Kia plans to stockpile the new 2006.5 Optima in a ratio of 80:20, favoring the four-cylinder models over the V6 versions. The company’s spokespeople explain that the Optima is about value, and it’s the four-cylinder powertrain that offers the most bang-for-the-buck, especially with gas prices where they are and newfound consumer concerns about fuel economy.

This strategy should pay off for Kia, thanks in no small part to the refined, class-competitive aluminum 2.4-liter four-banger with continuous variable valve timing (CVVT). This brand new engine design provides 15 percent more power than the motor it replaces, generating 161 horses at 5,800 rpm and 163 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,250 rpm. Kia says these power ratings are stronger than several competitors, but just barely so. It runs on regular unleaded, and the EPA says it will get 24 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway, whether you’re rowing your own gears with the manual or letting the optional Sportmatic automatic transmission shift for you. We got a disappointing 23.4 miles per gallon, and that included a six-hour drive at speeds between 80 and 90 mph from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

Kia recognizes that midsize sedan buyers want a V6 engine option, but the only thing in the parts bin that will fit is a carryover aluminum 2.7-liter V6 engine from last year’s Optima. Though upgraded with CVVT technology for a 10 percent increase in horsepower, and rated by the EPA to get better fuel economy than significantly more powerful V6 engines in some competitors, the Optima’s V6 is a dog. It makes a measly 185 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 182 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,000 rpm, slurping regular unleaded at a rate of 22 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. And those are EPA figures. If the Optima V6 is as thirsty as the four-cylinder engine in the real world, expect a combined rating of 20 mpg or less.

The 2006.5 Kia Optima rides on a MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension with stabilizer bars at each end. An engine-speed sensitive power rack-and-pinion steering system guides standard P205/60 tires wrapped around 16-inch wheels or optional P215/50 rubber mounted on 17-inch alloys. Base LX models get steel wheels decorated with surprisingly attractive wheel covers, while LX V6 and EX versions have 16-inch alloy wheels as standard equipment. Cars equipped with the optional Appearance Package get the bigger 17-inch wheels. These wheel-and-tire combinations front a standard four-wheel-disc braking system, vented in front and solid in the rear.