Kizashi Club

Just got back from a road trip from Vegas and L.A.

Rented a Kia Optima and drove about 1100 miles and was not impressed. I can't believe that some comparisons between it and the Kiz on the web actually favored the Optima! I couldn't wait to get back from my trip and drive my Kiz. I smiled and said "AHHHHHHH" as soon as I sat back in my car. So much better.

Yeah, not surprised to hear that.

While the Kia Optima looks sporty, it's underpinnings are not at all. The car is basically a Hyundai Sonata with different sheet metal. Those cars have good styling finally, but it's not like they were going to offer sporty characteristics to what was designed to be Cam-cord fighters. I have never read a review that called the Sonata or Optima a good handling, sporty sedan.

I have personally checked out the Optima and think the interior is also a let down. The exterior is attractive, but inside is a different story.

I drove the Optima EX & EX Turbo when they first came out. I hated the handling - I had no confidence when taking an on ramp at speed. It felt like the thing was going to lose traction at any second. Quite the opposite to the Kizashi of course! I think Kia (and probably Hyundai too) have built their reputation on styling, value and features and not handling.

I agree Stodge, the Korean cars like the Optma have come a long way but still aren't quite there in terms of performance. The way the media in Australia carries on you'd think the Korean cars are the best thing since sliced bread but I'm not convinced.

I owned a Kia minivan. It fell over everytime it turned the corner.....

The Kia's and Hyundai's look pretty good but they are garbage cars and I wouldn't buy one if they were the last cars on earth.

Scariest car I've ever driven: 2011 Elantra. I don't know what's going on in Korea, but they struggle with engineering their cars to handle well.

The car was super darty, and tipsy in the corners. Drove from SLC to Vegas and back in one, I spent the entire trip correcting the car on the freeway. It couldn't track in a straight line and little corrections messed up the entire car's balance - dart right, dart left, tipping on the narrow wheelbase. So tiring! It turned me off to Hyundai/Kia.

Honestly, I don't think there is any compelling Korean car other than the ones in the upper line-up range. I can't think of reasons why I would ever want an Elantra or a Sonata over many American or Japanese cars in the segment.
The Korean cars that I find most compelling are the nicer ones like the Azera, Genesis, and the Equus. These offer much more even compared relatively to their lower priced models.
While cars like the Elantra and Sonata may be a few hundred dollars cheaper than their rivals, the cars like the Genesis and Equus are several thousand dollars cheaper than their respective rivals and offer a lot for the money.