One of this summer’s smarter plays is the 2008 Kia Optima.

Not the sexiest car on the block, the Optima is more like a best friend—prudent, safe, comfortable, reliable.

Kia puts nice features into these mid-sized cars and sells them cheap. It tosses in what may be the best warranty in the business: 5-years/60,000 miles on the whole car; 10-year/100,000 miles powertrain.

The current Optima model came out as an ‘07 in late 2006. It is due to be refreshened with new body work and tweaks to the powertrain for ‘09, so Kia and its dealers are offering some enticin...