So, having a new car in your driveway is quite exciting! I have not had one of those, in a LONG time. Too long! I was very excited to be able to test drive the new 2012 Kia Optima Hybrid for a week.
Though a week is not long enough to get the full feeling of this car (there is SO much to it!!!!) it was long enough to fall in love with it. And fall in love we did!! So many wonderful features, it blew me away! The Kia Optima Hybrid is the brands first hybrid, which was introduced last year! Love this car!
The first thing I noticed, because I do have two kids and one on the way, is how spacious it is inside. My kids car seats fit very comfortably inside this vehicle. The middle portion pulled down and had cup holders for my kids drinks, so they could conveniently grab their drinks when they wanted them. When this back middle console went down, you could see the trunk. This is great if you are transporting long items and need extra room.
The trunk is very spacious too. We went grocery shopping and it certainly held everything nicely! Now to the front area!! I love the looks of this car, inside and out. The driver seat has all the buttons on the side of the seat to make me super comfy driving. It has an AM/FM and MP3 SIRIUS Audio System and man how I loved that! It also had a navigation traffic and rear-camera display, on the dash, so when you back up, you get a picture of what is behind you and how close you are to it! I absolutely loved this! This is a great feature to have if you have kids or animals!! LOVE.
Did I mention you do not need a key to start this car? Ya, you just push the button to start it up and when it does start, you can barely hear it! It has a 2.4-liter engine with a six-speed automatic transmission. Pair that with the 30-kw electric motor and lightweight lithium polymer batteries to power this beauty!! It worked on battery and gas, to ensure my traveling did not suck up that gas! Talk about awesome gas mileage!! This has a total of 206 horsepower. Pretty cool!
The great thing is that you don’t need to plug this vehicle in, to recharge it. It simply recharges itself! The battery pack recharges by the energy from the gas engine. Very techincal, but that is what I understood it did. I mainly drove this car on the freeway and not really around town, only some. For me, it did well in town and definitely on the freeway! It is kind of zippy!!! 
We were so sad to see this vehicle go, but I am happy I got to experience the Kia Optima Hybrid for a week! If you are in the market for a spacious, economical car, I recommend this car to you. Great for a family of 4 or 5.
To find out more about the Kia Optima Hybrid and ALL of its many many features, please visit them online at http://www.kia.com/#/optima-hybrid Feel free to like Kia on FB and follow them on Twitter!
What do you look for, in a new car?
Disclosure:
I was able to review this car for one week. All opinions are my own, thanks! Contains affliliate link.
About Kim Delatorre
I’ve been looking for a new car, got some more info on this car and it seems to be what I am looking for. Thanks for the review!
Oh I love it! My BFF has a keyless car, pretty snazzy!
Nichol recently posted..The New & Improved Polly Pocket Dolls and Accessories Review
Looks nice. Thank you for the review!
We just bought a new 2012 Kia and we couldn’t be happier. The performance is wonderful, the style is sleek and modern and it’s fully loaded.
Marcie W. recently posted..Wordless Wednesday – 8/15/12
I have been wanting a new car for over 2 years now. I hope to have one soon with comfort, style and lots of drink holders.
looks like a nice car
hybrid huh? hope its not alien..
Great review! I think we will be looking into Kia for our next car! Seems like an awesome value!
What a great ride! Love how environmentally friendly it is!
Looks awesome, I’d love a hybrid! For me, I’d need seating for 6 to be comfortable in a new car.
I did not know that Kia made a hybrid. Thanks for the information!
Nice review. As a broker who is always driving I know how important it is to have a fuel efficient car!
It looks nice. Thanks for the review.
I would like a hybrid car
It looks like a great car! A spacious trunk is always important to me. I do love to shop lol
I look for comfort and making certain that it’s user-friendly, plus a hatchback to be able to carry all kinds of things.
This makes me want a new car. Mine is still in great shape but its always nice to get a new car.
I love it when steering wheels have all those fancy buttons. My care is 15 years old, so it doesn’t have any of that cool stuff.
This looks like a fantastic car!
I would love a Kia Sedona! We are going to need a three seat vehicle now with 4 children.
This sounds like a great car. I love that it was Zippy and is still a hybrid. Anything we can do to help the environment and save money on gas is a good thing.
I love the new Kia Optima’s. I love that thy have more than one model of this car. It makes it easier to decide how much I would want to pay and the cars are so reliable
Awesome car!
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I would love a hybrid car, thanks for the review.
Great car!
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Kias look like decent cars!
That’s a very nice car!!! Thanks for the review!
Looks like a nice car! We have a Ford Escape and think our next car with be a Ford Escape Hybrid.
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Really nice looking car! I’d love to have a hybrid since the price of gas is ridiculous.
I look for something safe and a great stereo..lol
Thats funny Actually we just bought a 2010 kia soul a few weeks back and I love it,I thought it was kind of funny looking at first when hubby brought it home but it is growing on me plus it rides so smooth and is so roomy
This car is CUTE and I need a new car BUT so NOT practical for a family with 4 kids!
I like that it is a hybrid and it looks nice.
The Kia Optima Hybrid looks very nice. Thanks for the interesting and informative review!
I have had a Kia before but the ones that are family-friendly aren’t “gas” friendly, so we won’t be buying one anything soon…. hybrids are nice but expensive.
I look for a dependable car that is good on gas mileage. Thank you for the review.
My son has a Kia Optima and he really likes it.
Wow, I really like Kia vehicles but have never thought much about a hybrid until reading this post. I know Kia offers a good warranty so I know they make dependable products. The fact that the gas engine is an 0ptimal buying criteria. I like the lines of this car. When I am on
the market for a new car, I would definitely check out the Kia Optima Hybrid. Thanks for the great review.
Wow it looks great. I am determined that our next car purchase will be a hybrid now
My husband is 6’6″ so LEGROOM for sure is what we look for!