The simplest way to describe how the Amanti behaves on the road is by saying that it rides exactly like a late 80's Cadillac Fleetwood. It even has the door rattles to match those that were common on the big GMs with bodies by Fisher. Over expansion joints for example, the Amanti will float casually and eventually settle back down. On the other hand, small cracks and ruts in the road deeply upset the suspension: it feels as though it is unable to cope with many rapid changes in amplitude. The once tranquil interior environment of the Amanti quickly becomes greatly disturbed.

As a note of no consequence, I found that the small-car sounding horn betrayed the otherwise big luxurious car presence that the Amanti is trying so hard to emanate. I cannot imagine that a deeper-sounding horn could not be fitted.

Safety

The Amanti has standard dual front, front and rear side and side curtain air bags, active front headrests, stability and traction control, ABS brakes and seatbelt pre-tensionners. The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) and the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) have not yet crash tested the Kia Amanti.

Conclusion

The Amanti is a genuine attempt and effort on the part of Kia towards building the least expensive luxury car on the North American market. The amazing thing is that it includes features that are either not available or optional on more expensive cars. For example, I will continue my comparison with the Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited that retails for $60,135. It does not have stability control, xenon headlights, rear side or curtain air bags, active headrests, sunroof, rain sensing wipers, fog lights, rear heated seats, etc. What the Lincoln has is a V8 engine, power adjustable pedals and trunk. That is hardly enough to justify a $23,000 gap.

Other than the price, the Amanti has an excellent 5 year / 100 000 km warranty and is offered with enticing financing and leasing rates. If someone is interested in the Amanti, it would probably be best to lease it for 48 months with $0 down. As long as the car is returned at the end of the lease, the rapid depreciation that Kia's typically suffer will not be an issue for the consumer.

Good stuff:
Cheapest luxury car on the market
Absolutely fully loaded

Not so good stuff:
Cheapest luxury car on the market
Exorbitant fuel consumption