With a five-star NHTSA crash result and the highest possible rating in front and rear safety tests, Kia has hit the nail on the head and produced a car that excels in keeping your family safe and secure. Suave looking, the 2011 Kia Optima has six airbags as standard. These work to protect the head, upper torso, thorax and pelvic areas in the event of a major accident. Onboard the Optima, a specialised system checks the severity of the impact and controls how much the airbags will inflate.

And that’s just the start. The Kia Optima is also packed with plenty of active safety features. ESC keeps the Kia Optima well balanced, even when direction is changed quickly, by reducing engine power accordingly and braking individual wheels to maintain optimum control of your Kia Optima. TCS keeps the wheels from spinning so that traction is maintained. A Brake Assist system pulls the car to a controlled stop in the event of emergency braking. Equipped with headrests that move forward and up to minimise neck injuries in the event of a collision from the rear, you can see that plenty of thought and care has been behind the Optima’s clever design. Last but not least, the tyre pressure monitoring system alerts the driver to any tyre that is underinflated.

Look over the sleek new 2011 design, and the Kia Optima is as slick as they come. This is, certainly, no brick on wheels. Sleek and classy lines incorporate aerodynamic and athletic lines to match fresh modern detailing to keep the Kia Optima looking as stylish as ever, and ahead of its time. Looking at the new Kia Optima from all angles holds no nasty surprises, as the bodywork and detailing please the eye and provoke excitement. Angular, large headlights fit cleanly into the smooth, powerful bonnet lines that run into the high waistline and sweeping C-pillar curves. Standing at the rear of the Kia Optima, the sexy tail lights wrap around snugly into the cars curvaceous hindquarters. The boot line quickly joins the swooping rear window that follows the same sensual curvature that the C-pillar incorporates. All in all, the Kia Optima provides a superbly eye-catching design that is accentuated by the side skirts, and balanced by the awesome low profile futuristic looking alloys which are shod with 225 rubber.

Fire up Kia’s all new 2.4-litre petrol engine, and the Optima demands to be driven. The old V6 2.7-litre motor has gone out the window and been replaced by the new state-of-the-art in-line four-cylinder, DOHC GDi D-CVVT 16-valve power plant. The resulting better economy and higher power make it an excellent power plant for the new six-speed automatic gearbox. A rapid surge of acceleration can be accessed throughout the entire rev range, and the 0-100 km/h sprint is performed in around nine seconds – which is very acceptable for the smooth auto gearbox.

Drive aggressively along the back roads, and the Kia Optima makes progress rapidly, and is an enjoyable drive. An increase in fuel economy is the benefit from having a smaller four-cylinder powerhouse, with a commendable fuel efficiency figure of around 8 l/100 km being quite achievable. The strong 148 kW output is matched by a decent handling package that is backed up by a taut and compliant suspension.

Inside the Kia Optima, the materials, textures and colours give an impression of quality and class. The cabin itself is spacious, and adults with long legs shouldn’t find it too difficult to get comfortable in the Kia Optima’s comfortable and supportive seats. Solid body coloured door handles on the exterior, front projection fog lights, twin exhausts, climate control, an upgraded premium sound system with sub-woofers and an external amplifiers (not that the standard Kia Optima sound system is anything too bad to begin with), trip computer, an eight-way adjustable driver’s seat, leather wrapped steering wheel, silver interior door handles, and a very thoughtful feature – a self-dimming rear-view mirror.

So, for a four-door sedan that offers excitement, a capable chassis and safety that is off the top shelf, the affordable new 2011 Kia Optima will carry you and your family around in a lot of style and pleasure.

The current model series includes the:

• Kia Optima 4 Door

For anymore information on the Kia Optima, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Kia dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!

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