All in all, the three Kia vehicles I tried out were excellent — they’re not luxury cars, but they don’t intend or pretend to be, and the Optima comes remarkably close to being one anyway. Other than that the Soul seems aimed younger than my pushing-40 self, I could easily see myself buying any of the three. The Optima, honestly, was probably the best car I’ve ever driven, and that includes several Toyota Camrys and a Mazda 5 (which are very good cars themselves). I’ve always been one to prefer practicality to flashiness in a car, and the Optima fills that bill admirably: It’s comfortable, smooth to drive, handles beautifully, has outstanding gas mileage, and appeals nicely to the geek in me as well (who too often takes a back seat while driving, if that makes any sense).
All three Kias have gotten good safety ratings, and come with front and side curtain airbags, so you can be sure they’ll do a good job keeping your family safe.
I look forward to seeing what kinds of improvements Kia makes to these already-fine vehicles for the 2013 model year.
All images copyright by, and courtesy of, Kia Motors America, Inc.
