Hi, i'm going to book one Optima soon. Is there any promotions or packages out there?

Bro, i guess we can't use the last model to compare, it was alright, but not good enough to compete with T&H. But the current model is very tempting IMHO, and rather competitive in terms of design, gadgets and tech level so there's little reasons for NAZA to bow down. Unless, off course, T&H submits to pressure and start a price war (which is unlikely). Another good example is Forte, which never had any price discount and i reckon it is still selling pretty well.

Besides, based on the information that you've provided above, the depreciation seem reasonable, which is roughly 11% per annum.

I think I might go ahead. After all, i kinda need another car now, so i can't wait for the price to drop in 1-2years' time. Now i wonder if there are any good deals out there.

Actually, i do agree that the car is a little expensive. I was expecting 135-140k. However, i've made some comparisons among similarly priced cars and concluded that none of these vehicles offer the size or trim level found in the new Optima, eg. VW Golf, Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, VW Jetta, 2nd hand Audi A4 (the maintenance cost for this car seems scary). Furthermore, can we reasonably expect NAZA Kia to cut the price of a newly launched flagship model by 10-15k within a year? unlikely i reckon. Also, from what i observed, Kia is working really hard to churn out extra units from their factories to meet global demands (as a result, they don't really bother with your preferred choice of color, and Kia would randomly pack anything they have into the container and ship it out to Malaysia, it's like take it or leave it). I think the price is ok la, 4-5k extra over Sonata and the kosong Honda Accord for the handsome exterior design is worth it IMHO.

In my opinion, don't be bothered too much pertaining to the resale value. After 4-5years the resale value difference is probably 10-15k (only my guess-timate, something like jap car 50k, korean car 35k) between the Jap and Korean car, which is not really a big amount for a person who's buying a 140-150k vehicle. Besides, if you could afford a 150k vehicle right now, 5yrs down the road you could be doing even better then, you'll probably ignore the difference. So if you like it, why not just buy it and enjoy the ride? Well, i'm driving a kenari right now, so longer i delay my decision, the longer i'll have to suffer in my washing machine on wheels (i love my kenari for its versatility but i'm getting old and i long for a more comfortable car )

What really bothers me right now is the selling price, would they give hefty discounts 6mth to a year later? Am I being cheated if i buy it now? Any wise man out there can answer my question???

I must say i agree with RCRACER's points. The old sonata/optima were so hopeless that i'd rather drive a MYVI, thus, the resale value then were horrible.

Only time will tell how the current generation would perform in terms of resale value but i guess the new Hyundai Sonata is doing not too bad currently.

Quality is acceptable loh. I've checked out the new Passat, now, that is high quality but off course it is 30k more lah while giving you less. I've compared the Accord and Sonata a while ago, Sonata is just a little behind the Accord, but other factors like spec and trimmings also count lah.

Hehehe
I will be one of the first customers to get K5 OTR.
2011 batch? - I don't care. The difference would be insignificant after 5-6 years.
Pricey for a Korean made? - I don't care. I see, I like, I buy
High maintenance? - Which D-seg car doesn't have high maintenance?

And I'll be given a brand new car with rear aircon vent.

However, due to JPJ registration issues, I can't get it OTR before CNY. Could've gotten it before CNY but i insist on my preferred number plate. Huhuhu...

My SA have been ok so far, though not 100% honest with me, but they do get the car fast. PM me if you are interested.

+1 Well said.

I also resisted the idea of getting T.V or H.C so I won't waste my prime age getting stucked with a Thai made b-segment jap car.
It was lousy P2 car --> C-segment car for me. And I figured that second value probably wouldn't bother me too much after 5-6years time.

I also went 5-6-7 times but the desire gets stronger and stronger each time. Huhuhu...

Had my K5 for a week. Only one problem occurred so far - Creaking sunroof. One that I feared, anybody having the same problem? There's a faint creaking noise from the sunroof whenever i go through uneven roads. After a bit of searching, it seems that Hyundai USA has issued a Technical Service Bulletin to lub the sunroof parts. I doubt that would be permanent. But better than nothing. FYI, the creaking noise doesn't occur when the roof is open.

Other than that, this is one heck of a good car, the interior feels solid (some said it looks like Waja but i'd suggest them to go see a doctor) , ride comfort is good (it would be even better if you swap for 17" rims and better tyres but that would spoil the look, so I could bear with it totally, huhuhu, i'm such a b*t*h ), engine is powerful and smooth enough (I really cannot understand why some guai lows said the engine is not refine enough in their reviews, the difference on engine refinement between this car and a camry is pretty minimal for normal user like myself). The front and rear seats are spacious. Few petite female colleagues of mine sat in my car and they all had at least a foot between their legs and the front seats. I'm almost six feet and i find no problem with the back seat, but lets face it, how often do you carry passengers that are taller than six feet over long distance? Give and take lor.

However, few things that buyers must endure or sacrifice are the front passenger seating position and the small little windows and lack of front parking sensors.

The seating positions are low for both the front passenger and the driver. As a driver, i find it hard to estimate the front as i can't see beyond the bulge of the bonnet, especially when I park the car or driving/turning out of basement carparks. Can't push the driver seat too high as the sporty low roof line would not allow it. The front passenger is worst as the passenger seat does not come with vertical height adjustments, so all my petite wife could see the the dashboard and the sky. hahahaha. Not much of a problem, just get her a ipad to divert the attention.

The sporty roof line limits the size of the windows, it makes it hard to reach out for parking tickets or make toll payments. But i could accept and endure all those because the sporty design was what drawn me to this car anyway. Just step outside of the car and compare it to other jap cars and you'll see why. I was comparing Mondeo, Camry, Accord and K5, Mondeo and K5 wins. Camry and Accord immediately feels outdated.

I'm considering a front sensor, but wonders whether that'll void any warranties or not.

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Added on February 19, 2012, 10:24 amFew more things to add,

1) The HU can't connect to android phones properly. It is possible to connect but requires a few tries and good timing.
2) Can't lock the door from outside when the engine is running. A bit of inconvenience as I always lock the car doors when i leave my wife in the car. It's for safety.
3) The electric folding mirrors won't fold down automatically when i move the car.

This post has been edited by JuneSeptember: Feb 19 2012, 10:24 AM

2) Central lock button - You mean lock it via the remote key or the button on your arm rest? The arm rest button is very far and my wife is very small. Difficult.
3) Mirror folds up/close when you park the car, but it won't automatically unfolds when i move the car. My concept is like door auto-lock. The car doors lock up automatically when your car travels faster than 10kph, the mirrors should do that too.

Oh yeah, i'm enjoying every bits of it now. It is really a head turner.

small-jeff, another reason for you to book one: Korea launched 2013 model without any cosmetic changes. They added in a few additional driver aids, auto parallel parking and stuffs like that.

After searching the entire morning, found two possible fixes for the creaking sunroof: 1) grease the sunroof parts using special non-corrosive grease (USA solution) 2) Replace a wrong-sized screw (China solution)

Forgot to add: The ECO mode really dulls the drive train response, i wonder how much would it improve the fuel economy. However, i find it smoothens gear changes over the normal mode.

This post has been edited by JuneSeptember: Feb 19 2012, 12:59 PM

Nothing. SA said he could give me coil mats but never give me. Should i ask?

SA also intro'd tinting salesperson to me saying she could give me good discount. That's it.

What the heck? But I agree with you, I'm tempted to do that sometimes.

8 speakers are a lot to me. Perhaps I'm used to two speakers all this while.

Which Kia do you own? Optima or sportage?

I tried the sportage and I loved it. However the speedometer makes it feel one generation older so I chose optima instead.

I have yet to fix my sunroof noises but the noise gets fainter after a car wash so I suspect it could be rubber rubbing against each other or I could be wrong. Any suggestions?

And pertaining the front sensor, I think some models don't require drilling, it is stick-on behind your bumper.

Wow, thank you for all the solutions. I'm gonna try that 3M sticky tape first.

Btw, no drilling sensors:

No holes sensors

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Added on February 20, 2012, 11:01 pmWow, thank you for all the solutions. I'm gonna try that 3M sticky tape first.

Btw, no drilling sensors:

No holes sensors


This post has been edited by JuneSeptember: Feb 20 2012, 11:01 PM

I doubt optima's sales volume could justify a major capex for ckd operation. Aiyah, don't sell the car la, I predict that our optima will remain unique for the next five years. People will still be turning heads.

Design wise, I think the only company that could surpass optima is either honda or mazda.

Kalau suka, abang beli lah, jangan tak beli.

Just sent my car for first service, heard from the Sales Mgr that they are going to do a road show end of March till early April, can test drive K5 kao kao.

Btw, i lazy to DIY my sunroof noise so i asked Chan Sow Lin SC to fix it but none of the service technicians knows what's wrong with my sunroof and simply sticked a long strip of black spongy tape along the base of the sunroof. Noise still persists so i peeled it off and repositioned it as per leds' solution, haven't tested it yet. Btw, the sticky tape residue how to remove ah?

So can somebody compile the list of LYN K5 owners as per tradition?

I made a mistake actually, I opted for semi syn as I thought they gonna change oil again on 5k km service. So I'm gonna change oil again on 5k km service and then switch back to fully syn.

I also feel like changing the license plate light to white led. Was it plug and play?

180 degrees? Our K5 is such a gentle whale, how could you?

But one annoying thing bout the "leg brake" is that, it's hard to gauge how much brake you have engaged. If not enough force, you'll have to disengage it and redo again. Bad for mid night tofu delivery trips.