high school felt pretty damn good.
Fast forward to the summer of 2019, I had returned home from university and was searching for my own car. I was thinking of getting a used Civic or Mazda3, but my uncle offered me his Optima outright. His reasoning was pretty simple; he was barely driving the car now.
He still had his Carrera S, his wife’s Audi S4, and, since late 2018, he had bought an LC200 for his growing family. As a result, the Kia was driven perhaps once or twice a month, and despite being three and a half years old, it still had below 6k miles. Needless to say, I accepted immediately.
What's Good
From day one, the interior and tech impressed me the most. Even by today's standards, it remains nice. The car is loaded with features such as a 360 camera, ventilated and heated Nappa leather seats, Harman Kardon audio, a panoramic sunroof, four-way lumbar adjustment, and a suite of advanced safety technologies that were not common even in higher-end vehicles back in 2016.
When compared to top trim Camrys and Accords of the era, the Optima was noticeably more premium in terms of interior quality and design. This is not an opinion, it's a fact.
After several years of ownership, I have a solid grasp of where the car excels and where it shows its age. It remains exceptionally comfortable and quiet, with all the features still working exactly as they should. Reliability has also been excellent, with only two unplanned issues in nearly a decade: a clogged drain in 2022 and a bizarre issue last summer where the automatic headlights began activating in daylight. Both were resolved under warranty in less than an hour. Aside from those, it has only accumulated the usual wear: some dings, a few paint chips, and the occasional rattle from the pano roof.
What's Not Good
As for its shortcomings, the Optima does without a single sporty steel beam in its unibody. The suspension is soft, which I personally welcome, but the steering is so light and numb that it feels as though this car becomes mildly depressed at the thought of sporty driving. The 6-speed auto is a lethargic, occasionally stubborn companion that resists downshifts. In day-to-day use, it behaves acceptably, delivering smooth shifts, but urgency is not its strong suit. This trait is shared by nearly every Hyundai/Kia product fitted with this transmission. The slow shifting is made a bit more annoying by the turbo lag of the 2.0L turbo. That being said, I would still take this transmission over many of Hyundai’s DCTs, as at the very least, the 6-speed auto has a good reliability record.
Where the Camry and Accord of this era do hold an undisputed advantage is in their powertrains. I think Hyundai/Kia should have followed Toyota and Honda's lead and dropped the 3.3L V6 in the Optima and Sonata as the larger engine option instead of the 2.0L Turbo.
Somehow, despite having more cylinders, the V6-powered Accord and Camry manage to get better fuel economy than the Optima’s four-banger. Just last week, I averaged a lamentable 21 MPG, though under normal conditions I tend to hover around 24-27.
The Optima SXL was kinda positioned as the semi-premium offering, and as such, it had a slightly higher price than top Accords and Camrys when it launched. This philosophy was due to the early and mid-2010s being before Genesis truly got off the ground, thus Hyundai and Kia were still kinda tinkering with the idea of selling luxury cars in the lineup (Case in point: Equus, Hyundai Genesis, Kia K900, SXL versions of the Optima, Sorento, Cadenza, etc)
I believe Hyundai’s 3.3L V6 could have transformed a pretty good car into a truly great one. Adding AWD would have further complemented it and allowed the Optima to truly push upmarket. I'm guessing this never occurred as Hyundai wanted to protect the Cadenza, which was essentially a larger Optima with the 3.3L V6. Because of this, I think sooner or later the Cadenza will likely be recognized as a hidden gem, thanks to the durability of that 3.3L and the fact that most were sold to older owners who likely maintained them well.
My last note about the engine is fuel economy. Somehow, despite having more cylinders, the V6-powered Accord and Camry manage to achieve better fuel economy than the Optima’s four-banger. Just last week, I averaged a lamentable 18 MPG, though under normal conditions I tend to hover around 23-26.
Verdict
At this point, I’m not actively looking to replace it. This car has been with me through countless experiences and holds a special place in my memories. From long road trips to navigating rush hour traffic, and from late-night classes to outings with family and friends, my Optima has been a steadfast companion.