Kia Optima GT

Kia just launched the Optima GT with a 2.0 turbo delivering 242hp and 345Nm. Looks very impressive on paper but the strange thing is that the acceleration time is only 7.4 seconds to 100 km/h. The Mercedes C250 with 211hp and 350Nm does it in 6.3 seconds and the BMW 330i with 250hp and 350Nm does it in 5.9 seconds. What happened to Kia??

Being more than 1.5 seconds slower is strange since the weight of the cars are very similar. It appears that the Kia's transmission isn't as efficient as the Merc or the BMW. Kia has 6 speed while the Merc has 9 and BMW has 8. I believe the difference is from the transmission loss rather than the lack of gears.
Historically Korean makers may claim relatively high horsepower ratings in their brochures but when it comes to execution something is always missing. Some may argue that Mercedes and BMW will usually understate their actual performance figures and use wheel horsepower rather than engine horsepower rating. This could be true since some people have dyno tested BMWs to check the performance figures. There was a case where the 320d was tested on the dyno, on paper the engine power was suppose to be 177hp but on the dyno the read out at the wheels was 170+ wheel horsepower. What this means is that BMW published wheel horsepower figures rather than engine horsepower. In this case the specimen car actually had over 200hp at the engine.

If Kia published engine horsepower figure this means that the 242hp would end up being 200hp or less at the wheels. This could explain the slower acceleration times.

Not to take anything away from Kia, it is definitely a good effort by them to make the car more sporty and offer something fresh. I know Kia and Hyundai usually benchmark themselves against Japanese rivals instead of European rivals. At RM179,000 it is definitely a good alternative to the run of the mill Camry or Accord. The Optima GT is definitely more sporty looking inside and out and is definitely faster than the Camry or Accord. First the buyer needs to get over the fact that the Koreans can challenge the Japanese for sporty drive.