Vehicle: 2008 Kia Amanti
Price as tested: CDN$37195

Performance: The Amanti only has one powertrain available and albeit, its a pretty good one. Although this 3.8 liter DOHC 24-valve V6 only makes 264hp, which is somewhat underwhelming consider its engine displacement, its the delivery process that is a real surprise. The level of refinement, quality, smoothness and flexability are what make this motor a match for the best from Japanese. 260 lb/ft of torque is more than capable for a full-size sedan of this caliber, especially matched with the excellent 5-speed Steptronic. Its not only the manumatic works exceptionally well with this engine’s sweetspot, its gear ratios have been well-tuned for luxury cruising which is what the Amanti is all about.

Handling: The Amanti is tuned as a luxury cruiser right from the beginning, similar to what its peers do. That’s why everything from suspension, springs and shocks are soft. The steering isn’t commmunicative at all even though the response and tracking are good. What is really surprise is how Amanti is able to pull itself from being overly softly sprung into controllable after the chassis set being pushed. Although when it comes to overall controllability and confidence-inspiring left-to-right transition, it fell behind its corporate cousin, the Hyundai Azera. The ride quality still isn’t as refined and supple as Azera, which we consider as a benchmark of full-size luxury sedan. There is just too much underdamping when going through patholes and washboard pavement. However, its level of softness will definitely generate lots of customers who are shopping for Buick.

Brakes: Amanti’s 4-wheel discs with ABS continue to be a delightful surprise. The stopping distance is short and pedal modulation is much better than expected.

Interior: Inside the Amanti, it got mostly everything you expect from a full-size luxury sedan. It begins with those superb leather seats and nicely wrapped leather steering wheel. All the auto climate control and stereo are placed in the right location. At the same time, those switchgears have high-quality, tactical feel which are substantial made. There are a couple of glaring drawbacks that will hurt the Amanti in the long run. There are some edgy plastic around the door panels and glovebox that are out of place in a luxury car. Secondly, the lack of a navigational system would make some took this off their shopping list. The infocenter screen that should use for navigational system tends to wash out during sunlight, which is a disappointment.

While there is plenty of cargo space, there is one single detail that pissed me off most. The inside of the trunk isn’t painted as the same color as the exterior, instead its some rushproofing paint exposed when open the trunk. Sometimes, corner cutting has just gone too far.

Conclusion: Despite of my criticisms, the Amanti will serve its full-size segment relatively well. Not only does it got plenty of space and enough comfort to please its customers. Its also one of the best values around. If Kia is able to address all the shortcomings for the upcoming redesign, Amanti will be at the head of its class.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2008 Kia Amanti
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Performance: 4/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2.5/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 3/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 2.25/5
Value-for-money: 3.5/5

Overall rating: 3/5