Kia Optima SX Turbo, Turbos give shoppers in one of the industry’s largest segments a high-performance alternative to vanilla competitors.In addition to the more powerful engine, buyers get larger front disc brakes, a unique grille and interior trim.The turbocharged cars join the base Optima LX and volume-leading EX models. While Kia’s two-liter turbocharged engine is smaller than the naturally-aspirated block in the base Optima, it delivers significantly more horsepower and torque. Turbochargers are exhaust-driven blowers that force air through the engine, enhancing combustion efficiency. The turbocharged engine and six-speed automatic transmission deliver ample power, with strong acceleration off the line. Front-wheel drive cars tend to be nose-heavy, since both the engine and transaxle are located ahead of the driver. Reducing engine size mitigates this weight imbalance, reducing the car’s tendency to understeer or push.formula-style paddle shifters on the steering wheel allow the driver to manually select gears for more aggressive performance.Redundant steering wheel controls are logically arranged to minimize driver distraction. The Kia Optima Turbo comes standard with front, side and side curtain airbags, antilock brakes, electronic stability control and a tire pressure monitoring system. The Kia Optima Turbo’s performance rivals more expensive European competitors.
The turbocharged top-spec version of the handsome new
Kia Optima SX Turbo, which shares its powertrain lineup and architecture with the 10Best-winning Hyundai Sonata. The
SX comes pretty well stocked, including the direct-injected 2.0-liter turbo four, 18-inch wheels with black-painted pockets, HID headlamps, LED taillights, dual-zone auto climate control, Bluetooth, an LCD in the instrument panel, leather upholstery, and racy body bits. Turbo response is basically seamless, which is excellent for drivability but bad if you want to stay out of it to improve fuel economy—we achieved 20 mpg with our Optima, below the 22 mpg city and 34 mpg highway EPA ratings. (The Mazda weighed some 70 more pounds than this Kia, and the Sonata weighed 110 fewer.) Our whole-hog Optima test car rang in at $30,840, which consisted of the $26,690 base price plus the $2000 Technology and $2150 Premium Touring packages. Then latter includes a big sunroof, a power front-passenger seat, driver’s-seat memory, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, and different 18-inch wheels
