First up, the Kia Amanti. Think of this car as Kia’s version of a Toyota Avalon or a Buick LeSabre. My points:

• Styling: Not for me.
• Interior: Not bad. My black rental had a grey leather and (fake?) wood accents. The controls were reasonable except the odd radio. Kia has adopted a display screen which monitors time, temperature and “enteertainment” options. I found it rather difficult to use. Time might solve this problem. The stereo’s sound system was reasonably good (Why don’t they add an audio in jack? iPod users would be much happier).
• Handling: I cannot make one positive comment on the Amanti’s handling. In a word – terrible. Far too soft for my tastes.
• Fuel Economy: I drove 76 miles, 2/3 of which were highway miles. I filled the tank prior to returning the car with over 4 gallons!
• Quality: The car felt reasonably well made, but, the very sloppy handling left an overall bad impression, along with the poor fuel efficiency.

The bottom line: would I purchase this car? No.

Next, the Toyota Solara Cabrio. The Solara is a two dour coupe based on the best selling Camry sedan. The Cabrio is simply a convertible version of the Coupe. I’m sure Toyota’s sterling quality reputation will sell many of these. My points:

• Styling: Not for me.
• Interior: Straightforward, easy to use. (Disdclaimer, I’ve driven Toyota’s for years, so the controls are quite familiar). The interior looked like the plastic it was. Functional but not all that aesthetically interesting. I thought the automatic transmission’s stick shift Mercedes-like pattern was silly. Stereo sound was not bad – again no sound input jack.
• Handling: Reasonable, but not great – a bit soft on the corners. I did have one major dislike – the cabrio has a rather large blindspot. Perhaps this is the nature of convertibles, but it’s a safety issue.
• Fuel Economy: I did not keep track of my miles.
• Quality: The car felt and operated like a Toyota, which is generally good. However, dropping up to $30K on a Toyota leads on to expect more. I think the Germans still have them on the fun to drive question (and styling).

Bottom line, would I purchase this car? No.