Hi everyone I’m thinking about trading in my trouble-prone Golf GTI for a new car and I found this nice looking Kia Optima Hybrid. It’s affordable and loaded with features, plus as a student, I really appreciate the good fuel efficiency. Here’s the link to the one I’m looking at. What should I check for or ask about, and is it worth buying? I usually do a lot of my own car repairs, so if it’s easy to work on that’s a plus too. How is maintenance on these vehicles?
I have a Sonata Hybrid that I got after my old Honda was totaled. I’ve had it for about a month and I’m getting about 39 mpg mostly in the city. So far, it has been great with no issues and feels more like a regular car than a Prius. At first, I wasn’t impressed, but it really grew on me.
I used to work as a technician for Hyundai. The Optima Hybrid and the Sonata Hybrid are almost the same car. I wasn’t certified for hybrids, so I didn’t work on the high voltage stuff, but I handled everything else.
These cars are very low maintenance and generally reliable. If you want amazing fuel efficiency like a Prius or Camry Hybrid, this isn’t the right car for you, but it still does pretty well. The hybrid system is similar to what you find in the Honda Insight and Civic Hybrid. In this setup, the electric motor helps the engine, unlike in the Prius where the engine helps the electric motor. It’s a simple hybrid system, but it does its job. It shares most of the common issues with the non-hybrid version, which are pretty limited.
Just a heads up, there’s a big recall on the engine used in that car, but that shouldn’t discourage you. If your car is affected, Kia will provide a brand new engine at no cost. It really isn’t as big a deal as it sounds.
@Chandler
Thanks for the info. Honestly, I’m not that worried about high MPG like a Prius, but the overall better efficiency and cheaper gas at 87 make this a lot easier on my budget compared to my GTI that needs 91 and can barely get 25 mpg. What exactly happened with the engine recall though? And are you sure Kia would fix it if there’s an issue?
@Ellison
Hyundai had an issue with the 2.0 Turbo and 2.4 ‘Theta 2’ engine. The engine block wasn’t properly machined after casting, and there can be leftover bits that can cause problems. If those bits get into the oil, they can ruin the engine. I left Hyundai before the recall happened. It affects a lot of cars, but I never saw one fail because of this when I worked at the dealership. Kia will definitely replace the engine for free if needed. It’s a safety recall mandated by the government.
Why is that, a Prius usually isn’t very good in almost every way compared to this car?
[deleted]
Priuses feel like lifeless boxes with cheap plastic interiors, honestly. I like the idea of a simple hybrid system over the practicality of the Prius. And coming from a VW, maintenance isn’t a big deal for me; everything breaks all the time on my VW, so nothing could be worse haha. I still love that car though. I learned to drive in a Prius, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy one.
That picture is of the Prius’s highest trim, not the base model. The 2012 models look pretty bad. As for the Kia, apart from the color, it looks better than the Prius. But from your reaction, it seems like you agree with me since the Kia does look cleaner and nicer. These are economy cars, so they are all a bit cheap, but one just looks a lot worse than the other. Cheers
