The South Korean carmaker company, Kia has launched its first plug-in hybrid model named as the Optima PHEV in the UK car segment. With the Government's grant of £2,500 for plug-in cars, the Optima PHEV is priced at £31,495, which is equivalent to Rs 27.92 lakh in the Indian currency for the buyers.
The Optima PHEV comes packed with the combination of a 154bhp 2.0 litre direct injected petrol engine and a 50KW (67bhp) electric motor powered by a 9.8kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack. The electric motor replaces the torque converter in the smooth-shifting six-speed automatic transmission gearbox. When working together, the combustion engine and motor churns out the combined utmost power of 202bhp and peak torque of 375Nm. Interestingly, it can runs up to 33 miles in all-electric mode.
Kia has made some design changes which help to reduce the car’s CO2 emissions and provides good fuel economy. The most significant aerodynamic change introduced, is an active air flap grille which lowers the car's drag co-efficient to 0.25 at closed state. The nicely integrated batteries behind the rear seat and in the spare wheel well, along with a 15-litre reduction in the car's petrol tank, clearly offers a generous 307 litre boot space for the luggage.
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Just doubled sales figures of the hybrid cars in the UK and mainland Europe in the last five years duration make us believe to reach 700,000 units sales per year by the end of the decade. From the mentioned sales figures, it is confirmed that the Optima PHEV launch is a right step from the manufacturer to establish the brand in the hybrid cars segment globally.
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