My kid was essentially raised in a Mustang and it has proven to be more than adequate.

Reliable or not I couldn’t do it. I know that I’d be miserable in that awful Highlander, and no amount of perceived reliability would quell that.

That’s fair. I love me a good manual as well, but after living in Japan for awhile some time back, I’m kind of over them; damn hills. ;)

In all fairness, since you, myself, or anyone else hasn’t driven and reviewed this yet, we cannot possibly assume that any vehicle of this particular class in the $36K range will be more fun. For all we know, this could dynamically blow our collective socks off at this price point.

If it’s any consolation (though I know it won’t be), no BJ has ever gotten me off or done much for me, so...yeah. But I still see your point.

Such as...?

Never known a single owner that complained of that sort of thing going out. Then again, the tie rods on my Mustang began going out about then, so...

Yup. That’s also right in line with every other single car in class that it competes with. Also, seeing as how it pretty much has the best infotainment (arguably, of course) that’s a good deal.

Fair enough.

“Am I the only one who thinks it looks too much like an Optima?”

Eh...it’s all subjective I guess. Some like it, some don’t. I think journos* really need to get over it already and get used to the fact that the days of ye olde connected steering are done and over with for the most part. Besides, Kia has several steering racks in use currently across it’s lineup, so surely they…

This gen of Optima is the Kia that really made me take notice of what Kia and Hyundai are up to these days. Never thought I’d say it, but damn do I really like what Kia are doing with their lineup. I’d be perfectly happy with an Optima SX or SX-L. Sounds like a good deal you got there.

In all fairness, pretty much NO rental level car is up to the level of it’s higher trims...the same goes for a base Accord.

Considering the quality of Kia these days and the equipment you get with them these days, that’s not so bad at all. The Kia of the 90's is long gone; it’s a shame that people’s perceptions haven’t moved on.

Gotcha. I’ll give you that...that one was much more difficult. The Cologne in the S197 was super easy to get at about everything.

Depends on the application: it’s fairly easy on the 05-10 S197 Mustang.

Ha! I’ve been pretty much saying the same thing about my 7-year old for awhile now. ;)

And by “BMW X3" money, you mean a basic, no frills, stripper model X3 with a fraction of the value and equipment that the Santa Fe brings to the table. Taken in that context, it’s not really a good comparison.

Possibly. I know there’s already been a recall over cooling issues with the early cars, so maybe they have a leg...maybe they don’t.

Actually, I thought the R did come with the coolers.