Kia Optima PHEV 2017

On a particularly cold summer evening, I decided to put the electric range of the Kia Optima PHEV (Optima Prime) to the test. It has always stated 31-miles on the display, although I’ve managed to eke 32-miles with relative ease after driving carefully and at town speeds up to 30mph. In traffic or urban driving

I have finally covered 1,000 miles in ‘Optima Prime’ (Kia Optima PHEV) and I’m impressed. Passing the milestone took a while to reach, partly because I have access to other cars and partly because my daily commute is only 12-miles. Coincidentally, the car had its first fuel fill since brand new too, which was an

Since having Optima Prime on long term test, it’s purpose has been – quite simply – to replace my daily driver. And it has done this remarkably well. To date, I’ve not yet had to visit the petrol forecourt to fill her up, thanks to its highly usable 30-mile range. While other plug-in hybrids fib

Another week, another improvement in fuel economy for the Kia Optima PHEV (‘Optima Prime’). Since the week before, plenty of short trips and warmer weather meant that electric-only mode has been deployed on pretty well every journey I’ve done in the last week. It’s the way the cookie crumbles, so to speak. Part of the

Following the previous week’s petrol journeys I was keen this week to improve on fuel consumption. While in most non-plug-in cars (including other non-plug-in hybrids) this would necessitate driving like James May; throttling back at every opportunity and crawling along the road 50% slower than the speed limit, in the Optima PHEV this isn’t the

When talking economy, a car’s weight is important. The lighter the car, the less energy required to move it. Simple. And so, engineers take great efforts to reduce weight where they can. Of course, it’s always a battle with the accountants who will want to use cheaper and potentially heavier materials for a job than

I’ve always loved Transformers. Ever since I was a kid, there was an allure to anything that could perform more than one function. Swiss Army knives, the spork, collander helmets and the like were all satisfying ways to use an item for something else – even better if the designers had never conceived of this