Guys,

I managed to get a test drive with the new Optima. I must say im impressed with the suspension. Its surely better than the Peugeot 508. We went thru alot of bumps and i also sat at the back to get a feel and it was relatively smooth. We also took some corners on the Sprint Highway at 130kmph and body roll was minimal. Quite good road handling. Stable and well planted on the road.

But as i expected, the car is a bit sluggish on startup due to the body weight. Plus it doesnt have the 240Nm torque which the 508 has. But i think i can live with that as comfort is my biggest concern. Road noise and sound infiltration into the cabin is also at a minimal.

But i have a question about the warranty. It states 5 years unlimited mileage. I thought it was the standard 3+2 yrs with the remaining 2 yrs a limited insurance warranty covering major mechanical components. BUt i was told that this is a 5 year manufacturer warranty. Can someone clarify?

My guess is that it would be the same 5 years unlimited mileage offered earlier to Forte.

You would get a letter of guarantee from Naza Kia Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. listing the terms & conditions and components covered by this warranty.

14 components & parts covered such as Engine, Transmission, Drive Train, Cooling System, Fuel System, Front & Rear Suspension, Steering System, Brake System, Electrical System, Enhanced Electrical, Air Conditioner, Body Interior, Body Exterior and lastly, Casing.

Each Components & Parts listed will have subdivision of what actual parts that are covered within the scope of this warranty.

Of course, the main condition for this warranty is that the vehicle is to be serviced at Naza Kia Authorized service centres & within the scope of the service time period or mileage interval. Obviously, wear & tear items are not covered by this warranty (& this condition would apply to ANY car manufacturer's warranty).

This letter will be send to the owner AFTER the first service (1 month or 1,000 km service) at Naza Kia Authorized service centre. The letter will include owner's name & address, vehicle registration number, chassis number & engine number.

It would take approx. 3 weeks after the 1st service for this letter of guarantee to reach the owner (via post). This 5 years unlimited mileage warranty is transferable to the new owner of the car should you decide to sell it within the 5 year period.

(Just in case any of you start screaming KIA SALESMAN, I am NOT ONE. I am an owner of a 2011 Forte that has this 5 years unlimited mileage warranty)

Dun think its as simple as ordering more. Even my bros colleague in korea need to wait 3 months for his k5. Overwhelming response to date n their plant cannot cope wif the demand. Not forgetting tt the plant oso manufacture other models.

They juz recently introduced the 2.0 turbo in their own market. Why oh why? Why not here?

fit with 18" rims can provide comfort...? 

5figure is family income or persona ah? lol

Actually, I feel that regardless of boot space, rear seats should have proper recline angles that you can relax in. Have you tried sitting in the current Altis' and Camry's rear seats? You have to sit upright like sitting in a minibus. Even Camry, the so-called D-segment leader, doesn't have properly designed rear seats. Accord's rear seats are way better and gives you a good impression of the available space and general spaciousness. With the upright rear seats of the Camry, I don't feel that I'm sitting in an executive class vehicle at all.

What's low for you? The 1.8TSI PAssat looks like crap while the Peugeot 508 1.6L looks far better. Its not about ranges.

As long as you understand this formula: [HP = (Torque x RPM) / 5252] you will understand the relationship between torque, rpm and hp, and why a car with CVT will generate more power at any given rpm throughout the rev range.

This explains why in the past I could outgun a Perdana V6 (148PS) uphill to Genting, right to the top with my humble (but lightly modded) Honda City iDSI (88PS). He was behind me all the way, and with every successive hard turn I left him further and further behind. Due to a 4AT, he couldn't take advantage of his 148PS (revs climbing too slowly) while my car with a CVT is gunning uphill between 4000-5500 rpm all the way, generating most of that 88PS all the way. You should have seen his black face when we reached the top lol...

Anyway, you can't really judge a car's performance based on its max torque and max hp figures alone. However, suffice to say that the 2-litre Theta II engine isn't the most peppy engine around and you'd need to really work it to get some meaningful horses out of it. Of course there are certain soft mods that can be done to make it more responsive