2011 Kia Optima

Testers do agree that the Optima's steering feels more subtantial. Edmunds.com and Motor Trend say it's still "numb" and "artificial," and Autoblog.com's Dan Roth says it's "too light and not much of a talker," but Inside Line says it's a huge improvement on the Sonata's: "If we didn't have an aversion to the Sonata's steering before, we certainly do now that we know it can be tuned like the Optima's."

Finally, although Hyundai and Kia are two branches of the same South Korean company, the Sonata is actually built in Alabama using 41 percent North American parts. Not so the Optima, which is built in South Korea with only 1 percent North American parts, Inside Line points out.

Even more for the money than Hyundai Sonata

The 2011 Optima shares the Sonata's strong, efficient powertrains. The base 200-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is "no slouch," Autoblog.com's Roth says, and Karesh at TheTruthAboutCars.com likes its "brisk acceleration." Drivers can choose between a six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmission. For maximum power, opt for the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which delivers a robust 274 horsepower and 6.6-second zero-to-60 time in Edmunds.com's test (two seconds faster than the base engine) while hardly sacrificing any fuel economy. The Sonata and Optima are the most fuel-efficient gas-powered family sedans you can buy, according to EPA estimates: Expect 28 mpg in combined driving with the Optima's base engine and manual transmission (24 mpg city/35 mpg highway), dropping 1 mpg highway and overall with the automatic. The turbo engine with automatic posts an estimated 26 mpg overall (22 mpg city/34 mpg highway), "outstanding for a car with this much power," Edmunds.com says. You can't get the turbo engine and manual gearbox together. A hybrid Optima is also available.

As for handling, reviews are mixed. Autoblog.com's Roth says the Optima "follows orders eagerly and can actually be fun to drive," and Inside Line's Chris Walton finds it "sportier" and "more confident" than the Sonata. But although Edmunds.com finds the handling "pleasant and better than average for the segment," it's "hardly memorable." Motor Trend agrees: "The styling evokes a sportiness the car just doesn't have."

Interior impresses reviewers

Inside, the Kia Optima's five-passenger cabin strikes more than one reviewer as European-feeling, evoking Audi or Saab with its padded, stitched dash trim and high-quality materials. "Love love love the interior -- might be the best here for the money," writes a Motor Trend tester who examines the Optima during the Car of the Year contest. Autoblog.com's Roth says, "You'll have to step up to a luxury brand to find anything better." Karesh at TheTruthAboutCars.com says the Optima's interior looks luxe at first, but some ergonomic issues emerge after a week's testing, like the too-low rear seat cushion, "a common shortcoming among sedans with stylishly arched rooflines" that cut into headroom. The Optima loses one cubic foot of the Sonata's trunk room, but still offers 15.4 cubic feet, about average for the class, Edmunds.com says.

Strong value proposition

Prices and trim levels appear about equal at first glance, but TheTruthAboutCars.com's Michael Karesh crunches the numbers and finds the Optima a better deal. "Load up both sibs, and the Optima lists for $775 less -- and according to TrueDelta's car price comparison tool includes $800 in additional features. Items on the loaded Optima that you can't even get on the Hyundai include the panoramic sunroof (regular sunroof on the Sonata), cooled front seats, driver seat memory, power front passenger seat, and a heated steering wheel."

The 2011 Kia Optima LX (Base MSRP: $19,200) comes with air conditioning, full power accessories, keyless entry, CD stereo with auxiliary audio jack, iPod/USB interface, satellite radio and more. The automatic-transmission version gets cruise control and alloy wheels. The Optima EX (Base MSRP: $22,700 to $24,700) adds leather seats, heated mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control and keyless ignition, among other features. The Optima SX (Base MSRP: $26,200) adds performance details like a sport-tuned suspension and paddle shifters.

A winner in federal and independent crash tests

The Optima gets perfect scores in all federal and independent crash tests, while the Sonata slips to 4 stars (out of 5) in the government's frontal crash test. Both cars include the usual complement of standard safety features: Antilock brakes, traction and stability control and front, front-side and curtain airbags.

The 2011 Kia Optima is too new to have any reliability history, but reliability for the Kia brand overall has been average lately, according to a trusted consumer testing organization. The organization also gives the 2011 Optima a poor score for predicted resale value. The Optima carries a similar warranty to the Hyundai Sonata (five years/60,000 miles basic, and 10 years/100,000 miles powertrain), but the Optima has a shorter corrosion warranty: five years/100,000 miles, versus seven years/unlimited miles for the Sonata.

Research sources

ConsumerReports.org conducts the most comprehensive comparison testing of the 2011 Kia Optima, ranking it against most other sedans on the market. Inside Line pits the 2011 Optima head-to-head against the mechanically identical 2011 Hyundai Sonata, and Motor Trend judges both cars in its 2011 Car of the Year contest. Edmunds.com, Autoblog.com and TheTruthAboutCars.com all write in-depth individual reviews of the 2011 Optima. SaferCar.gov (a website of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash-test the 2011 Optima, and FuelEconomy.gov lists official fuel-economy estimates.