Kia's Hybrid Sets a New Commuter Standard

FAITHFUL READERS KNOW I would never bury the lead, so here it is: The Kia Optima Hybrid is my pick for the best commuting sedan under $35,000.

But wait, say the faithful, the Optima Hybrid's base price is only $26,450, including delivery. Exactly.

The Optima Hybrid is not a perfect car, to be sure. The powertrain software is strangely moody at times. The trunk is a little tight. It's about as exhilarating as a bolus of laudanum, thus the "commuting" qualifier. It's just that it is otherwise such a staggering amount of car for the money. Kia's PR team thoughtfully equipped my test car with the Hybrid Premium Technology package ($5,350, for a total out-the-door price of $32,615), a hugely persuasive and Lexus-like list of upgrades including navigation with SiriusXM traffic info; rear-camera display; an excellent Infinity eight-speaker sound system with subwoofer; panoramic sunroof with blacked out B-pillars (those are the roof supports between the front and rear doors that, when blacked out, sleek-ify the car's profile); heated and ventilated front seats; and a heated steering wheel and rear seats.

Photos: Value, Looks, Efficiency

 

Kia Motors America

The Kia Optima Hybrid is my pick for the best commuting sedan under $35,000, says Mr. Neil.

I admit I am susceptible to the euphoric effects of a heated steering wheel, and I don't even live in the Snow Belt. I further concede that all this low-cost, high-tech gear has the power to redeem a harvest-gold 1972 Mercury Montego (pause for wistful nostalgia here). My point is, if you're ponying up for a new car of this size/performance/price, the full-kit Optima is dispositive. It will make you happy. It will make you comfortable. Your butt will thank you.

Honda and Acura trail-blazed the one-price, tech-package approach and it has served those companies well. Kia's doubling down on discount amenities is a beautiful way to get consumers to take the car and the brand seriously, and it seems to be working. As of March, Kia is the fastest-growing car company in the U.S., in part thanks to the record 15,000 Optimas that passed through dealership doors last month.

So that's the rational, arithmetical, bang-per-buck argument. The irrational argument consists of the fact that the Optima is the best-looking car in its class: uncommonly lithe and handsomely proportioned for a front-wheel-drive sedan. A tapering chrome bow arcs fluidly over the roofline from the A pillar to the short rear deck, which helps visually lighten and lengthen the roofline.

Later this year the Optima will get some competition in the swimsuit competition from the redesigned-for-2013 Ford Fusion, a car that, Aston Martin cues notwithstanding, looks an awful lot like the Optima. In the meantime, the Optima is the Miss Venezuela of the mid-to-full-size, C/D segment, which includes the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Buick Verano, Subaru Legacy, Chevrolet Malibu and the furiously styled Hyundai Sonata, which is the corporate sibling and mechanical clone of the Optima.

You could get the Optima's good looks for a mere $21,750, which is the delivered price of the nonhybrid version. The argument for buying a gas-only Optima is purely ROI. The conventionally powered Optima, with a direct-injection 2.4-liter, 200-horsepower four-cylinder, already gets pretty great fuel economy (24/35 mpg, city/highway). The Hybrid gets a very respectable 35/40 mpg. In round and nominal numbers, assuming a price-per-gallon of $4, it would take not quite five years to recoup the Optima's hybrid premium.

“There are certainly fleeter and more-fun cars than the Optima Hybrid, but no family sedan gathers up value, looks and efficiency quite like it.”

I crunch the numbers slightly differently. Recognizing that gasoline is a problematic fuel and that the U.S.'s reliance on imported oil is bad for our currency and warps our international priorities; and recognizing that we don't have anything close to sufficient domestic reserves to make a dent in our rates of importation; and well aware that the U.S. has constrained refining capacity; and knowing that greenhouse-gas emissions from automobiles are one of many drivers of global climate change—I choose to spend a little extra on a more fuel-efficient car, regardless of whether I will financially profit. That's just me, being patriotic. Your priorities may lie elsewhere. And yes, hybrid haters, you're being teased.

As it does with the Sonata Hybrid, the Kia's hybrid system consists of the 2.4-liter, Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine producing 166 hp; an integrated 40-hp electric motor; and a six-speed automatic transmission, with these powertrain components connected with wet clutches instead of a conventional torque converter. The lithium-polymer battery pack, situated in the trunk behind the rear seats, stores a total of 1.4 kWh of juice. Total system output is 206 hp and 195 pound-feet of torque.

Among the distinguishing aero enhancements for the hybrid are a grille shutter system that closes at highway speeds; a lower ride height; and air-channeling underbody panels. The standard package includes 16-inch wheels and low-rolling-resistance tires. The Tech package cars get 17-inch tires wrapped around the flush-faced alloy wheels. It all adds up to a coefficient of drag of 0.26, which makes the Optima one of the most aero-efficient cars on the market.

2012 Kia Optima Hybrid

• Base price: $26,450
• Price as tested: $32,615
• Powertrain: Naturally aspirated 2.4-liter Atkinson-cycle in-line four-cylinder with variable valve timing; six-speed automatic transmission; 40-hp permanent magnet electric motor; 1.4 kWh lithium-polymer battery pack; front-wheel drive
• Total system horsepower/torque: 206 hp/195 pound-feet
• Length/weight: 190.7 inches/3,500 pounds (est.)
• Wheelbase: 110 inches
• 0-60 mph: 9.5 seconds (est.)
• EPA fuel economy: 35/40 mpg, city/highway (regular gas)
• Cargo capacity: 9.8 cubic feet

As I said, this is my pick for a commuting sedan, which is a gentle way to say the Optima Hybrid is not particularly sporty. Zero to 60 mph is in the 9-second range and the powertrain's software is intensely interested in limiting the gas engine's workload. Even from a standing start, the Optima responds first with the e-motor and then, if necessary, the system will very reluctantly wake up the gas engine. The software's parameters create a noticeable disconnect between throttle and acceleration, and it's only with a fairly vigorous kick in the slats that you can get the car to full power. Most hybrids use a continuously variable transmission, a stepless CVT; the Optima's six-speed transmission, while more familiar-feeling, tends to fret between gears and then, when one or more of the dry clutches re-engages, judder gracelessly. I'd be surprised if this behavior weren't resolvable with better software.

Once under way, the car will revert to electric power up to 62 mph, as long as there's juice in the battery and the load demands aren't too high. When the batts are depleted, the gas engine fires up again—and again, and again, as you drive down the highway. This sawing back and forth of electrons and hydrocarbons takes some getting used to; the nice part is that, at around-town speeds, the car performs almost like an all-electric EV—so much so that Kia engineers created a prerecorded engine sound to alert pedestrians of the car's otherwise-silent presence. That's kind of cool.

 

It took about a week for me to adjust to the Optima Hybrid's peculiar gas-electric metabolism. Even so, I was really pleased with the car. The driver-focused dash and instrument layout is friendly and distinctive. The front legroom (45 inches) is excellent. The trunk space, down to less than 10 cubic feet on account of the battery pack, is smallish but certainly within a standard deviation.

There are certainly fleeter and more-fun cars than the Optima Hybrid. To be sure, other cars' hybrid systems are vastly more transparent; and some cars have more electronic conveniences on board, only nowhere near this car's price. But no family sedan gathers up value, looks and efficiency quite like this car. Why, it warms the cockles of my hands.

 

Source:WSJ