Kia Optima EX Luxury - Week 1

So it was my first week of new car ownership in about 5 years, I posted proudly on autos.ca at http://www.autos.ca/forum/index.php/topic,77967.msg772876.html#msg772876

There are a lot of things to like about this car:

Heated and cooled front seats
heated rear seats
Nice leather seats and interior
Heated steering wheel
panoramic sunroof
530 watt infinity stereo
beautiful 18" wheels
auto-dimming compass mirror
dual zone climate in front with vents for the back
xenon headlights
led taillights
5 year bumper to bumper warranty with roadside assistance
It looks wicked!

It has great power at 200hp for a relatively light mid-sized car, gets great gas mileage, has ECO mode for better fuel economy if you want to surrender some power and has manual shifting.

True, there is less cargo and carrying capacity than the pilot and it is not AWD but I knew that going in.  It is at least 200X more fun to drive and next winter I will hook myself up with a good set of winter tires to get me though our 5 months of winter.  I think I will go for a nice set of 16" winter rims and tires.... no ugly black rims for me.

Anyway one week in and I am loving it.  My first tank was just under 12 l/100 km as opposed to 16-17 I was getting on the pilot the last few weeks.  And that is on a brand new unbroken in engine.  I should be able to easily get under 10 by the time the summer rolls around.  Half way through my second tank I am already down around 11.  And I don't exactly drive gently.

It looks beautiful, drives really nice, is comfy and fun to drive.

We are supposed to get 20cm of snow in 2 days....... I think that should make for some interesting blog fodder on Wednesday.  I am looking at my nice 18" tires thinking they are not intended for slippery surfaces...... probably not much snow in South Korea.