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Almost Jeffersonian | 2017 Kia Optima Plug-In Hybrid Second Drive

On a drive of Kia's new Optima Plug-In Hybrid (in showrooms since April), we visited Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, our third president's sprawling estate in central Virginia. Even in the absence of Twitter, Jefferson enjoyed a restless curiosity about an array of subjects. While his day gigs – declaring independence and consummating the Louisiana Purchase – occupied much of his life, he always made time for intellectual pursuits and making daily life better, so we think he'd grasp the rightness of the Optima. In the science of the plug-in hybrid, there's little new. The combination of gas and electric motors is intended to reduce the carbon footprint of a conventional drivetrain. Add a motor, install more battery capacity and enable that battery to be recharged over a long lunch or overnight, and you have a plug-in hybrid with up to 29 miles of electric-only operation. With the gas tank included, you get roughly 600 miles of combined driving range. (That's DC to Atlanta, had Jefferson wanted to visit Atlanta.) Visually, there's little to distinguish this PHEV from a conventional Optima. Its alloy wheels are aerodynamically cleaner and front fascia less disruptive - and includes an active air flap, no less. The exterior design, though dated, still impresses. A spacious interior is what you'd expect from Kia. And so, regrettably, are some hard plastic surfaces. That plastic is appropriate in a $20,000 Soul, less so in a $40,000 Optima Plug-In. Nothing here is completely off-putting, and we've always liked Kia's integration of audio and A/C controls. But so much is good about the Optima that you expect something nicer as you slide behind the wheel. The front seats are both supportive and accessible. Our test vehicle, equipped with $5,250 of EX Technology, offered a panoramic sunroof, heated and ventilated front seats, a power front passenger seat with adjustable lumbar, and heated outboard rear seats. That same package also includes a bundle of safety technology, including a forward collision warning system, advanced smart cruise control, blind spot detection, lane departure warning, and rear cross traffic alert. A modern hybrid generates a lot of info, and learning to access it all will require more than the few hours we had in the car. Your economy – the Optima's innate efficiency and your driving style – is available at the push (or two) of a button. And you can choose from all-electric EV or hybrid mode by using Kia's Mode Select control.

US expands probe into ZF-TRW airbag failure-to-deploy to 12.3 million vehicles

DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning airbag controls to include 12.3 million vehicles because the bags may not inflate in a crash. The problem could be responsible for as many as eight deaths. Vehicles made by Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi and Fiat Chrysler from the 2010 through 2019 model years are included in the probe, which was revealed Tuesday in documents posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It involves airbag control units made by ZF-TRW that were installed in the vehicles. The control units can fail in a crash, possibly because of unwanted electrical signals produced by the crash itself that can disable an air bag control circuit housed in the passenger compartment, according to NHTSA documents. The electrical signals can damage the control circuit, the documents say. ZF, a German auto parts maker which acquired TRW Automotive in 2015, said in a statement that it's committed to safety and is cooperating with NHTSA and automakers in the investigation. The case is another in a long list of problems with auto industry airbags, including faulty and potentially deadly Takata airbag inflators. At least 24 people have been killed worldwide and more than 200 injured by the inflators, which can explode with too much force and hurl dangerous shrapnel into the passenger cabin. The inflators touched off the largest series of automotive recalls in U.S. history involving with as many as 70 million inflators to be recalled by the end of next year. About 100 million inflators are to be recalled worldwide. On April 19, NHTSA upgraded the ZF-TRW probe from a preliminary evaluation to an engineering analysis, which is a step closer toward seeking recalls. So far, only Hyundai and Kia and Fiat Chrysler have issued recalls in the case. Four deaths that may have been caused by the problem were reported in Hyundai-Kia vehicles and three in Fiat Chrysler automobiles. NHTSA opened an investigation in March of 2017 involving the TRW parts in Hyundais and Kias. The upgrade came after investigators found two recent serious crashes involving 2018 and 2019 Toyota Corollas in which the airbags did not inflate. One person was killed. Jason Levine, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit consumer group, said the ZF-TRW case shows the auto industry thus far has learned very little from Takata.

Hyundai-Kia fuel-economy errors trigger $300M in federal penalties [w/video]

This amount includes $100-million in civil penalties, the largest such fines in EPA history.
Hyundai and Kia are getting more than a slap on the wrist for overstating the fuel economy of an estimated 1.2-million vehicles in their 2011-2013 model ranges. The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice and the California Air Resources Board are hitting the automakers with collective penalties valued at around $300 million for Clean Air Act violations. This amount includes $100-million in civil penalties, the largest such fines in EPA history. Specifically, Hyundai is paying a $56.8 million penalty and relinquishing 2.7-million greenhouse gas emissions credits. Kia is paying $43.2 million in penalties and giving up 2.05-million credits.