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Automatically efficient | 2017 Kia Optima Hybrid Quick Spin

Automakers are stuck between a rock and hard place with hybrid vehicles. On one hand, efficient hybrids are a necessary evil – for lack of a better phrase – to hit increasingly stringent CAFE standards. But on the other hand, low fuel prices mean it takes an increasingly long time for consumers to see a return on the investment of a hybrid's price premium. These factors have pushed automakers even harder to squeeze every mile per gallon possible out their hybrid offerings. That's inevitably led to powertrain innovations designed to maximize just how long and how far hybrids can run on pure electric power and how often the gas engine can shut down. Occasionally, this doesn't work out all that well – as is the case with the new Nissan Rogue Hybrid, for instance – but there are companies getting things right. Kia, with its 2017 Optima Hybrid, is one of them. Drive Notes Kia didn't try to get too creative with the Optima Hybrid's powertrain for 2017. There's a 2.0-liter, naturally aspirated, four-cylinder gas engine, a 38-kilowatt electric motor, and a 1.62-kWh battery pack. Total system output is 192 horsepower and 271 pound-feet of torque, with EPA estimated fuel economy ratings of 39 miles per gallon in the city and 46 mpg on the highway for a 42-mpg combined rating. That's all spiffy. But taking a six-speed automatic and replacing the torque converter with a clutch and the electric motor, Kia built a hybrid sedan that smoothly intertwines disparate power sources as well as a conventional hybrid like a Toyota Prius, while allowing the Optima Hybrid to take greater advantage of zero-emissions systems. Lift off the throttle and the four-cylinder engine shuts down and lets the 50-hp electric motor handle light, constant-throttle cruising below 62 miles per hour. Dig deeper into the gas, and the petrol powerplant quickly restarts and delivers the bulk of the Optima's power for heavy acceleration and higher-speed conditions. The Optima's back and forth is rarely disjointed – Kia's hybrid feels a lot like its conventionally powered model in normal driving. It's only under sudden, wide-open throttle situations, where the hybrid systems feel caught off guard, that the Optima Hybrid feels flatfooted. A less obvious benefit of the six-speed automatic, of course, is that it leads to quieter operation. There's no rubber-band-like revving like you'd get with a CVT because the transmission can actually shift up a gear.

2019 Kia Niro EV boasts 280-mile range

Kia first hinted at an upcoming fully electric Niro compact crossover with a concept at CES, and just a few months later, it's showing the production model. Unsurprisingly, it looks pretty much exactly like the normal hybrid models on sale now, eschewing some of the show car bits such as the grille with a message screen. It does have differences, though, such as the blocked-off, body color grille, which also houses the charging ports. It also has extra faux grilles on each end of the front bumper that have LED fog lights. They're mirrored by additional faux grilles on the rear bumper. Another difference from the show model is the estimated range. Using the WLTP estimate, Kia says the Niro EV with the 64 kWh battery will go about 280 miles on a charge. The concept shown at CES with the same size battery was estimated to have a range of 238 miles. We suspect that the latter number may be closer to the range on the U.S. test cycle. This is because the Hyundai Kona Electric with the 64 kWh battery the U.S. will get was rated for 292 miles on WLTP, but only 250 on the U.S. cycle. Also like the Kona Electric, the Niro EV will be offered with two battery choices. In addition to the aforementioned 64 kWh battery, a 39.2 kWh battery will be available providing about 236 miles of range on the WLTP cycle. If the Niro EV follows in the footsteps of its Hyundai cousin, we predict the U.S. will only get the model with the higher-capacity battery. There are still some details that have yet to be revealed, such as power, torque, and what the interior looks like. It will probably make the same 201 horsepower as the CES show car, and we wouldn't be surprised if it's the same electric motor as in the Kona Electric, since the power is the same and the battery size is the same. As such, it will probably produce 291 pound-feet of torque. Also, considering how much the exterior looks like the standard Niro, the interior will likely look basically identical, but perhaps different colors and perhaps a few extra premium features, again, a la Kona Electric. We should have all the details at the car's official debut in Paris. Related Video:

Hyundai pickup truck coming ASAP, says design chief

Hyundai first showed its HCD-15 Santa Cruz pickup truck concept at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. In the years following the concept's debut, reports have kept surfacing that yes, Hyundai wants to build it and yes, it's only a matter of time when the Santa Cruz will spawn a production version. In August 2017, Reuters reported that a pickup had been greenlit as Hyundai needed to correct a sales slide; a year later, we envisioned a 2020 unveiling date for the finalized truck. Now, Autocar says Hyundai is launching the truck "as soon as possible." Autocar cites a discussion with Hyundai's new Chief Design Officer Luc Donckerwolke, who formerly led Genesis design and has also worked as the head of design at Bentley, Lamborghini and Audi. Donckerwolke said the design process of the new truck has now been completed, and Hyundai is now in the midst of engineering the design into production. Donckerwolke told Autocar that the truck will arrive "as soon as possible. From my side it is finished, the process to put it into production is now underway." Leftlane News estimates the truck could be here by 2021 at the earliest. For Donckerwolke, the truck is very much a development of the 2015 concept; as Motor Trend earlier quoted Hyundai Motor America's Brian Smith, the original two-door concept has evolved into a five-seater four-door truck. The understanding is that the Santa Cruz's production version will be underpinned by the same platform and mechanicals as the expected and redesigned 2020 Tucson. The pickup is also to be followed by a corresponding Kia-badged version, Donckerwolke said. The Hyundai and Kia trucks are likely to battle for sales with the Ridgeline, Ranger, Tacoma and Gladiator — and the Tanoak, if Volkswagen comes out with a production version of its recent concept truck. Related Video: