ExplodingCake: 2012 Kia Optima LX

[ExplodingCake]

oohhhhh sshhhhiiiiitttt. Well done sir. When you texted me this morning I thought the civic got stolen from what you've told me. lol

Gracias. I had to do it because that Civic almost made me late for work on my second day because it was overheating. I didn't even say goodbye to it.

[ExplodingCake]

[ExplodingCake]

AWESOME!!

[Quashish]

How are the projectors on there? My friend has a 2010 base optima and the projectors on that kinda suck

[ExplodingCake]

How are the projectors on there? My friend has a 2010 base optima and the projectors on that kinda suck

They're much better than regular halogen housings. I could see better than I had on the '96 Civic with halogens. Though my Civic had better visibility w/ HID's on it , the '12 Optima projectors on halogen bulbs are much brighter.

[AAPOQ]

Not bad...
I always really liked the front end styling on the new optimas. And if its new, less headaches! Nice picup!

[ExplodingCake]

Not bad...
I always really liked the front end styling on the new optimas. And if its new, less headaches! Nice picup!

They're awesome I must say. It earned the nickname of "The Korean Audi" , thanks to Audi designer Peter Schreyer. Can't beat a 6-speed sportshift tranny mated with DOHC CVVT engine. Basically a Kia version of the 2012 Civic Si K24Z7 but with 16 more lb-ft of torque.



The rear door windows are a bit out of place. If it was me the figure of the window should have followed the line of the door edges.

[C91BLX7]

I always feel like the wheels look too small, or the car is to big LOL

[ExplodingCake]

I always feel like the wheels look too small, or the car is to big LOL

I definitely agree that the wheels are too small lol. Basically base models comes with 16's but, mine for some reason came with 17's and it's a base. It needs 19's or 20's.

[ExplodingCake]

Engine. These engines are noisy because of GDi and timing chain configuration.



Running dual air filters?









Added some molded chrome trim on the foglight housings to make that part less dull and boring.....

[ExplodingCake]

Updates:

[crazymikey]

The fog light surrounds add just that extra little touch that was missing, and the window tint sets off the whole car.

I really like these Optimas, I think they look fantastic, and I priced out some new ones, and you really get a lot of bang for your buck.

If I was in the market for new, these would be on my list. Sounds like you're happy with it. I would be too, Kia is making some nice products these days.

btw, that Rav4 in the pic above...is it just me, or does that front end look like a chipmunk?

[ExplodingCake]

The fog light surrounds add just that extra little touch that was missing, and the window tint sets off the whole car.

I really like these Optimas, I think they look fantastic, and I priced out some new ones, and you really get a lot of bang for your buck.

If I was in the market for new, these would be on my list. Sounds like you're happy with it. I would be too, Kia is making some nice products these days.

btw, that Rav4 in the pic above...is it just me, or does that front end look like a chipmunk?

lol wut?!




I get the same comment about those foglight chrome trims. All state that those trims should have been there in the first place , which I totally agree.

Performance wise , it's great. For a heavy car running 200HP , it's not sluggish at all. The sound system is pretty decent , but we all know stock systems are pure garbage. The seats are comfortable , leg room and head room in the back is perfect. The trunk space is very spacious. The materials is I would say above average. There are still some minor plastic parts that are so cheap I can compare them to those cheap plastic toys from overseas. However , it wouldn't bother since they are placed in an area where an average user wouldn't even look at.

Bad side: The headlight bulbs are H11B. Can't find them anywhere in an auto store other than the dealership and/or online. For the HID's I installed I had to do some minor modifications with it.

Gas mileage? About 21 - 24 MPG City and 30 - 32 MPG highway / 27 MPG mixed. It's got a huge tank of 18.5 gallons , so the wallet hurts abit especially I came from a Civic.

I could have got a 2013 Accord but the payments are high with a difference of $100/month. I don't put money down unless I really have the money. I can afford the payments but I wanna save at the same time so I went for the Kia instead.

Do I regret? I forgot about the Accord.

[crazymikey]

lol. Well, sounds like you made a wise choice in the end. I would not hesitate to go out and buy a new Kia/Hyundai product today.

[ExplodingCake]

Update: