I’ve reviewed a pretty good handful of automobiles now and there seems to be something common about all of them, they didn’t really have that good gas mileage. Some even made me embarrassed to drive down the street in, because I knew that they were gas hogs. So, I must say that I was really happy when Kia asked me to test out their new 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid. With a claimed gas mileage of 35 mpg city and 40 mpg highway, I was ready to save a little bit of cash on gas. Granted, those aren’t the highest numbers you can get for a hybrid, but they are pretty darn good.
What I didn’t realize, was that I was going to actually play an ecological (“ECO”) game as I drove as well and something that my kids really started to get into the more we drove the Optima. I will get into the eco-game in a bit as that is really what the Optima Hybrid is all about. Here are some highlights of some of specs and features that I found particularly noteworthy:
- Gas Mileage – as I mentioned, the Optima claims to get 35/50 city/highway; my average of a combination of city and highway for the 7 day period that I test drove the Optima was about 28 mpg, which wasn’t too shabby. It probably was quite a bit higher, but towards the end of my test drive, I was driving the Optima pretty hard.
- Engine – 4-valve DOHC w/ 166 hp (gas) and 40.2 hp (electric); 6 speed automatic.
- Sportmatic shifting – this allows for you to change from fully automatic to having some manual controls of the shifting (shift up and down).
- Power folding mirrors -nice to tuck those mirrors away when backing out of a tight garage or parking on a busy city street.
- Panoramic Sunroof – I really love how these dual sunroofs are making cars feel much more open and airy. The Optima doesn’t feel small in any way, but with the dual sunroofs, it almost feels like you have no roof at all. The roof over the driver and front passenger opens, the rear row one is permanently closed.
- Lots of Options as Standard equipment – Bluetooth, USB, Cruise Control, push button start, dual zone automatic temperature, rear air conditioning, cooling glove box and even the rear view camera all come STANDARD in the Optima Hybrid, making your trimline choice much easier.
- 2 Optional Packages – the Hybrid Convenience package (8-way adjustable driver’s seat & UVO infotainment system) and the Hybrid Premium Technology Package, which builds on the Convenience package by adding a SiriusXM traffic and navigation, Infinity audio/speaker system, panoramic sunroof, HID headlights, 17″ Tires, heated/cooled front seats, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, leather interior, and a bunch of other things. Convenience package is $700 and Hybrid Premium Technology Packages (which requires the Convenience package) is $5,350
Don’t want to read any more? Ok, I hear you. You can get a lot of this information on the Kia website. So, here’s a 12 minute video that shows some of the features, with particular attention being paid on the ECO game that I mentioned earlier. This video is also available directly on YouTube:
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