2011 Kia Optima Overview Change Vehicle

This 2011 Kia Optima review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2011 Optima, and includes Kia Optima safety, reliability, and fuel economy information.

Perhaps the question is easier answered by asking what isn’t new for 2011. The Kia Optima is completely redesigned and grabbing all kinds of attention that its predecessor could only dream about. Key changes include larger dimensions, more power and performance, better fuel economy, added technology, and dramatic styling that catches the eye. One thing hasn’t changed, however. The Optima is still an incredible value.

Kia sells the redesigned 2011 Optima midsize sedan in four separate trim levels with a choice between three different engines.

The most affordable model is the Optima LX with the standard six-speed manual gearbox. This model comes with air conditioning, power windows, power door locks with remote keyless entry, power mirrors, a tilt and telescopic steering wheel, a trip computer, a manual driver’s seat height adjuster, and a 60/40-split folding rear seat. Bluetooth hands-free calling is standard, and the stereo system includes a CD player, satellite radio with three free months of service, an auxiliary audio input jack, and a USB port. The Optima LX rides on 16-inch steel wheels with plastic wheel covers, but sports dual exhaust outlets, integrated turn signal indicators in the outside mirror housings, and a glove box with a cooling feature. Add the optional automatic transmission, and the LX gets cruise control and an ECO active fuel economy optimization feature. Additional options include dual-zone climate control, Infinity premium sound, a navigation system, a reversing camera, a power driver’s seat, a HomeLink garage door opener, and other upgrades.

The Optima EX is the more luxurious model, equipped with leather seats and interior trim, a UVO by Microsoft hands-free communication and entertainment system with a rearview camera, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated side mirrors, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with a compass, HomeLink, keyless entry and push-button ignition, an eight-way power driver’s seat, automatic headlights, floor mats, and more. Exterior cues include 17-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, and chrome door handles. Options for the EX model include a panoramic sunroof, a power front passenger’s seat, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, a navigation system, Infinity premium sound, and memory for the driver’s settings.

Performance-minded buyers will want the Optima SX, which comes standard with a powerful turbocharged engine and 18-inch machined-finish alloy wheels. Other features unique to the SX include auto-leveling high-intensity discharge headlights, LED taillights, a rear lip spoiler, side sill trim, a special grille design, and aerodynamic wiper blades. Inside, the SX gets black leather seats, Supervision gauges and LCD screen, carbon-look dash trim, paddle shifters, metal pedals, and illuminated doorsill trim. The options list mirrors the EX model.

Kia is also offering the Optima as a hybrid model for the first time. Based on the Optima LX, the Hybrid includes an eight-way power driver’s seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry with push-button ignition, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, and a fixed rear seat with a center pass-through. Features unique to the Optima Hybrid include special design and aerodynamic tweaks such as LED taillights, a lip spoiler for the trunk lid, revised side mirror design, added chrome trim, and low rolling resistance tires mounted to 16-inch alloy wheels. The Optima Hybrid also comes standard with a Virtual Engine Sound System (VESS), which plays a pre-recorded engine sound for pedestrians when the car is operating in electric-only mode. Options for the Hybrid model include 17-inch alloys, a panoramic sunroof, Infinity sound, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, navigation, a reversing camera, HomeLink, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with compass, HID headlights, upgraded interior trim, and more.

Optima buyers can select between three different engines for 2011. The standard powerplant is a 200-horsepower, 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder engine equipped with gasoline direct injection, which explains why the Optima wears “GDI” badges on the back. The LX model comes with a six-speed manual gearbox, but most LX buyers will opt for the six-speed Sportmatic automatic transmission that comes standard on the EX model. Fuel economy is rated 24-city/35-highway with the manual, and 24-city/34-highway with the automatic.

Optional for the EX model and standard on the Optima SX, the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder produces an astounding 274 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque spread across a broad rev range between 1,750 and 4,500 rpm. The turbo motor is paired only with the Sportmatic transmission, which offers a manual shift gate and, on the SX model, paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Fuel economy estimates are impressive given the power the performance; the EPA says this engine returns 22 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway.

The Optima Hybrid utilizes what Kia calls a full parallel hybrid system combining an Atkinson-cycle 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with a lithium polymer battery pack that is lighter in weight and can hold a charge longer than traditional nickel-metal hydride batteries. The battery pack powers a transmission-mounted electric drive motor, a unique design that allows Kia to employ the same Sportmatic six-speed automatic found in other Optima models. Impressively, the Optima Hybrid can operate in zero-emission, fully electric mode at speeds up to 62 mph and makes a combined 206 horsepower. As this review is written, the EPA has not provided fuel economy estimates. However, based on figures for the mechanically identical Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, the Kia Optima Hybrid should get 35 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway.

Like all Kia models, every 2011 Optima is covered by a generous standard warranty that covers the powertrain for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Basic warranty coverage is good for five years or 60,000 miles, and Kia offers free roadside assistance for the first five years or 60,000 miles of ownership.

Every 2011 Kia Optima is equipped with six airbags, four-wheel-disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, traction control, stability control, and hill assist control. A reversing camera is optional.

Not only is the car well equipped with safety features, it proves exceptionally crashworthy. In the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) new, more rigorous testing procedures, the Optima nabs a perfect, and very rare, 5-Star rating across the board, including for resistance to rollover. It simply does not get any better than this. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety agrees, awarding the Optima with a Top Safety Pick for top-rated performance in offset frontal-, side-, and rear-impact evaluations. The car also gets the best possible rating for its roof crush strength.

If there is any question mark associated with buying a new Kia Optima, it pertains to reliability. Consumer Reports and J.D. Power and Associates have not received enough data in customer surveys to rate the car in recent years, and J.D. Power offers a prediction of slightly below average based on the performance of all Kia models in recent years.

Vehix test-drove the Optima EX equipped with the Technology and Premium Packages. That means our sample vehicle included navigation, a reversing camera, Infinity sound, Bluetooth, a panoramic sunroof, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated and cooled leather seats, heated rear seats, and a heated steering wheel. Guess what the price tag was, including destination charges? $27,700. That is not a typo. Amazing.

Given such a low price tag, we’d be predisposed to excuse dynamic flaws in the Optima, but we’re happy to report that this is unnecessary. While the Optima isn’t perfect, any gripes we have about the driving experience are reduced to nitpicking that does little to serve the general consumer. In fact, the only significant complaint we have pertains to as-tested fuel economy, which came in at 22.8 mpg in a mix of city and highway driving. Considering that the Optima EX’s 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is estimated to return 24 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway, that’s pretty disappointing. But we also didn’t drive the car with its fuel-saving ECO mode engaged, so maybe it’s possible to do better than that.

Instead, we chose to enjoy the Optima’s healthy 200-horsepower engine and snappy six-speed Sportmatic transmission. The car is quick if not necessarily fast, and most people won’t miss the thrust of a V6 engine. Still, if its more power that you want, the Optima EX Turbo and SX stand ready to serve.

Kia fashions itself as a Korean version of Mazda and Volkswagen, so its cars are tuned for a more engaging driving experience. This means the Optima’s electric steering features significant heft and resistance even at parking lot speeds, that the suspension is tuned for a firm ride that connects occupants to the road surface, and that the transmission is geared for speedy response to inputs at the accelerator. If something soft and cushy is what you seek, perhaps the Optima won’t work.

That’s not to say the Optima is uncomfortable. Our EX test car’s eight-way power driver’s seat offered a wide array of adjustability, and the back seat was extremely accommodating even for tall adults. And when you can buy a car with heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, and a heated steering wheel for well under $30,000, it’s hard to complain about comfort levels no matter the weather.

Normally, Vehix doesn’t recommend a car unless reliability is expected to be average or better, but in this case we are going to make an exception. First, the only dependability prediction available is based on the performance of all Kias, not just the Optima. Second, Kia offers an outstanding warranty on the Optima, negating fears about reliability.

Now that we’ve resolved that matter, it is clear that Kia is serious about dominating the family sedan market. The redesigned 2011 Optima is exceptionally safe, extremely affordable, impressively fuel efficient, and, as an added bonus, entertaining to drive. It also helps that the car is quite stylish, inside and out, and offers uncommon features unavailable on competing models. Add the performance potential of the turbocharged models, and the amazing Optima Hybrid’s ability to go as fast as 62 mph on electric power alone, and there’s really no question about it. Kia builds one of the best midsize family sedans on the market.

By Christian Wardlaw