The hottest segment of the automotive marketplace is the family sedan category. This is where the industry heavyweights — Toyota’s Camry and Honda’s Accord — have held down the top spots for-pretty-much-ever. When you’re fielding a car in this category, you have to come real correct if you want to have a shadow of a prayer at being competitive.
In the case of the Optima, Kia has endowed the model with crisp styling and an exceptional array of standard comfort and convenience features — along with an exceptional warranty — in a bid to gain some attention in a class in which the two dominant players each routinely chalk up sales in excess of 350,000 units every year.
For comparison’s sake, consider this; the entire BMW group sold 395,850 cars in the US in 2014, that number includes Mini, Rolls-Royce, and every BMW model. Toyota and Honda each sell almost as many Camrys and Accords as BMW sells cars—period.
It’s a large and lucrative market, and Kia is hoping enough people will feel the Optima has the goods to carve out a generous number of buyers. So, of course, this invites the question; does the Optima have what it takes?