Rounding-out Kia’s ‘green-centric’ display at the Chicago Auto Show is the all-new Optima Hybrid.
Naturally based on the excellent all-new Kia Hybrid petrol model which is now on-sale in Australia, the hybrid version boats a look shared with the plug-in hybrid version and a new powertrain claimed to be 10 per-cent more economical that the outgoing version.
This is helped by switching from the previous 2.4-litre petrol engine to the 113kW 2.0-litre powerplant which boasts electric water and oil pumps.
Combined with a 38kW electric motor we’re talking a combined output of 144kW.
Contributing to that performance is a lighter, more compact high-density lithium-ion polymer battery pack with a capacity of 1.62kWh (up by 13 perc-ent over the previous model).
Elsewhere the all-new Kia Optima hybrid picks-up Autonomous Emergency Braking which boosts a safety suite which also includes Blind Spot Detection, Advanced Smart Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning and Front Collision Warning System.
Inside is the excellent cabin we know from the all-new Kia Optima but with – naturally – instrumentation unique to the hybrid version.
