Hi Ralph!

 Both are very nice cars, as I have driven them both.  The Amanti is brand
new to North America (I assume your from Canada or the United States)
however, it has been around in other countries for a couple of years.  The
3.5L engine used in the Amanti is the same one used in the Sedona minivan
and the Sorento SUV.  It so far has proven to be very reliable, (the Sedona
has been around since 2000.)  I myself am a big KIA fan and am therefore a
little biased in my opinion!

 I can tell you that I own a 2000 kia Sephia.  It is just about to hit
130,000km and aside from regular wear and tear (tires, breaks ect.) and
regular maintenance it has cost me nothing in repairs and it has never left
me stranded.  I feel so good about it because My wife and I were looking for
a used car and almost bought a 1998 Honda Accord with 120,000km on it.  We
paid the same for our brand new Kia with 0km and the exact same features as
the Accord, got 0% purchase financing and the best warranty in the business.
We "took a chance"  with Kia... it was literally brand new to Canada and we
signed the papers from inside a mobile office because the dealer had not yet
broken ground on the permanent dealership!!

 My point is Ralph, your not taking the same type of gamble.  Kia has
become the fastest growing car company in North America and there is a
reason for it.  Their vehicles have proven themselves to be reliable and you
get a hell of a lot for your money.  Now the Maxima is a beautiful car with
an award winning engine; however, every feature on the Maxima can be found
on the Amanti and if you check, you will see the Amanti has more trunk room.
The question is..."do you want to pay $6,000.00 more for a car because of an
engine?"

 Ralph go for the Amanti.  You will save a ton of money, have a better
looking car with a great warranty to subside your fears and you will feel
good about yourself for years to come knowing that for once you beat the
system because you got more for less.  There is one shortfall Ralph.  The
Amanti has no markings on its front end... people will ask you (allot) "what
kinda car is that?"

 Good luck with whichever one you chose.  Hope some of my info helped you

(sorry if this posted before. I sent it this morning and don't see my
reply)

rts and performance?

Ralph:

I am cross posting this to a.a.n.maxima because you might get some more
input there. You can also check out a thread in aanm that discusses the
'04  Max vs. Acura TT.

I own a '02 Sedona and a '98 Maxima. I have kept up on both the maxima
and followed the intro of the Amanti (as well as test drove the Hundai
XG350, which has the same engine.)

FWIW, you'll pay a lot less for the Amanti than the Maxima. Both cars
are, however, first model years. Yes, the Maxima has been out since '88
or '89, but this is the first year that (a) the car is built in the US
and (b) it uses the same platform as the Altima.

I love my '98 Maxima and it has a very good engine.  This design has been
around for almost 20 years and there's no reason to change. The '04 has
essentially the same engine with a bit more displacement. (This, along
with other refinements give you something like 260HP at the flywheel.)  

I also very much like our '02 Kia, which is 2 1/2 years old. We've taken
it on two major road trips and have gone over 100 MPH. (I consider that
to be the major test.)  The engine (same as in the Amanti) is the same
displacement as the Maxima, but only puts out 190 HP.  Now, I feel that
190 HP is sufficient for either car. I'm not sure what I'd do with 260
HP, other than get a speeding ticket. As it is I drive my Maxima 80+ on
the way to work every day.

What you really need to look at is this: What is the long-term rate on
either car. If you want to keep the car until it dies (hopefully ten
years or more) than you simply need to be sure that you are never upside-
down in your payments vs. what the car is worth, in the event of an
accident.

If you simply want to keep the car a few years then move on, I'd really
look at the resell rates of the Maxima (probably higher) vs. the Kia
(probably lower).

Me personally: If I were to total the Maxima, I'd probably get the Amanti
right now. It has some very nice features, and I could probably put
enough down that I'd never be upside down in my payments. (I always pay
off cars in 3-years or less.)  

Let us know what you decide.

Hello Ralph,

If you keep your car 7 or 8 years, it's not an issue, but if you are a 3 to
4 year trader, BEWARE the poor resale value on the KIA.

You can go to www.kbb.com (Kelley Blue Book) and get examples using the
Optima as an example.

I have a 2001 Optima SE with leather that is in better than average
condition and has 55k miles.  Sticker price new was 19,800.  It's now listed
as being worth 5,600 as a trade.