My Week with the KIA Optima SX Turbo: Sexy, Sleek, and Stylish

 Tell me this is beautiful?  I spent a little over a week driving this 2011 KIA Optima SX Turbo around Atlanta last month.  In all honesty I didn’t get to drive it nearly as much as I would have liked because the majority of the time I had to share it with hubby.  That in and of itself is amazing.  My car is my car and his SUV is his SUV.  There is no sharing in my home when it comes to vehicles most of the time because hubs always thinks of my car as “girlish”.  However, the KIA Optima SX Turbo is far from girlish, it’s sleek, sexy, and stylish.  It is also a blast to drive!

Did you know?

In 2011, the Kia Optima was awarded the prestigious Best of the Best Red Dot Design Award. The only other vehicle to receive this award in 2011 was the new BMW 5-Series. The Red Dot is an international competition that has been recognizing innovative styling and inspiring design since 1955. More than four thousand products entered the competition in 2011. Among the other winners are Apple’s 13” MacBook Air and HTC’s EVO mobile phone.

I’m Too Sexy…

Some things never happen to me anymore as a mom in her 40s, but this really happened to me at Publix…  As I parked the KIA and set the alarm I started walking toward the store when I was stopped by a young guy, probably in his early 20s.  He wasn’t interested in me (and that’s fine), but he thought my car was pretty cool.  He complimented the tires and the sporty look.  I have NEVER had a guy stop me to talk about my car before.  The 2011 KIA Optima SX Turbo just might be the best auto out there for a single woman or a mom who just wants to be flattered every once in a while.

Favorite Features

• There is a ton of space inside this mid-sized sedan.  I especially loved the panoramic sunroof.  It makes the vehicle feel even bigger than it already is…
• I loved the back-up camera.  The distance is clearly outlined in either red, yellow, or green giving you a more accurate idea of how far away an object is…
• The push-button start with SMART key was really convenient.  Have you ever seen the inside of my handbag?  Finding keys can take me at least 10 minutes…
• The BLUETOOTH technology is great because I’m a gadget girl and having voice commands for my phone, radio, etc. is a dream come true.
• 6-Speed Sportmatic Transmission got me to where I was going quickly without worrying about managing downtown Atlanta traffic.  Get up and go?  This is it!

There were tons of other features that I loved and found really helpful, but I can’t list them all.  Now the 2012 KIA Optima Turbo is out and I can’t imagine what they upgraded from the 2011.  I think this might just be my dream car….

What is your favorite feature?

Disclosure:  I test drove a KIA Optima Turbo for just over a week in order to facilitate this review.