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2016 Kia Optima builds on third-gen car's sense of style, efficiency

When Hyundai launched the sixth-generation Sonata in 2009, it gave the world its first real taste of how good a Korean car could be. When Kia launched the redesigned Optima a year later, though, it showed the world just how good a Korean car could look. The handsome design of third-generation car has translated wonderfully to its fourth generation. The attractive sheet metal is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, building on the looks of the previous car, with Kia's trademark grille treatment stretched wide, and better integrated with the headlights. Vertical foglight surrounds and an independent lower grille, meanwhile, make for a more aggressive fascia. LED taillights, an integrated diffuser and a pair of meaty oval exhausts are the highlights in back. Once again, the links to the current car are quite clear. The new Optima should boast some improvements to the current car's technology, as well. A six-speaker stereo is standard, although audiophiles will flock to the optional 14-speaker Infinity unit. Connectivity, being what it is, was also addressed, with Kia offering a new version of the company's UVO infotainment system. Running on an eight-inch touchscreen, the Optima's latest infotainment system integrates neatly with both Android Lollipop and iOS 8. Under hood, Kia will continue to offer a standard, naturally aspirated 2.4-liter four-cylinder, as well as an optional 2.0-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder. Power for both engines is estimated to be down compared to the current car, with the 2.4 dropping from 192 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque to 185 hp and 178 lb-ft, and the 2.0T losing 27 of its 274 hp and nine of its 269 lb-ft. Kia is claiming that both engines have been retuned for fuel economy, although it wasn't able to provide any figures to back up that argument. On top of the 2.4 and 2.0T, Kia will also offer a 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, complete with the company's first seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (the previous two engines are mated to six-speed autoboxes). The 1.6, which Hyundai/Kia fans will know from the Veloster Turbo and Forte range, produces 178 hp in the Optima, which is paired with 195 lb-ft of torque. Have a look at the images of the all-new Optima, and then scroll below for the official press release.

Is your new-car warranty good at the race track?

We've all heard the horror stories. Your buddy knows a girl that was dating a guy whose best friend's brother once broke his brand-new, recently purchased performance car while making runs at a drag strip or laps at a track day, and the manufacturer wouldn't cover the repair under warranty. True story? Urban legend? Complete crap? Yes, no, maybe. One thing's for sure: Automotive warranties have always come with caveats. In 1908, an ad in the Trenton Evening Times clearly stated: "All Ford Cars Guaranteed for One Year." Although it changed over time, by 1925 the Ford New Car Guarantee only covered 90 days on material and 30 days on labor, and it clearly stated that that there was "No guarantee whatever on Fan Belts, Glass, Bulbs, Wiring, Transmission, Bands, Hose Connections, Commutator Shells, Rollers, Spark Plugs or Gaskets." Whether or not Ol' Henry would pay to fix your Model T if you broke it shaving a tenth off your lap time at the local board track seems to be lost to history. We're guessing no. But what about today? Do new-car warranties in 2017 cover cars when they are driven on race tracks? We researched the warranties of 14 auto brands to find out, and the answer is yes, no, maybe, depending on the brand, in some cases the model, and whether or not your car is modified from stock. Acura has been out of the high-performance car game for a number of years, but jumps back into the party in 2017 with its hybrid-powered $173,000 NSX supercar. And Acura's warranty, as well as Honda's, clearly states that it does not cover "the use of the vehicle in competition or racing events." View 33 Photos So we asked Sage Marie, Senior Manager of Public Relations for Honda and Acura. "If the car is stock, the warranty covers it on a track just as it does on the street. No question," he told us. "However, if the car is modified, say with slick tires or other components that would put higher stresses on the vehicle's parts and systems, then we would have to investigate the circumstances further." Marie went on to say the same would be true for any Acura model or Honda vehicle, including the new 2017 Honda Civic Si. This became a common theme. Chevrolet actually started this practice with the fifth-generation Camaro on the high-performance ZL1 and Z/28 models.

Kia considering tiny EV to give commuters an alternative to taking the bus

One of the more unexpected side effects of the coronavirus pandemic that's wreaking havoc on society is that public transportation is no longer being stubbornly celebrated as the solve-all alternative to driving. Commuters are afraid of catching the virus in a bus, and this trend is encouraging automakers to consider adding small, urban-friendly electric cars to their portfolio. Kia could jump into this segment to rival Citroen's $22-a-month Ami. "People want to feel safe today. We saw that clearly from a survey that was done after coronavirus in China, which showed people had moved from public transportation to private transportation," explained Emilio Herrera, the chief operating officer of Kia's European division, in an interview with British magazine Auto Express. He added 34% of respondents used private transportation before the virus began to spread; that number went up to 65% once the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders began to ease. Kia expects to see a similar shift in Europe and in North America, and Herrera said his team is "studying a proposal on having very small micro vehicles for urban use." He sees a real potential in this segment, and he has already looked at the aforementioned Ami. Electrification is key in this corner of the industry. First, it's difficult to develop a car the size of a golf cart if you need to package it around a 4.0-liter straight-six. Second, these vehicles are aimed specifically at urban users, and big cities in Europe and in Asia are increasingly kicking out non-electrified vehicles. Kia's pocket-sized car would be primarily used for short trips, and it would never venture farther than a few hundred yards away from a charging station, so it doesn't need a headline-grabbing driving range to be practical and usable. The 1,070-pound Ami is fitted with a 5.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that delivers up to 43 miles of range. Rivaling public transportation is easy when it comes to comfort and convenience, but it's far more difficult when cost enters the equation. Taking the bus is cheap, so Kia's electric car needs to be almost as inexpensive. Citroen cracked the code: in France, the Ami costs about $6,600 to buy, $22 a month to lease, or 30 cents a minute via an app-based car-sharing program. Kia envisions users will be able to rent its competitor for a week or for a month via a subscription service "at very low monthly prices," though it stopped short of providing a dollar figure.