[BrianG]

Well, after a week and a half with the new car, here are some observations:

• Steering is different than other cars I've had. It seems a little too assisted, if that makes any sense. I like a little more feedback when cornering; harder corners=more feedback, or resistance. After a little reading online, I found out this car uses electric assist. Apparently, the torque of the electric system simply masks any difference in steering feel as the driving gets more "spirited". Not an overall bad thing I guess, just different. This isn't exactly a sports car, but my Mazda 3 had a better (albeit rougher) feel.
  
  
• As I suspected, the stereo is "ok". Sounds good, decent volume. But I bet the cost of this "premium" add-on was WAYY more expensive than a decent after-market headunit, decent speakers, and small sub/amp would provide.
  
  
• The turbo kicks in at around 2200 rpm. It's not a lag thing, but an RPM thing. If the rpms are kept at around 2200+ and I goose the throttle, the turbo is there instantly. Not V8 power, but definitely equal or better than most normally-aspirated V6's.
  
  
• The traction control really helps limit wheel spin, even on wet leaves. Kinda like a limited slip diff, but more actively controlled (using brakes on the free-spinning wheel and/or lowering engine output). With it off, the tires light up easily. This should help when it snows, but time will tell on that.
  
  
• Tires. The stock Nexens are "adequate", but will need to be swapped for decent all-weathers before snow hits. Then again, I don't think I've ever gotten a car with a set of good all-weather tires on it. You'd think manufacturers would somewhat tailor their tire offerings based on geographical area (snow in the north, more summer in the south, etc), but whatever, I knew the tires would not be the best going in. However, the tires being 225/45R18 aren't going to be cheap. I'm looking at ~$900 for a mounted/balanced set of 4 good tires. Ugg. The local tire shop suggested Cooper Zeon RS3-A's, and while they review great for wet/dry and have a decent price, they are too new to know about snow performance. The only other popular choice are Continental DWS's (more $$$), but reviewers say there is excessive sidewall flex when driving aggressively. Both the Coopers and Continentals have roughly similar tread design, but any difference in tire compound can drastically change how they work when cold. It would suck to shell out that kind of cash for something only marginally better than what I have now.
  
  
• I am curious why they put in wheel-mounted paddle shifters? This isn't a race car. The console shifter already has the pseudo-manual mode ability, so the paddle shifters are redundant. I would rather have the heated steering, but apparently, the paddles replace the heater control. It's sort of fun to play with the paddles from time to time (reminds me of playing PC driving games with a racing wheel equipped with paddle shifters) but I can see myself not using them at all once the novelty wears off.
  
  
• Speaking of shifting, I have to say the automatic transmission is probably the next best thing to a CVT. Shifts, even under heavy acceleration, are silky smooth. Even my wife's Volvo isn't as refined. The 6-speed transmission keeps RPMs down to around 2k at 65mph.
  
  
• Supposedly, the car has a governed top speed of 154mph (IIRC). I got it to ~125mph before letting off. Pretty smooth at that speed, but I won't be doing that often. I don't really understand such a high setting TBH; there isn't a place in the USA (that I know of) where the legal speed exceeds 75-80mph. Why not cap it at 90 then (for a little passing headroom)? If they are gonna cap it at 154mph, why not cap it at 500mph, or 1,000mph? Seems rather silly.
  
  
• PLENTY of leg room, especially compared to the old Mazda. With the front seats comfortably extended, there is plenty of room in the back for adults. My 3 year old girl's feet can't reach the backs of the front seat (which is a good thing!). However, since it has the panoramic sunroof, which subtracts a good 2-3" of headroom, I can imagine headroom could be tight for taller people (over 6'). Both driver and passenger seats do lower though, so it's hard to say. Fine for me or anyone in my family though.
  
  
• The air conditioned seats feel WEIRD! They take about 30 seconds to kick in, and when they do, it kinda feels like water is running down your back and butt.
  
  
• There is a "hill-assist" mode for red-light stops. Most automatics I've seen tend to want to "push" too much when stopped (rougher idling as it works the torque converter more), which requires steady pressure on the brakes to keep from bumping the guy in front. Either that, or they push too little (smoother idling) and can roll back on steep hills when the brake is released. This has very little push when stopped, but won't roll back either. From what I can tell, there must be rotation sensors somewhere that triggers the engine to rev up a little more on idle if it detects any roll back. Probably more of a benefit for standard transmissions, which is not available in the SX trim, but somewhat neat I suppose.
  

So really, the only "negatives" are tire quality (which I expected) and steering feel. Everything else is SWEET! Rides quiet/smooth, plenty of power when needed, decent gas mileage (~26mpg combined city/hw with bouts of spirited driving), and lots of bells and whistles. I have gotten a bunch of compliments on the car already. Kinda surprising really; after all, it's "just" a Kia, not a BMW or something.