Optima plugging its good rep
YOU could be forgiven if the Kia Optima has passed you by, largely unnoticed. For all the Korean four-door saloon’s attributes, its appeal in the fiercely competitive and fiercely snobbish rep-mobile market was always going to be rather limited.
Until now that is. And the reason is the arrival of this new PHEV (plug-in hybrid engine version). This Optima is Kia’s first plug-in hybrid car and, along with the forthcoming Niro hatch-back, is likely to catapult Kia into the forefront of buyers’ minds for those wanting a car powered by batteries, fossil fuel, or both.
It is likely to catapult the Optima up the sales charts in the UK too.
Although the latest Optima is already ahead of Kia’s expectations, the reality is that it has been pushed into the shadows by the massive success of the likes of the Sportage crossover.
The Sportage not only helped Kia to its best-ever sales year in the UK in 2015 but has already seen it likely to do the same again this year.
Kia’s target of selling 100,000 cars in the UK by 2020 is not only achievable but is an aim that is easy to see happening well before then, such is its current rate of progress.
This Optima PHEV won’t do those numbers any harm either.
If you’re wondering why simply offering a hybrid version should suddenly increase its popularity then you only need to look at its emissions of only 37g/km.
To the crucial company car market that drops its tax rate to seven per cent compared to 22 per cent for the standard Optima and, along with making it exempt from the London congestion charge, Kia estimates it could save a company driver up to £200 a month. A good comparison is Mitsubishi which has seen its Outlander plug-in hybrid fly out of showrooms, selling more than 21,000 in less than two years.
It’s far from unrealistic to imagine the Optima achieving not too dissimilar highs.
From the outside it’s still too easy to miss the PHEV. Only some blue accents are a giveaway as well as slight styling changes, including a solid front grille that can open or shut automatically to cool the engine as normal or provide better aerodynamics (rather impressively, it is as slippery through the air as the Toyota Prius). There’s also obviously an extra flap on the nearside front wing for the charging socket.
Under the driver’s right foot is a combination of a 2.0-litre petrol engine combined with a 50kW electric motor that together produce around 202bhp, giving the Optima a 0-to-60mph time of 9.1 seconds and a 121mph top speed.
Officially speaking the Kia will return 176.6mpg average fuel economy, although in reality that is skewed by the official tests and would be largely unachievable in the real world (more of which in a moment).
Of more use is likely to be the ability to drive up to 33 miles in all-electric mode (good for those commuters that can charge at work and home) and 600 miles total range on both battery and petrol power.
On the road, the Optima PHEV drives much like its diesel-powered stablemate. It does feel noticeably heavier on the road (and tips the scales at a hefty 14st more than the diesel) but other than that the