Kia Optima Sportswagon long-term test

• The car Kia Optima Sportswagon 1.7 CRDi ‘3’ 7-speed DCT auto ISG
• Run by Will Williams, photographer
• Why it’s here As one of the newer estates out there, we want to see if it makes more sense than the ubiquitous SUV
• Needs to Sip fuel, have a flexible and commodious load area and be comfortable on long journeys

Price £26,055 Price as tested £26,600 Miles covered 24,555 Official combined MPG 64.2mpg Test economy 41.6mpg CO2 120g/km Options Temptation Red paint (premium) £545

15 February 2018 – servicing satisfaction

In my last report on the Kia Optima Sportswagon I was on the fence about my new tyres. I’d opted for a cheaper set and wasn’t quite sure if they had made the ride worse. Now I’ve covered quite a lot of miles on them, I’ve fallen off the fence and onto the rocks below.

I am now really noticing that they have given the car a firmer ride, and I wish I had gone for a straight replacement of the more expensive tyres that the car had as standard. I’ve made worse mistakes in my life – I do own a rather rusty old Mazda MX-5 after all – but in hindsight, I should’ve forked out some extra cash for the excellent Michelin Pilot Sport 3 tyres that came with as standard.

In the last month, the Optima's has also hit the 20,000-mile mark, which meant I needed to get it serviced.

I went to Snows of Guildford and they did the work for a reasonable £225. And as a bonus, this was the car's first service; in the Hyundai Ioniq that I used to run – and many other cars – this comes at 10,000 miles.

The staff at Snows were very friendly and kept me posted on progress throughout the process. I was also interested to receive a video report from the technicians, showing an inspection of the underside of the car. Getting a video as part of a service is not something I’ve personally experienced before, but having spoken to other people it seems as though this is a growing trend. I think it’s a pretty good idea. You can see them checking items and if there are any issues it makes it easy to highlight – luckily there wasn’t anything to see on the Sportswagon.

It was all very uneventful, in the end, which is the best outcome in this situation. It was a smooth and professional experience; there had been no recalls, I’d recently changed the tyres, and the brakes still have a lot of wear left. Top marks for the Kia Optima Sportswagon all round, then.