Kia Optima vs Nissan Altima

Safety

Both the Optima and the Altima Sedan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four wheel antilock brakes, traction control and electronic stability systems to prevent skidding.

Warranty

The Optima comes with a full 5 year/60,000 mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car. The Altima Sedan’s 3 year/36,000 mile basic warranty expires 2 years and 24,000 miles sooner.

The Optima comes with free roadside assistance for 5 years 60,000 miles. Kia will send help if you run out of gas, need a jump start, lock your keys in or need any assistance on the road. Nissan doesn’t give free roadside assistance for the Altima Sedan.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Optima 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Nissan covers the Altima Sedan. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Altima Sedan ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ surveys of the owners of three-year-old cars provide the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia 20th in reliability, above the industry average. With 13 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 25th.

Engine

The Optima has more powerful engines than the Altima Sedan:

Engine Horsepower  Torque
Optima 2.4 DOHC 4 cyl. 200 HP 186 lbs.-ft
Optima 2.0 turbo 4 cyl. 274 HP 269 lbs.-ft.
Altima Sedan 2.5 DOHC 4 cyl. 175 HP 180 lbs.-ft.
Altima Sedan Hybrid 2.5 DOHC 4 cyl. 198 HP 199 lbs.-ft.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Optima gets better fuel mileage than the Altima Sedan:

Engine Optima Altima Sedan
4 cyl./Manual

24 city/35 hwy

 n/a
4 cyl./Auto 24 city/34 hwy 23 city/32 hwy
Turbo 4 cyl./Auto 22 city/34 hwy 20 city/27 hwy

 

Environmental Friendliness

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certifies some Kia Optimas as “Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles” (PZEV). The Nissan Altima Sedan is only certified to “Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle” (SULEV) standards.

Transmission

The Optima offers a manual transmission for better acceleration, control and fuel economy. The Altima Sedan doesn’t offer a manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Optima Turbo’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Altima Sedan:

  Optima
 Optima Turbo Altima Sedan
Front Rotors 11.8 inches 12.6 inches 11.7 inches

In an emergency stopping situation, many drivers don’t press the brakes with enough force to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. The Optima has a standard brake assist system to detect emergency braking situations (by how hard and how quickly the brake pedal is pressed) and then automatically apply maximum braking immediately in order to help prevent a collision. The Altima Sedan doesn’t offer a brake assist feature.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Optima SX’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Altima Sedan (225/45R18 vs. 215/60R16).

The Optima SX’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Altima Sedan 3.5 SR’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Optima SX has standard 18 inch wheels. The Altima Sedan’s largest wheels are only 17 inches.

Suspension and Handling

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Optima is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Altima Sedan.

For better maneuverability, the Optima’s turning circle is .3 feet tighter than the Altima Sedan’s (35.8 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The Optima’s turning circle is 1.6 feet tighter than the Altima Sedan 3.5 SR’s (35.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

Passenger Space

The Optima has 1.4 inches more front legroom, 1.5 inches more front shoulder room, .8 inches more rear headroom, 2 inches more rear hip room and .2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Altima Sedan.

Cargo Capacity

The Optima’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The Altima Sedan Hybrid doesn’t offer folding rear seats.

Servicing Ease

The Optima uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Altima Sedan uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Optima has a maintenance free battery for long life without checking the battery’s water level. The Altima Sedan doesn’t have a maintenance free battery, so the water level in the battery’s cells must be checked often to prevent damage.

Ergonomics

When two different drivers share the Optima EX/SX, the optional memory seats make it convenient for both. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver’s seat position. The Altima Sedan doesn’t offer memory seats.

The Optima EX/SX’s optional air conditioned front seats cool the driver and front passenger and help take the sting out of hot leather in Summer. The Altima Sedan doesn’t offer air conditioned front seats.

Both the Optima and the Altima Sedan offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Optima offers optional rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Altima Sedan doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.