i'm so ready to burn it

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by OrangeFurious

Another friend just bought a Mercedes C class and the interior looks and feels like a Hyundai (though, FWIW, Hyundai's are annoyingly nice for what they are).

I was going to say that. Most newer cars from other brands are upping their interior quality (and their price points). So I don't think it's so much BMW losing quality, but others gaining more soft plastics and leather.

My wife and I are die hard BMW enthusiasts but Kia managed to lure us into 2 new fully loaded Optimas (one after the other) after the redesign back in 2011. We enjoyed those cars and had the second one until Sept 2014. Only got rid of it because the car was FWD and the wife didn't like that it didn't drive and handle like our BMW's. Even the older ones. So she picked up a 2006 (last year of the M54) Mtec X3 and loves that. As a side benefit the X3 costs half as much as the Optimas did.

[OrangeFurious]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

I was going to say that. Most newer cars from other brands are upping their interior quality (and their price points). So I don't think it's so much BMW losing quality, but others gaining more soft plastics and leather.

My wife and I are die hard BMW enthusiasts but Kia managed to lure us into 2 new fully loaded Optimas (one after the other) after the redesign back in 2011. We enjoyed those cars and had the second one until Sept 2014. Only got rid of it because the car was FWD and the wife didn't like that it didn't drive and handle like our BMW's. Even the older ones. So she picked up a 2006 (last year of the M54) Mtec X3 and loves that. As a side benefit the X3 costs half as much as the Optimas did.

Yeah - those Optimas! A few years back I bought a used Range Rover HSE and was absolutely in love with the thing. More features than any vehicle I'd ever owned. Ended up in conversation with one of the entry-level guys at work (I'm management) and he mentioned his Optima. Rattled off every feature my Land Rover had and a few I didn't even think to lust for. I know it's not a fair comparison, but I got a bit of grief for my fancy-ass British luxo-barge being shown-up by the new-hire with a Kia.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by OrangeFurious

Yeah - those Optimas! A few years back I bought a used Range Rover HSE and was absolutely in love with the thing. More features than any vehicle I'd ever owned. Ended up in conversation with one of the entry-level guys at work (I'm management) and he mentioned his Optima. Rattled off every feature my Land Rover had and a few I didn't even think to lust for. I know it's not a fair comparison, but I got a bit of grief for my fancy-ass British luxo-barge being shown-up by the new-hire with a Kia.

We got those sort of comments all the time. And since we had the K5 badges on it people thought it was some sort of Lexus. We would still have it if we could have gotten over the torque steer and wheel hop... Didn't lose too much money on them though when we sold it on at Carmax. Got more for it than I thought we would really.

Edit: this was our first one.



Second one was Remington Red and looked a tad better after more mods than the Snow White Pearl.

[X53Jay4.8is]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

We got those sort of comments all the time. And since we had the K5 badges on it people thought it was some sort of Lexus. We would still have it if we could have gotten over the torque steer and wheel hop... Didn't lose too much money on them though when we sold it on at Carmax. Got more for it than I thought we would really.

Edit: this was our first one.



Second one was Remington Red and looked a tad better after more mods than the Snow White Pearl.

If Kia made these sedans with AWD all of the wheel hop and torque steer could be eliminated thus making it a near perfect low cost sedan. My Ford company vehicles suffer from this problem like the Kias but the AWD ones are the ones to get. Such a night and day difference in handling.

[crystalworks]

Originally Posted by X53Jay4.8is

If Kia made these sedans with AWD all of the wheel hop and torque steer could be eliminated thus making it a near perfect low cost sedan. My Ford company vehicles suffer from this problem like the Kias but the AWD ones are the ones to get. Such a night and day difference in handling.

TOTALLY agree. It was one of the very frequently mentioned things on optima forums with everyone's wish lists for upcoming years. Never happened.

[OrangeFurious]

Originally Posted by crystalworks

We got those sort of comments all the time. And since we had the K5 badges on it people thought it was some sort of Lexus. We would still have it if we could have gotten over the torque steer and wheel hop... Didn't lose too much money on them though when we sold it on at Carmax. Got more for it than I thought we would really.

Edit: this was our first one.



Second one was Remington Red and looked a tad better after more mods than the Snow White Pearl.

That's pretty much the exact car that showed up my Range Rover. If you tell me you work at an Xbox call center I'm going to be more than a little embarrassed.