2012 Kia Optima Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Kia Optima review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 Optima, and includes Kia Optima safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

The Kia Optima is a five-passenger sedan that comes in a choice between regular, turbocharged or hybrid flavors.

As Kia’s Optima benefitted from an extreme makeover last year, the 2012 model year brings only minor, superficial changes. Outside, you’ll find newly standard fog lights, heated side mirrors and chrome door handles on the LX, while the EX gets new LED taillights. Kia also shuffles features in the Optima’s option packages; the Premium Package, not the Technology Package, now includes an eight-speaker Infinity audio system with HD radio, along with power-folding side mirrors. The cabin sees additional sprinklings of wood and metal trim, and you also get a new tire mobility kit.

The 2012 Kia Optima is outfitted in with one of four trim levels. The base model is the LX, which can be identified by its 16-inch steel wheels with plastic wheel covers. The LX also includes comfort features such as 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. Striking goodies that one wouldn’t expect on an entry-level model’s standard features list include dual exhaust outlets, heated outside mirrors with integrated turn signal indicators, fog lights, and a glove box with a cooling feature.

Options for the Optima LX include an automatic transmission with an ECO active fuel economy optimization feature (cruise control is also included with the automatic). Additional add-ons include an Infinity premium sound system, dual-zone climate control, a navigation system with a reversing camera, a power driver’s seat, a HomeLink garage door opener, and other upgrades.

Stepping up to the Optima EX rewards you with a more luxurious cabin decked out with leather seats and interior trim, an eight-way power driver’s seat, dual-zone automatic climate control, heated side mirrors, a UVO by Microsoft hands-free communication and entertainment system, a rearview camera, keyless entry and push-button ignition, automatic headlights, and more. Exterior enhancements include 17-inch alloy wheels and new-for-2012 LED taillights. You can further outfit the EX with a power front passenger’s seat, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, a panoramic sunroof, a navigation system and Infinity premium sound.

Those who want a little more adrenaline with their morning commute will want to check out the Optima SX, with its powerful turbocharged engine and 18-inch machined-finish alloy wheels. You’ll find features such as auto-leveling high-intensity discharge headlights, side sill trim, a rear lip spoiler, and a special grille design only on the SX. Look inside to discover black leather seats, carbon-look dash trim, metal pedals, light-up doorsill trim, Supervision gauges and LCD screen, and paddle shifters. Available for further garnishing are the same options offered on the EX.

Choosing the Hybrid means that an eight-way power driver’s seat, keyless entry with push-button ignition, dual-zone automatic climate control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, and a fixed rear seat with a center pass-through are yours for the taking. Features unique to the Optima Hybrid include special exterior visual effects, revised side mirror design, a lip spoiler for the trunk lid, added chrome trim, and low rolling resistance tires mounted to 16-inch alloy wheels. The options list for the Hybrid model looks about the same as for the EX and SX.

Powering the LX and the EX, the Optima’s 200-horsepower, 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder is equipped with gasoline direct injection (GDI). 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. Either way, fuel economy is rated 24-city/35-highway.

Optional for the EX model and standard on the Optima SX is a whooshy 274-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder. Notably, the engine’s torque is spread across a broad rev range between 1,750 and 4,500 rpm, so it’s not peaky like some turbocharged powerplants. Interestingly, this motor is only available with the automatic transmission, although it does offer a manual shift gate and, on the SX model, paddle shifters on the steering wheel. Fuel economy estimates are impressive given the power and the performance; the EPA says this engine returns 22 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway.

The Optima Hybrid combines a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with an electric motor powered by a lithium polymer battery pack that’s specially mounted so that it uses the same six-speed automatic transmission as on Optimas with the regular gas engines. Capable of making 206 horsepower, it can operate in zero-emission, fully electric mode at speeds up to 62 mph, according to Kia. Most importantly, the EPA estimates that the Kia Optima Hybrid should get 35 mpg in the city and 40 mpg on the highway*.

* 2011 rating. At the time this review was written, the EPA had not released 2012 ratings for the Optima Hybrid.

Standard on every 2012 Kia Optima are four-wheel-disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, traction control, stability control, hill assist control and six airbags. A reversing camera is optional. The Optima Hybrid also comes standard with a Virtual Engine Sound System (VESS), which plays a pre-recorded engine sound for alerting pedestrians when the car is operating in electric-only mode.

This list is not only comprehensive; Kia also backs it up with terrific crash test safety scores. For the second year in a row, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the Optima 5-Star ratings across the board, including for resistance to rollover. That’s a rarity.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has yet to release its 2012 data as this review is written, but last year the Optima got a Top Safety Pick designation for its top-rated performance in offset frontal-, side-, and rear-impact evaluations, as well as for its roof crush strength. You really can’t ask for anything better.

As we compile the data for this review, Consumer Reports has yet to rate the latest generation of the Kia Optima in terms of predicted reliability. However, J.D. Power and Associates this the Optima will perform slightly better than average in this regard.

Like all Kia models, every 2012 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.

Features that were once exclusive to luxury nameplates, such as Bluetooth, navigation systems, and premium sound systems, have become so pedestrian. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you’ve gotta offer goodies that draw attention. And the Optima’s got ‘em. Try finding amenities like a cooled glove box, heated and cooled front seats, and heated rear seats in any other vehicle in the segment. Except for the Optima’s corporate cousin, the Hyundai Sonata, you can’t.

When you think of midsize family sedans, the usual three or four suspects pop immediately to mind. But the 2012 Kia Optima is jumping up and down with a giant “Pick Me” sign tattooed on its flanks, and, like the anchors of the “Today Show,” we’re inclined to give it air time. Not only is the Kia Optima an incredibly handsome vehicle, it’s surprisingly fun to drive, impressively well-equipped, fuel efficient, exceptionally safe and offers cool features that other cars in the class simply can’t match. With all of its advantages, heck, we’re thinking about giving the Optima its very own talk show.

By Liz Kim