Kia has launched its Optima PHEV, marked as the brand’s first plug-in hybrid.

Kia Optima PHEV

Priced at £31,495 including the Government’s £2,500 plug-in car grant, the Optima PHEV brings up to 33 miles of all-electric range at speeds as high as 75mph, with 0-60mph acceleration in 9.1 seconds in hybrid mode.

It also offers CO2 emissions of 37g/km and fuel economy of 176.6mpg in the official NEDC combined test.

In a statement, the brand highlighted that it has not brought hybrids to the UK market before due to the benefits of diesels to the company car market. It added: “The all-new Optima PHEV, with its extended all-electric driving range, low CO2 emissions and ultra-low company car tax rating, redress this balance and will be an important fleet car for Kia in the UK.”

The Optima PHEV combines a 154bhp 2.0-litre direct injection petrol engine with a 67bhp electric motor powered by a 9.8kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack, generating a total 202bhp.

Technologies include regenerative braking, a driving style guide, an ECO-DAS (ECOnomy Driver Assistance System) featuring Coasting Guide Control, a Drive Mode Select button so that drivers can personalise the powertrain’s dynamics, and an HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle) Select switch – which gives a choice of two driving modes. It also has an intelligent heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system to save battery power. This is adapted from that in the Soul EV, and permits only the driver’s side of the car to be cooled when the other seats are unoccupied to minimise energy usage.

To compensate for the additional weight of the battery pack, the all-independent suspension of the Optima PHEV has been specially tuned, while the brakes have been enlarged compared with those on the diesel-engined Optima.

Kia also highlighted that the Optima PHEV is a unique standalone model within the Optima range and brings bespoke styling features including the active air-flap grille and a blue tint to the headlights plus comprehensive equipment including an 8.0-inch touch-screen navigation system with European mapping, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay (available later in the production run), Kia Connected Services powered by TomTom, a wireless mobile phone charger, a 270o around-view monitor and a 10-speaker harman/kardon Premium Sound audio system with Clari-Fi technology.