While the Niro is an all-new model, with no direct predecessors, it still carries forward the company’s signature “tiger-nose” grille and a series of other design cues from the latest Kia products.
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Kia has revealed plans to add an all-new low emissions SUV to its model line-up.
Kia has come up with a couple of teaser shots of its upcoming Niro hybrid crossover which it hope to launch towards the first half of 2016.
Combined with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder GDI I-4 engine, the hybrid electric drivetrain in the Optima plug-in hybrid will produce roughly 202 hp and 140 lb-ft of torque transmitted through a six-speed automatic transmission.
The Optima PHEV is the first hybrid model the firm has sold in the United Kingdom and will lead the way for the technology to be extended across the range.
Kia Motors has announced that it will be revealing a new Kia Optima plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant in 2016 to join its existing Optima hybrid (pictured here), which will also be updated for the year.
It’s impossible to recommend a plug-in hybrid until you know its price, although Kia must know that the car’s success depends on it offering a financial benefit beyond the company tax and fuel savings to owners who choose to run it. The pairing works together to send drive through a six-speed double-clutch transmission, and the results make for a claimed sub-90g/km Carbon dioxide output. A plug-in hybrid model is also believed to be among future plans for the model. No figures have been released, but Kia engineers reckon an official 50mpg should be achievable when the auto is running in standard hybrid mode. Indeed, it’s aiming for the best fuel economy in the compact SUV class and sub-90g/km Carbon dioxide emissions based on the New European Driving Cycle, which is a real-world emissions test.
The best-selling example of a plug-in hybrid (or any electrified car) in Britain is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
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The Niro is due to debut in 2016, with production for overseas markets to start late in the year at Hwasung in Korea. Kia engineers are planning to develop the brand’s next-generation fuel cell stack to be 5% more efficient and offer 10% greater stack performance, despite being around 15% lighter and 15% lower in volume, compared to current generation fuel cell stacks.
