One of my neighbour, next street....traded his Audi A4 2.0T Quattro for as Kia Optima 2.0 Turbo (I believe loaded to the max).

He is a Municipality manager, the wife is a RN...she drives a BMW X3.


I congratulated him...he simply said, I like the Optima better than the new A4...he had another A4 before the last one.....the car look really sharp in white.

From Audi to Kia.....obscenity (or "it's not going to happen") for some.....well real life!!!

 

Got a chance to sit in the Optima at the DC auto show...really nice, high quality interior. Materials felt better than my '09 335i if you could believe it.

Have to test drive this car (the SX model for sure)/ People are paying $27K + TTL for a fully loaded model..including nav. Helluva deal IMO!

 

I think it's a great looking car. The think the jury is still out on reliability record!

 

hyundai and kia are coming up in the automotive world now.

they specialize in offering the "bang for your buck" type of deal.

most of us "enthuiast" wont see it that way as we are picky on every little thing. but to an average driver/consumer.. it will sound pleasing to them on what is offered at that price compared to most brand/models that are out right now.

 

I owned one of the turbo sonatas for about a week, before I took the POS back to the dealer after the thing completely failed electrically and wouldn't move.

It was peppy. Torque steer sucked. Alignment sucked. Interior sucked.

Basically, it's an upgrade to a base camry, with a good warranty. Unfortunately, it's about all you see on the road anymore because of the perceived value. Build quality is garbage on these, and they're disposable cars.

 

Why is that so hard to believe? And old Audi for a new optima. I did a similiar thing with my BMW. Now if you said your neighbor was cross shopping the Audi a4, with a 550, a gt3, TL and elantra and declared the TL the value winner some might call bs. But not me.

 

He did cross shopped a new Audi A4 with the Optima (2 times Audi owner) and he went for the Optima....2 brands that "someone" would never consider to be cross shopped....


As far as I can see there is a lot to be pleased even for en enthusiast on the new Optima or the Sonata...

 

I said I did a similiar thing with my BMW, but I didn't "cross-shop" even though "I looked" at the 3 and 5 series. I wasn't interested in another BMW, so I downsized. Which is what I suspect really happened with your neighbor.

If I wanted the A4, the Optima would handily lose.

And since you mentioned the Sonota, while giving a lot of bang for buck has a floaty suspension, which doesn't lend confidence in driving.

 

Gonna be a while for me to consider kia as a reliable car and that goes for hyundai as well. The companies have definately upped the ante to compete but time will tell. I have had a civic, accord, and three tl's and they are built bullet proof for reliability. Pot has it right-for a daily driver/non enthusiast the kia and hyundai are going to be a good buy. I am surprised that a audi owner would go down to a kia?

 

What makes you think that you know what my neighbour wanted.....he owned two A4s and the A4 was the first car he did look at....he did not want to "downsize" either....why you cannot accept the simple fact that he did like the Optima more?? Simple as that...he did liek the look more, the more power and , interesting enoug, even the interior.....the Sonata, in its judgement, won in every score...

This is what I heard about the Sonata as well.....and I also heard that the Optima suspension are firmer and sportier...I never drove neither but I can tell you that outside and inside (I did sit in both) the Sonata and the Optima both they look very nice and good quality.....however, not that I necessarily take for granted what they say but C&D when it came to the Sonata, they put among the "High" marks "Buttoned down chassis" and "Solid road manners"...just saying.....

I never drove one but I do like it a lot.....maybe we should test drive one before to pass a judgement or being "surprised"....

 

I find it very difficult to believe an Optima "won" in a contest with an Audi unless there is something else going on that you are not sharing about the neighbor. I can understand not wanting another Audi and going in another direction, and I can understand downsizing, but I cannot understand in a serious cross-shopping situation between the two Audi handly losing except on price.

A friend of mine has a new Kia SUV, and while the bang for buck is there, there is something that is not quite right with the car.

 

Try one then and maybe you'll see it....I never drove a new Optima so I do not pass judgement on things I do not know or based only on badge...you should not do it either.....


The only thing I can tell you is that the "rumors" out there is that it is a fantastic car in its own right and stunning to look at to boot...I do not find difficult at all to believe that it won a context with an A4, just on look alone.....not to mention 60+ more HP....


As far as I can tell you he has not lost his job and the kids are long gone :-).....he did not say "you know I cannot really afford the Audi anymore" or "The Optima was too much of a good deal to pass on"...he simply said "I liked this car much more".....period....

On style alone you can offer me right now an A4 and an Optima Turbo for free and I would take the latter hands down...and I do not believe I'm the only one....

 

Just for fun I configured to the absolute maximum a Hyundai Genesis 5.0 R-Spec....$48.775...I did the same thing for an A4 2.0 Turbo Quattro....$52.875...pure folly...over 50 grand for a 4 banger not even at the top of its game in terms of output.....I would love to meet someone that got an A4 configured this way......and actually figure out how much actually he/she paid

 

^^^^ if both cars were free, I would take the Audi hands down. I see a lot of a4s on the road, Kia not so much. But you said it yourself bang for buck. It's hard to disagree the more expensive a car is the less bang for the buck. Considering the number of amgs and s550s and 750s I see in my neck of the woods bang for the buck has a different meaning I guess.

 

I see a lot of Optimas on the road and it is a new car...

Thre are not really alternatives to the AMGs, S550 and so on if you are in that segment....

 

Hmmm.....Kia sold 85K Optimas in 2011 with an increase of 209% YTD...Audi sold 35K A4 with an increase of 1.6% YTD...I don't know in which part of the country do you live.....

 

^^^^^

Those parts of the country, where they are hit hardest by the US job loss and property foreclosures, will very likely see a lot more Hyundai's/Kia's (not just Optima's) than Audi's.

 

If you are hit by a loss of job or foreclosed on your home or in any kind of financial distress you do not buy a 25-30K brand new car......you have other fish to fry...

 

As the current owner of a Hyundai Genesis and the former owner of three TL's in a row, I can tell you that the build quality of the Genesis surpasses the TL's. Each TL developed rattles in the first 6 months or came with them in the dash and door. The Genesis at 6 months is still rock solid. Also, the Genesis has greater elecronic sophistication and no problems there either.

Honda, like many American companies used to, has been riding on reputation. Acuras are easy to love. It's a car with many virtues. But the game has changed and Hyndai/Kia are forcing their hand. That's good for all of us.

 

See my signature for clues. I live in a fairly affulent area where German cars are prevalent. And, we are not discussing sales, Rolls will never sell as many cars as Hyundia. Sales of the GTR will never top the Genesis.

edit: there is an interesting thread on maxima.org where people are discussing what cars have been cross-shopped to the maxima. You might want to take a look. Not many people claimed to have cross shopped what appears to be a complete disregard to price; a $100K z06 to a Maxima, or a 535 to a Maxima etc. I also disregard leasing as it is akin to renting an apartment. People who are going to pay cash or finance usually take a different tact with their purchase.

 

I don't see many people driving Genesis in LA. But i do see a lot people talking on cell phones while driving their brand new MB's and BMW's. I see an equal number of people looking over their shoulders while backing in to park. That tells me they're driving stripped down "brands" with "pleatherette" seats (probably).

Oh but they look cool on the outside as they drive by with cell phone pressed to ear.

 

I agree on the cell phone thing. Although I don't understand why people who have Bluetooth in their cars, still hold the phone to their ears.

I'm sure you will agree though, to quote a now famous line: "stupid is as stupid does".

By the way I learned how to parallel park the "old" way and will always look over my shoulder. Same way I look over my shoulder when changing lanes...would hate to have the blind monitor system not warn me and kill someone because I relyed on a failed electronic nanny.

 

Well I never considered that. My take is that they talk on their cell phones because they don't have bluetooth which I think is an option on German cars.

 

I live in a fairly affluent area too and still I see a lot of Hyundais and other normal cars in my city....with the usual German heavy machinery....which obviously are more prevalent in gated communities, etc....

Granted you live in an city that was almost entirely bailed out by the government and the Federal Reserve (not many AMG and M would be left without Uncle Ben cranking up the printing presses) with enormous income disparity between "normal people" and the elected parasite financial class.....I understand that when someone makes millions per year without really working they would not look at anything not German and perceived as the absolute best...and, notoriously they have a tendency to flaunt, money is literally not a problem, someone prints it for them.....

In this city at least we still produce things, we have industries....

 

This will show my age but I remember back in the 1970s when the Audi started making its move in the US that it was considered junk and unreliable. It took several years for it to move into the category where you would use Audi in the same sentence as BMW or Mercedes. I owned a 1981 5000 Turbo for about 7 years and it was a fairly decent car but there were several areas of cheap finish and electrical gremlins. Then when the purely bogus "accidental acceleration" stuff happened it virtually made the Audis unsellable and set them back to square one. Nowadays they have again worked themselves back into comparison with BMW and Mercedes.

It may take some time for the Korean marques to establish themselves but what I have been seeing today from Kia and Hyundai really impress me. The Optima styling in particular is bold and different. The Genesis is also fairly nice looking but still lacks real identity. However the performance specs are outstanding. The only Audi's that catch my attention are the 2-door A5 model but my understanding is that Audi has gone from offering normally aspirated 6 cylinders to turbo 4-bangers. Owning one turbo was enough for me although I realize there has been considerable improvement in the technology since the 1980s. Still I would prefer a normally aspirated 6 over a turbo 4.

 

The Optima is kind of an Audi... Peter Schreyer designed both, no?

 

Back in the 70s most cars were junk, except we didn't realize it then. Remember Pacer?

As far as turbos, my 2005 Forester XT has only one warranty item over the course of it's life, and it wasn't the turbo. The little catch that allows the back seat to fold down broke and had to be repaired under warranty. It now has 85K and running strong.

Turbos are the wave of the future, get used to it

 

turbos are a fad, again.

They're good for power to weight, bad for fuel consumption.

 

All cars were NOT junk in the 1970s if they were maintained correctly. Of course still not as good as today's vehicles.

I did not say that turbos are useless. I only said given the choice between a naturally aspirated engine and a smaller turbo engine, I would opt for the naturally aspirated.

 

If true, why in a time of ever more stringent CAFÉ requirements are more & more manufactures introducing turbo motors?

 

Skipping right over all the Acuras, interesting. Personally I would have no problem buying the Optima SX, it’s a very nice looking car with great features available.


BTW Thanks for the info..did not realize that the A4 outsold the TL.

 

Someone is trying to tweak someone I think.

 

....yes but let's remember a little factoid about the tsunami that submerged half of Japan in 2011.....just to be precise....all Japanese automakers were heavily affected...

 

^^^^

Well like the Brooklyn Dodgers fans used to say after the Yankees whacked them in the World Series once again, "Wait till next year"

 

uh oh this thread

 

100% right: Audi to Kia is really an obscenity

 

Trolls gonna troll troll something something.

 

I've been noticing the same things of (at least several) Kia and Hyundai models as of late.

Sometimes I'll see a nice looking, new car that I am unfamiliar with and when I see what it is, it is a Hyundai and I'm like 'damn, nice job Hyundai'. The Optima looks really nice as well and I've always thought the Kia Forte (at least one a few streets down) looks like a cool little sport coupe, that could challenge a Civic SI or something.

Love the Genesis though.

 

I would have never posted this if I knew this was ending up in the "truly connoisseur" section of the forum ....

 

the optima looks like an audi product