Anyone have any thoughts to sway me? I am also looking at a 2011 Kia Optima SX Turbo. Love the sunroof and turbo and the styling of the interior on the Kia, but this TL just popped up with 12,000 miles for under $26K.

Anyone have any negative things I should consider in my decision?

 

Get the Kia...see ya

 

Is it a AWD or FWD?

 

for $26k? Most likely FWD

What are you looking for in a car? Give us more details where you live what your normal drive is etc... The Kia and the Acura are in two different classes....

 

 

Southern California driver, coming from a 97 Chrysler Sebring Convertible with a V6. It only has 180 hp, but good torque, and I really want to keep the aggressive engine.

I am looking for comfort, back support, superior technology (bluetooth, USB, etc. I don't need NAV), and decent gas mileage.

Basically the difference in gas mileage (plus premium gas) will be about $45 a month since I drive about 750 miles a month.

My commute is short (15 minutes) for now, and may get shorter, but I do like to take the winding back way once or twice a week.

To me it comes down to this:

Acura: Styling, size, V6, reliability, and the badge status
Kia: Cooled front seats, heated back seats, awesome sunroof, driver minded interior styling, handling

I am more concerned with the Acura tranny given I will have a 5 year, 62K mfg warranty and then nothing since that will put it at over 7 years so the powertrain will be gone too.

 

Wow, polar opposites...I've seen a few of those Kia's on post where I work at, parked next to one, not bad. The Kia plant is somewhere outside of the ATL as well. The Kia offers a nice package, depending on the finances and if your for cars is more towards transportation vs enthusiast I'd say...Kia.

 

The Kia is not in the same leaugue, the TL is a far better built car and more substantial. I can understand the temptation of the newer Optima/Sonota family turbos, 274HP and 22/34 MPG I too had a temptation last year, but the interiors of both were too cheap for me, the leather in particualr is what you would expect in a sub- $30K car. I hate used cars, but do the TL.

 

Kia reliability has improved over the years thanks to Hyundai, but from what I've been reading, they're still not anywhere near as reliable as Honda/Acura.

 

Make sure you drive the Kia (both actually) before you decide. The later Kia/Hyundai models I've driven seem to have a numb, imprecise feel to the steering, especially on the highway, that is disconcerting. They just haven't felt very connected to the road. All rental cars though, so maybe they've been out of alignment, but who knows. Also, as mentioned, switch gear and other interior components on the Korean cars have a more down-market feel to them.

It's just a question of what you prefer. Most of us on this board love our TLs, but you might find you like the Optima better. It is an interesting looking car.