Ian Lamming feels the bank account benefits of Kia’s super-frugal SUV, the XCeed
THIS is ridiculous, but in a good way.
I’m bimbling along in Kia’s latest XCeed and the trip computer is recording 81.6 miles per gallon, pretty much without trying. That’s twice as many as a car you would traditionally consider economical.
But how welcome is that in these troubled times. If I owned one of these I could afford to have the heating on, watch tele, or at least eat this week.
When you do as many miles as me fuel figures like these have a real impact on the household purse literally halving the amount spent on juice.
They also make buying anything other than a hybrid pointless. Now the Government has slapped vehicle excise duty on full electrics there’s even less point in shelling out for one and I say this as I sit in a full electric staring at a concrete wall at a supermarket charging point.
Tax was always going to head EVs’ way along with extra revenue generating tariffs on electricity itself no doubt. But they have come too soon, when the buying public is still unsure about making the switch away from petrol to sparks. It could be taking the legs off EVs even before they’ve learned to walk.
Hybrids on the other hand may now be more than just a stepping stone to sustainable transport, they could be the answer because they cut emissions where it is most important – in towns – but leave you with the comfort blanket of a petrol motor that can be topped up in minutes.
Take a look at the XCeed PHEV for example. CO2 figures of just 32g/km. Well that’s got to help your tax not to mention the environment. And while the official fuel figures are bonkers – 201.7mpg, yeah right – achieving yon side of 80 is easy-peasy.
PHEV stands for plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. So, if you can be bothered, you can attach it to a charger or even the house mains, charge it to a 100 per cent and get close to 40 miles on pure electric, which is great for short runs and work commutes, during which you won’t sup any petrol at all.
The plug-in hybrid powertrain combines a 8.9kWh battery pack, 44.5kW electric motor and 1.6-litre direct injection petrol engine, producing 139bhp and 265Nm of torque. The electric capabilities of the PHEV are boosted by kinetic energy harvesting technology. Lift off the throttle going downhill or brake and the energy generated is ploughed back into the battery. It’s not quite perpetual motion but it helps.
On the longer, faster stuff the electric motor and the petrol engine work together in perfect harmony. You just get on with pointing it in the right direction; the Kia works out which motor to use and sometimes that’s both.
XCeed was launched as part of the Ceed family and has become the most popular model. In this country it accounts for 10 per cent of total Kia sales and more than half of all Ceeds. That puts it a strong third behind Sportage and Niro.
