I leased my SXL in 2013 and liked it so much I bought it prior to lease end. The features and performance offered by the SXL are exceptional. At 55,000 miles there have been no maintenance issues at all! The Infinity sound system hooks right up to my smart phone and sounds great. A solid vehicle for a good price.
bought my SXL one year ago. I thought Kia's were crap until I sat in it and then drove it. The leather is supple the heated and cooled seats are something I never knew I needed and now I don't know how I could handle not having them. The engine is powerful and smooth. The best part is the lease cost makes the car even more affordable. Luxury, Value, and refinement. Go drive your Mercedes, BMW, or Audi. Great cars, but I can't justify the cost when you get so much from the Optima SXL.
3 years after unveiling of this beauty.. STILL LOVING IT!.. '13 SXL is by far the best car i've ever owned and still going strong at 52K. Has the power, comfort and style. I honestly think its the best overall mid-size sedan in the segment.
fast forward to today.. traded my '13 SXL to a Stinger GT and lovin' it!.. still miss my SXL though. Great car overall, but dealing with the recalls had me jumping off ship.
@@beefen7921 I have the 2013 sx-t one, it has 68,000+ miles in then need to replace the engine but cause of the recall I got a whole new engine for free with a life time warranty on it… I got 2 years till it’s paid off completely so ima just keep it
The optima is on par w/Accord & definitely better than mazda.. Ive owned all 3, optima is not (cheap) its reliable, quality interior, better than 2013 Altima.. (I test drove that too), i have sx Limited, very fast, efficient, adequate power, smooth ride.. Ive had it for a year now.. Absolutely No complaints.. If it were crap i would be the first to say it!!.. So until any of you nay sayers drive the car.. Dont speculate on what you think you know.. Drive it & then find out.. This is a quality car.. All around.
Nice review guys, but not sure you're impressed enough and a little too hung up on the KIA badge. I just wanted a good looking, fast, luxurious and roomy car when I bought my 2013 SWP SXL and it is the BEST car I have ever owned. And I've even had a Mercedes CLK AMG. KIA ride is better, interior is more plush & comfortable and the Infinity sound is off the chain! All you folks on here hating on KIA need to get an education. :D
"Beiing a Kia I expect it would feel cheap" - How long have been reviewing cars? In the last 4 years Kia has the same or better quality as any other "next level" brand.Still not in the level as a premium, but better than Honda, Mazda, Peugeot, etc..
I just bought a 2013 sxl. Same color as this. Navigation function good. Drives nice. Nice interior. No tears. Pretty nice for the year. Also have what these modern cars have. Panamera sunroof and GPS. Nice technology. I just figured why spend over 30k when I can spend 10k and get the same things I'm looking for in a new car.
FYI: TH-cam has been flagging a bunch of my past videos for various & odd reasons. I won't bore you with the details, suffice to say, I am making the necessary/required edits and replacing them with revised versions including a handful of my 2012 reviews. Thanks for your understanding - Dave
Hey Dave! Wanted to say, you're team is doing an awesome job with the reviews. I love the fact that they are succinct, practical and easy to understand. Looking forward to more videos coming from you. All the best!
i LOVE the way this car drives. it handles so tight and you can EASILY pass up other cars in this. it takes some getting used to turn wise or go wse, bc you sometmies take off too quick, but i love the drive of this car soo much. although even w the rear seat folded down, trunk space is far less than the crosstour. but still, the handling of this car got me
The engine blew on my optima ex turbo about a year ago at around 126,000 km :/ got the motor replaced under the recall, put about 40,000 km on it after that. I also had the fuel pump go out on me a few months into buying the car, but was covered under warranty. I got the recall letter and I took it into my Kia dealership. They told me that they ran the test and told me my car is fine...that was definitely not the case. There is lifetime warranty on the new engine now.. let's hope it stays strong! Have a few mods on it as well. Love the car, its pretty quick, hate the issues. Has any one had any issues after the engine has been replaced? Don't wanna get it replaced again
Nice review I was also surprised by Alex's comments, but this is a car to nock. Kia really getting their act together. I've owned three Accords,and it's a rough decision to change....
I like Optima, looks so good. And how equiped interior has car for that price isn't bad. Also the Kia badge wouldn't bother me. A car with soul. (and I don't have one, I'm not the owner).
I traded in my 2007 BMW 328xi on a new 2013 SX turbo with the touring package and technology package. So far, I love this car. Great power, handle and ride. I drove a new BMW for a few days but it honestly didn't drive any different than this...actually, the steering in the new BMW is worse than my old one...and in my opinion, worse than this Kia. I wasn't impressed with the new BMW. Plus, with this being a left over 2013, I got a great discount. Sticker was 32k...but I ended up getting it for 25k. To get a BMW with this same equipement would be twice as much. I can't believe how much I like this Kia. Pleasantly surprised!! Peter Schreyer sure knows how to design cars.
I agree. I bought a fully loaded 2013 EX because I didn't even want too drive the turbo as I knew I couldn't budget for it and really didn't need it but I probably would try and buy it, but around here they don't negotiate as much on the top trim level due too demand from State Farm workers paying top dollar, not that I blame them. I bought it in Feb 10th, 2013, it was built Jan 3, 2013....16 Months and no complaints except no spare tire. When I took it for the first oil change, KIA sent me a $100.00 Visa for add on's and I bought the spare for like 180-200 bucks minus the 100 off so it cost me 80-100. Should have negotiated that into the final price:( My bad and I think the sales person was telling me it was negotiable but I was blinded by the last test drive and the price. SH*T. Mine fully optioned with cargo net (very handy), tray, mat, door applique, wheel locks etc and both package's went for $27,240.00 minus a 1500.00 discount was $25, 740.00. Very impressed so far with it and when my 4 co-workers go to lunch with me...I'm expected too drive the five of us! Ha Ha. I've had a lot of compliments on my car from people who drive 2012 Toyota Camry's who paid thousands more and basically got less car and in my opinion have very base interiors? Why pay for the name and get less car, my 1995 Camry car blew up the engine at 102,000 miles and was beginning to rust out! Plus, I have a better warranty so if the company stands behind it's product like KIA does I figure why not give it a test drive. I traded a 2005 Mazda 6 in (the transmission dropped completely at 2200 miles and had A/c problems every year and the dealer wouldn't help on that at all and the trans was showing signs of going out again at 65,000 miles! I test drove or have owned most of the competition including the new 2014 Mazda which was available in Feb 2013? I really wanted to like the Mazda better, but it wasn't near the car the Optima presented itself during the test drives, has been in reality, and was $29,000 and not as well equipped. My brother has an AWD 2007 Infinity g-35 which costs 36,000 + and I like my car better... more real world applications like heated steering and back seats which come in handy in central Illinois winter's on the way too lunch as well as ventilated cooled seats. Wish they made an AWD version otherwise where I live, it's a great car for the price. It's made in West Point, Georgia and that does mean something to me as I wanted some of the money to go back into the workers hands here in the USA. I test drove the LX, EX w/o packages and the final car I bought, money well spent as the ride and interior noise is noticeably different from my test drives. Get the higher trim if you can afford a little extra as it's money well spent.
Scott Cook I'm with you on an AWD model. That would be great here in Ohio. But I really like this car so far. Just an added note about the spare tire, my BMW did not have a spare, nor do most luxury cars. Run flats are the name of the game with them. My buddy bought a 2013 Lincoln MKZ. We checked out each others cars and he really like mine. Much more room. We are both fairly tall guys (I'm 6'1" and he's 6'3"). I got in his Lincoln and the first thing I did was hit my head. He paid over 45k for it. Ouch! I love the turbo in the SX. For the $$$ you just can't go wrong here. My father-in-law said "If you'd take off the KIA badge, you'd think it was a Lexus or BMW"
beckd02 I hope KIA is listening, the AWD is the next logical step as this cars sell fairly well in Canada and for thousands more from my understanding. Living in the Northern states AWD makes sense, even if it adds curb weight. You right about the run flats. My friend has the 2013 VW Passat Tdi (very nice, roomy and great refined interior and ride for $35,000) and we got a flat in the middle of Missouri on the highway over 15 miles from pretty much anywhere civilization existed. Thankfully he had a spare as he refuses to drive without one. He hit a piece of road debris and ruined the tire, no kit would have helped us and we had to drive another twenty five miles to Cape Girardeau to get a similar tire as they didn't have them at the truck stop tire shop 10-15 miles down the road. They are a specialty kind of tire. Funny my dad only drove Lincolns and Ford LTD's before and in the late 70's early 80's they were great cars... I'm 5'11" so I might be ok with it but they are pricy for my income. People make a big deal on badges but hey I've been driving since 1981 and remember when Honda's, Toyotas and most all Japanese cars were the poor man's car and people made fun of them but they lasted for a long time. Look at where they are now...Lexus spawned out of that as did the Acura in this review. So I think if KIA keeps up the innovations they will go far. I'm glad you like the SX Turbo and when I get my EX paid off in 32 months I'm going to look into them. I've seen a lot of KIA Optima's as well as the rest of the KIA line up around here, mostly the SX...man they are sharp! Peace and safe driving!
Scott Cook I've watched this one. Isn't it funny how people have a "badge" stigma. I could care less. Give me a good car for the $$$ and I'll drive it!
Thanks 4 the review guys, wouldn't buy the Korean car for that money though. You are often using the phrase "all the bells and whistles" but do you realize that this phrasal verb expression is actually meaningless ans annoying?.. Just an observation. Good review, as always, nice job.
This car is not better than Honda nor Mazda. Kia's are known to be cheap. Last time I checked, when were Kia's not cheap? They still are... And the Kia Sorento is an expensive ripoff. Let me guess... You own a Kia or one of your family or friends do.
Donny Ausby it is better. Kia is only own by Koreans not designed or made by Koreans. It practically a European car now. Audi designer. And BMW and Mercedes engineers stolen away from the big boys. That is why it beats out the two top Japanese cars in this segment. Get with the times..
I leased my SXL in 2013 and liked it so much I bought it prior to lease end. The features and performance offered by the SXL are exceptional. At 55,000 miles there have been no maintenance issues at all! The Infinity sound system hooks right up to my smart phone and sounds great. A solid vehicle for a good price.
bought my SXL one year ago. I thought Kia's were crap until I sat in it and then drove it. The leather is supple the heated and cooled seats are something I never knew I needed and now I don't know how I could handle not having them. The engine is powerful and smooth. The best part is the lease cost makes the car even more affordable. Luxury, Value, and refinement. Go drive your Mercedes, BMW, or Audi. Great cars, but I can't justify the cost when you get so much from the Optima SXL.
2014 SX owner here... and I agree. It's a great car.
3 years after unveiling of this beauty.. STILL LOVING IT!.. '13 SXL is by far the best car i've ever owned and still going strong at 52K. Has the power, comfort and style. I honestly think its the best overall mid-size sedan in the segment.
fast forward to today.. traded my '13 SXL to a Stinger GT and lovin' it!.. still miss my SXL though. Great car overall, but dealing with the recalls had me jumping off ship.
@@beefen7921 I have the 2013 sx-t one, it has 68,000+ miles in then need to replace the engine but cause of the recall I got a whole new engine for free with a life time warranty on it… I got 2 years till it’s paid off completely so ima just keep it
The optima is on par w/Accord & definitely better than mazda.. Ive owned all 3, optima is not (cheap) its reliable, quality interior, better than 2013 Altima.. (I test drove that too), i have sx Limited, very fast, efficient, adequate power, smooth ride.. Ive had it for a year now.. Absolutely No complaints.. If it were crap i would be the first to say it!!.. So until any of you nay sayers drive the car.. Dont speculate on what you think you know.. Drive it & then find out.. This is a quality car.. All around.
That is the most un biased review from Alex in a while. Keep up the great work guys :)
Nice review guys, but not sure you're impressed enough and a little too hung up on the KIA badge. I just wanted a good looking, fast, luxurious and roomy car when I bought my 2013 SWP SXL and it is the BEST car I have ever owned. And I've even had a Mercedes CLK AMG. KIA ride is better, interior is more plush & comfortable and the Infinity sound is off the chain! All you folks on here hating on KIA need to get an education. :D
"Beiing a Kia I expect it would feel cheap" - How long have been reviewing cars? In the last 4 years Kia has the same or better quality as any other "next level" brand.Still not in the level as a premium, but better than Honda, Mazda, Peugeot, etc..
I just bought a 2013 sxl. Same color as this. Navigation function good. Drives nice. Nice interior. No tears. Pretty nice for the year. Also have what these modern cars have. Panamera sunroof and GPS. Nice technology. I just figured why spend over 30k when I can spend 10k and get the same things I'm looking for in a new car.
FYI: TH-cam has been flagging a bunch of my past videos for various & odd reasons. I won't bore you with the details, suffice to say, I am making the necessary/required edits and replacing them with revised versions including a handful of my 2012 reviews. Thanks for your understanding - Dave
Hey Dave! Wanted to say, you're team is doing an awesome job with the reviews. I love the fact that they are succinct, practical and easy to understand. Looking forward to more videos coming from you. All the best!
i LOVE the way this car drives. it handles so tight and you can EASILY pass up other cars in this. it takes some getting used to turn wise or go wse, bc you sometmies take off too quick, but i love the drive of this car soo much. although even w the rear seat folded down, trunk space is far less than the crosstour. but still, the handling of this car got me
The engine blew on my optima ex turbo about a year ago at around 126,000 km :/ got the motor replaced under the recall, put about 40,000 km on it after that. I also had the fuel pump go out on me a few months into buying the car, but was covered under warranty. I got the recall letter and I took it into my Kia dealership. They told me that they ran the test and told me my car is fine...that was definitely not the case. There is lifetime warranty on the new engine now.. let's hope it stays strong! Have a few mods on it as well. Love the car, its pretty quick, hate the issues. Has any one had any issues after the engine has been replaced? Don't wanna get it replaced again
Nice review I was also surprised by Alex's comments, but this is a car to nock. Kia really getting their act together. I've owned three Accords,and it's a rough decision to change....
Dave are these old video, or are they actually new?
Good review!!
I like Optima, looks so good. And how equiped interior has car for that price isn't bad. Also the Kia badge wouldn't bother me. A car with soul. (and I don't have one, I'm not the owner).
Would you recommend an Altima V6?
I traded in my 2007 BMW 328xi on a new 2013 SX turbo with the touring package and technology package. So far, I love this car. Great power, handle and ride. I drove a new BMW for a few days but it honestly didn't drive any different than this...actually, the steering in the new BMW is worse than my old one...and in my opinion, worse than this Kia. I wasn't impressed with the new BMW. Plus, with this being a left over 2013, I got a great discount. Sticker was 32k...but I ended up getting it for 25k. To get a BMW with this same equipement would be twice as much. I can't believe how much I like this Kia. Pleasantly surprised!! Peter Schreyer sure knows how to design cars.
I agree. I bought a fully loaded 2013 EX because I didn't even want too drive the turbo as I knew I couldn't budget for it and really didn't need it but I probably would try and buy it, but around here they don't negotiate as much on the top trim level due too demand from State Farm workers paying top dollar, not that I blame them. I bought it in Feb 10th, 2013, it was built Jan 3, 2013....16 Months and no complaints except no spare tire. When I took it for the first oil change, KIA sent me a $100.00 Visa for add on's and I bought the spare for like 180-200 bucks minus the 100 off so it cost me 80-100. Should have negotiated that into the final price:( My bad and I think the sales person was telling me it was negotiable but I was blinded by the last test drive and the price. SH*T.
Mine fully optioned with cargo net (very handy), tray, mat, door applique, wheel locks etc and both package's went for $27,240.00 minus a 1500.00 discount was $25, 740.00. Very impressed so far with it and when my 4 co-workers go to lunch with me...I'm expected too drive the five of us! Ha Ha. I've had a lot of compliments on my car from people who drive 2012 Toyota Camry's who paid thousands more and basically got less car and in my opinion have very base interiors? Why pay for the name and get less car, my 1995 Camry car blew up the engine at 102,000 miles and was beginning to rust out! Plus, I have a better warranty so if the company stands behind it's product like KIA does I figure why not give it a test drive. I traded a 2005 Mazda 6 in (the transmission dropped completely at 2200 miles and had A/c problems every year and the dealer wouldn't help on that at all and the trans was showing signs of going out again at 65,000 miles! I test drove or have owned most of the competition including the new 2014 Mazda which was available in Feb 2013? I really wanted to like the Mazda better, but it wasn't near the car the Optima presented itself during the test drives, has been in reality, and was $29,000 and not as well equipped. My brother has an AWD 2007 Infinity g-35 which costs 36,000 + and I like my car better... more real world applications like heated steering and back seats which come in handy in central Illinois winter's on the way too lunch as well as ventilated cooled seats. Wish they made an AWD version otherwise where I live, it's a great car for the price. It's made in West Point, Georgia and that does mean something to me as I wanted some of the money to go back into the workers hands here in the USA. I test drove the LX, EX w/o packages and the final car I bought, money well spent as the ride and interior noise is noticeably different from my test drives. Get the higher trim if you can afford a little extra as it's money well spent.
Scott Cook I'm with you on an AWD model. That would be great here in Ohio. But I really like this car so far. Just an added note about the spare tire, my BMW did not have a spare, nor do most luxury cars. Run flats are the name of the game with them. My buddy bought a 2013 Lincoln MKZ. We checked out each others cars and he really like mine. Much more room. We are both fairly tall guys (I'm 6'1" and he's 6'3"). I got in his Lincoln and the first thing I did was hit my head. He paid over 45k for it. Ouch! I love the turbo in the SX. For the $$$ you just can't go wrong here. My father-in-law said "If you'd take off the KIA badge, you'd think it was a Lexus or BMW"
beckd02 I hope KIA is listening, the AWD is the next logical step as this cars sell fairly well in Canada and for thousands more from my understanding. Living in the Northern states AWD makes sense, even if it adds curb weight. You right about the run flats. My friend has the 2013 VW Passat Tdi (very nice, roomy and great refined interior and ride for $35,000) and we got a flat in the middle of Missouri on the highway over 15 miles from pretty much anywhere civilization existed. Thankfully he had a spare as he refuses to drive without one. He hit a piece of road debris and ruined the tire, no kit would have helped us and we had to drive another twenty five miles to Cape Girardeau to get a similar tire as they didn't have them at the truck stop tire shop 10-15 miles down the road. They are a specialty kind of tire.
Funny my dad only drove Lincolns and Ford LTD's before and in the late 70's early 80's they were great cars... I'm 5'11" so I might be ok with it but they are pricy for my income. People make a big deal on badges but hey I've been driving since 1981 and remember when Honda's, Toyotas and most all Japanese cars were the poor man's car and people made fun of them but they lasted for a long time. Look at where they are now...Lexus spawned out of that as did the Acura in this review. So I think if KIA keeps up the innovations they will go far. I'm glad you like the SX Turbo and when I get my EX paid off in 32 months I'm going to look into them. I've seen a lot of KIA Optima's as well as the rest of the KIA line up around here, mostly the SX...man they are sharp!
Peace and safe driving!
beckd02 The review vs the Acura is anther review they did....both 2013. The review addresses the badge issues.....interesting how they saw it.
Scott Cook I've watched this one. Isn't it funny how people have a "badge" stigma. I could care less. Give me a good car for the $$$ and I'll drive it!
Today I learned that my seats can go down... Can't believe I just learned this haha
Great video guys
Would you guys recommend a used one today? 2013-2014?
no, find something a little newer for better tech.
Are you guys back together doing videos again?
Thanks 4 the review guys, wouldn't buy the Korean car for that money though.
You are often using the phrase "all the bells and whistles" but do you realize that this phrasal verb expression is actually meaningless ans annoying?.. Just an observation. Good review, as always, nice job.
Thank you, hearing that from you I'll take as a compliment. You take care, ok ;)
Beautiful car
asymmetric dash AAAAHHHH my ocd won't let me get this car now.
Welcome back blonde guy..
This is a rerun!!
Nice car
Rev it
I go for honda
This car is not better than Honda nor Mazda. Kia's are known to be cheap. Last time I checked, when were Kia's not cheap? They still are... And the Kia Sorento is an expensive ripoff. Let me guess... You own a Kia or one of your family or friends do.
Donny Ausby it is better. Kia is only own by Koreans not designed or made by Koreans. It practically a European car now. Audi designer. And BMW and Mercedes engineers stolen away from the big boys. That is why it beats out the two top Japanese cars in this segment. Get with the times..
Kia is just pure shit!! unreliable...slow...and cheap!
Apparently the last KIA you drove was more than five years ago.