Although my time behind the wheel of the Kia Optima Hybrid was relatively brief, I was still able to experience most of the cool features of this Kia, as well as realize why the Optima is Kia’s best selling vehicle in America.
Photo credit- Kia Motors
Not too long ago, I had the pleasure of driving home a Kia Optima after a pretty awesome week in Orlando. But just like the week’s activities, this Optima was unique and unlike all others —it’s a hybrid.
Demand of hybrid vehicles is at an all time high, and as I drove the Optima Hybrid from Orlando, to our home in South Florida, I got a glimpse of why that might be. The Optima is very spacious and comfortable inside, and my girls definitely loved their time in the backseat. Although when it comes to enjoying seats, I was definitely in love with the heated seats…I’m just kidding, the COOLED seats, who needs heated seats in Florida? Can you imagine cooling down your leather seat during a hot summer day? Well, you can do just that with the Optima Hybrid! Plus it has heated seats for cold winters, too!
We took the Kia Optima for a quick trip to Downtown Disney during our week in Orlando and it was such a pleasure putting in the address and having the car’s GPS direct us exactly where we needed to go with ease! The Hybrid model adds a few unique exterior touches like clear taillights and clear side markers, but overall, the Hybrid model looks more modern than it’s internal combustion-only sibling.
On the road, the Kia Hybrid is smooth and quiet, and depending on whether you are on the highway or street, it’s behavior can vary. At lower speeds the Kia will use its 46.9-hp electric motor to make sure gas efficiency remains a priority, but at higher speeds the 154-hp gasoline engine will seamlessly activate and deliver extra power and speed. Even though our trip distance wasn’t very long, the Optima delivered an approximate 37mph combined.
Photo credit- Kia Motors
Now, if only they could make it clean itself, because once our drive was over the entire front end was splattered in love bugs so I didn’t get any good pictures of this beauty. Hopefully for the 2016 model, right? I can’t wait to test drive the next Kia. They have come a long way from when they first came out and I am seriously in love!
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