Of course ppl will be sceptical about the Optima. Its a Korean for Gods sake! U think im not sceptical? If i wasnt i wouldnt be on all these threads talking about the Optima.

But let me ask u this question. What are you hoping to get from a Camry test drive? The new Camry isnt gonna feel much different from the current model in terms of comfort since the suspension setup is the same. Thats wht Toyota does and has been doing for many years. They give comfy seats and comfort tuned suspension to mask its severe lack of specs. They create the wow factor in the cabin and most ppl are blinded. This allows them to price the car much higher thus creating a false image of a premium model.

Keep in mind that im a Toyota fan but over the past year, ive realised that Toyota has been taking us Malaysians for a ride with inferior spec'ed cars while charging us full premiums.

Go check out the specs Toyota puts into their US models. Those are the same specs on offer by the Koreans here in Malaysia. Why is that Toyota can offer those specs in US for much cheaper prices and yet exclude them for Malaysian models and still charge us more? Because they know Malaysians will still accept and buy.

So when u talk about price, look at the specs first. Do you think specs like traction control, hill assist control, cornering brake control, 8 way power seats with dual memory, 5 years unlimited mileage warranty are cheap? How much do you think Toyota would charge to have those specs in the Camry 2.0L?

The current Camry 2.0G (high spec) costs RM155K (11K more than the Optima). It comes with only a 4 speed auto, only ABS, EBD and BA (which even Proton has now) and 2 airbags. The new Camry 2.0L will have the same specs and gearbox setup and probably cost about RM160K. Now tell me if its worth paying RM16K more and getting much less? Take after sales service and resale value out of the equation as the Koreans are improving tremendously in both these areas and in 5-7 years time, these criteria would be redundant in comparisons. Plus the Optima is a bigger car overall with more interior space than the Camry not to mention it has the wow factor which the upcoming Camry wont have for sure.

Ppl may still be sceptical bout Koreans but go check out the Forte sales. For 11 months of 2011, 5,291 units of the Forte was sold in comparison to 5,545 units of the Altis. What does that tell you? When was the last time you saw sales figures of a Korean make coming close to those of a established Jap model? U really think ppl in general are sceptical about Koreans? The sales figures show otherwise.

Analyse all you want but do so with an open mind. Going around assuming that Toyota is God won't get you anywhere. I did that before. Only when ppl start moving away from Toyota will Toyota learn that they need to make major improvements.