First Drive: 2011 Kia Optima

Rivalries are a fact of life. When they are in the family, they can be troublesome. On the other hand, they can help to raise the level of game for both family members.

That’s the case Kia finds itself in with the 2011 Kia Optima.

First seen at the New York International Auto Show back in April, the Optima looked a stunning, almost Teutonic counterpart to the stylized and swoopy Hyundai Sonata. This wouldn’t much matter if the two cars came from separate automakers, but the Optima and Sonata are direct rivals offered by the same parent company.

At that point, the gauntlet was thrown, and all bets were off. It looks like Kia is not content to just play second fiddle anymore.

See also:

Door locks
Operating door locks from outside the vehicle • Turn the key toward the rear of the vehicle to unlock and toward the front of the vehicle to lock. • If you lock the door with a key, all veh ...

Brake system
Power brakes Your vehicle has power-assisted brakes that adjust automatically through normal usage. In the event that the power-assisted brakes lose power because of a stalled engine or some oth ...

Introduction
How to use this manual Fuel requirements Vehicle handling instructions Vehicle break-in process Indicator symbols on the instrument cluster ...