2010 Kia Hybrid Test Drive: Prototype Forte and Cee'd Hybrids Pave Way to 2011 Optima Hybrid

Kia is leading a relatively late charge into the global hybrid car business. But over the past decade, it has set up research and development outposts in Germany, the United States, Japan and a $60 million facility in South Korea. Recently, Kia and Hyundai have earmarked $6 billion in research and development, the majority of which will go toward the development of hybrid and fuel cell vehicles. And the first Kia hybrid we'll see stateside will be an all-new Optima, which will debut in 2010 as a 2011 model. For a taste of Kia's progress, we tested hybrid versions of the recently launched Forte sedan and the Cee'd, a hatchback currently enjoying strong sales in Europe. These two mild hybrid applications were created by Kia's R&D department for real-world testing, and the development work done on these cars will likely help Kia fine-tune the Optima hybrid.

The Specs

Developed as an upgraded version of a Rio Hybrid powerplant, the cee'd hybrid's 1.6-liter gasoline engine is mated to an electric motor, incorporating a proprietary computerized ISG (Idle Stop and Go) system. The electric motor's maximum torque of 77 lb-ft arrives at 1500 rpm through a Kia-designed and built CVT and receives its power from a lithium-polymer battery pack stowed along the side of the trunk. CO₂ emissions are reduced by 25 percent over the gasoline-only setup, and claimed fuel economy is 4.81 liter/kilometer, or an impressive 48.9 mpg (2.05 gallons per 100 miles) based on the European test cycle.

The Forte LPI hybrid combines a 114-hp 1.6-liter gasoline engine and an electric motor adding another 20 hp. As with the cee'd, the Forte hybrid utilizes batteries supplied by LG Chem, the same company supplying the battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt. Incorporating mildly reworked exterior cues like a redesigned grille, larger air intake, and LED taillights, the Forte hybrid will only be available in the Korean market starting this month. Though Kia admits sales in China might be under consideration. The claimed fuel economy for the Forte hybrid is 41 mpg (2.44 g/100m), with CO₂ emissions of 102 g/km which are comparable numbers to that of the Honda Civic Hybrid.

The Drive

Our brief time behind the wheels of both the cee'd and Forte mild hybrids reflected a solid execution of start/stop technology. A light throttle application in the cee'd yielded modest acceleration, while a heavier right foot produced sufficient thrust to support the estimated 0-to-62-mph time of 11.8 seconds. While the powertrain felt ready to cope with most urban demands, the on-center feel of the prototype's electric steering system was numb, and straight-line driving produced significant lane wandering, a characteristic that should be addressed before production.

But the cee'd and Forte hybrids' technological achievements will be eclipsed by the upcoming Optima Hybrid, for which Kia is developing its own proprietary drivetrain. "One of our key strategies is not to license the technology, for example, as Ford did from Toyota," explains Tim White, a senior powertrain manager at Kia's R&D facility in Ann Arbor, Mich. The upcoming Optima will feature a full hybrid system capable of driving purely on electric power.

Intended to compete against the hybrid versions of the Toyota Camry, Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion, the Optima's powertrain promises to be a formidable combination of fuel efficiency and affordability—though Kia isn't revealing specifics. "I really can't go into the details," White told Popular Mechanics during a telephone interview. "But the transmission does not have a conventional torque convertor," he says, "and it's not a CVT, either." Perhaps Kia will use a dual-clutch automated manual? The next-gen hybrid system is expected to deliver a 60 percent improvement in fuel economy over the nonhybrid Optima. And acceleration should also improve over the standard model as well.

The Bottom Line

The Kia Optima Hybrid is expected to debut in the third or early fourth quarter of 2010. And Kia is promising that plug-in hybrid vehicles could arrive by 2013. Hyundai and Kia hope to build 30,000 hybrids by 2010, and a whopping 500,000 units by 2018. An in-house-designed hybrid Kia that can compete with Toyota and Honda could certainly transform Kia's reputation.