Used 2006 Kia Optima (2006.5)

"I was a REAL LIFE crash test dummy"

"I bought my kia brand new in 10/10 and after a couple of weeks getting use to the new ride after living in a Corolla. I have enjoyed the comfortable and roomy ride as well as the great gas mileage. The best kudo for this vehicle is that 3 weeks ago I was involved in a head collision in which I was hit headon/square and was able to crawl out and basically walk away ... In hindsight, and looking at the vehicle after I was released from the hospital took me to my knees. I would HIGHLY recommend the Kia Optima to ANYONE!!! It saved my life!!! and with very little damage to me. I will be replacing it for sure!!! Keep on Keepin' on!!! Kia's Rock!!"

"Greatest Car for the Money"

"I own a 2006.5 Optima LX with just over 54,000. It basically has all options except for the V6, leather, and fog lights. This car is an awesome car for the money. I NEVER thought I would buy a Kia and as life goes sometimes, I ended up purchasing this one for $10,500 used with 47,000 miles on it. It was a retired rental vehicle and after driving it, I found it to be a much smarter choice over purchasing a smaller car for the same amount of money like a Civic, or Focus. I am very pleased with this car. The interior is very well laid out and looks great with the light colored digital displays on the radio and instrument cluster, and knobs. The car feels just as high of quality as an Accord or Camry and even comes with a better warranty. My only complaint is the lack of a V6, but the gas mileage more than makes up for it. Several of my friends own smaller cars like the Civics and Focus and they are surprised at how great my mileage is which is at times better than their cars, and its bigger! The room inside is awesome. I sit with the seat in the furthest position from the dash, and my passengers never complain of needing extra leg room in the back. The trunk is huge. This car was rated the safest midsized sedan on US roads for front, side, AND rear crashes, which apparently no other car in its class has. It also has side impact airbags for front passengers, and side head airbags for front and rear passengers."

"Great Bang for Your Buck"

"The styling of the car is rather subdued so if you are looking for attention, this car will not get you any. Depending on how you look at it, this can be a good thing. Clearly, you won't be standing out to police men looking for speeders unless you are flying down the road. Even though the design is bland, the car is not unpleasant to look at. One might say that it is inoffensive. Speaking of flying down the road, if you are not careful, this is a pretty easy thing to do in this car. I bought an i4 Optima. The car is not fast, but it has plenty of pep and the acceleration feels effortless under most circumstances. Though the car is not fast, the power delivery is even, and this makes this car feel faster than what it really is. You can expect a 0 to 60 time of just under 9 seconds with this car. If it is not fast, why would it be easy to "fly down the road" with? It is because the car's 5-speed automatic transmission allows the RPMs to stay low while cruising. This car cruises at 70 mph at about 2100 RPM. This makes the car a quiet cruiser due to a lack of noticeable engine noise. Because of this, if you are not watching your speed, you may end up going faster than what you meant to because of the car's Chrysler engine's subdued road manners. You can expect about 22 MPG in the city and I have achieved north of 30 MPG on the highway (the record so far is 33 MPG with conservative driving; that is, driving on the interstate at around 70 mph) The interior is of surprisingly high quality for a car in this class. There are some hard plastic trims, but they are smooth and do not feel cheap. The dashboard itself, however, is soft plastic as is much of the rest of the interior. The cloth bucket seats are quite comfortable. I have ridden in the back of the car as well and I had no complaints. This car is also good for all people because the roof clearance is reasonably high. Even if you are 6'2", with some seat adjustments, you can expect plenty of clearance for your head up front. In the back seat, however, you may be pushing it. The car's handling is more than adequate for every day driving. The handling is not sporty, but it is responsive. There is a bit of body roll if you really push the car, and the car's design is not exactly aerodynamic, and as a result, I have found that high winds have some effect on how the car drives. The effect of the wind is not something that has worried me, but it is more noticeable to me than the other vehicles I have driven. In 2019, the 2008 Optima is 11 years old; much of the car's depreciation has already occurred. This car is not in high demand so resale value has suffered, and if you are looking for a good car that is not expensive, this makes this car worthy of consideration."