2001 Kia Optima; David vs. Goliath: Kia takes on the midsize segment.

Wait! Don't buy that Camry/ Accord/Taurus/whatever yet! The new Kia Optima is here! That's what Kia wants shoppers in the huge midsize sedan segment to think, at least. Diving headfirst into the biggest segment in the car market, tiny little Kia has no illusions that it will knock off mega-sellers like the Accord (404,515 sales in 2000), Camry (422,961) or Taurus (382,035). It won't even make a dent in them, won't scratch the paint on their bumpers, won't make a sound as the big wheels of the midsize juggernaut roll over it. Kia knows where it stands in the 2.3-million-car segment, so it's aiming at a very conservative target in the Optima's first full year: 20,000 sales, less than one one-hundredth of the market. But, as they say in Seoul, ``That's cool, man.'' Slow and steady progress is what Kia used to make its way into the United States. It started out with one car, the Sephia, and four dealers. From there it grew, dealer by dealer, state by state, to its current 605 dealers nationwide and six models (with a minivan and wagon waiting in the wings). The Optima is model No. 6. It shares the same platform as the Hyundai Sonata (Hyundai Automotive Group owns 51 percent of Kia). In size and shape the Optima is within inches of the segment leaders. It is 106.3 inches at the wheelbase, 185.9 inches nose to tail and 71.5 inches wide. Inside, Optima's 100 cubic feet of passenger volume is one foot less than Taurus, two less than Accord and three more than Camry. Even the styling is pure, conservative midsize plain-wrapper, with maybe a slight tweak or two more than the big dogs along the hood crease and grille. Just what buyers want in this segment. Then, where every entry but Honda uses MacPherson struts, Kia (and Hyundai) took the high road and used double wishbones in front for better wheel control. Rear suspension is a multilink ...