Kia Optima PHEV Saloon pictures

The Kia Optima plug-in hybrid is available as a saloon or Sportswagon estate

It's a rival to models including the Ford Mondeo Hybrid, Volkswagen Passat GTE and BMW 330e iPerformance

Thanks to its battery pack, the Optima PHEV can travel for just over 30 miles when fully charged

This advantage gives the saloon fuel-economy of up to 176.6mpg

CO2 emissions are also very low, placing the Optima PHEV in the lowest BiK band for business users 

Owners can also drive in London without paying the Congestion Charge

A 2.0-litre petrol engine is combined with an electric motor to produce 202bhp

But, it's quite heavy, so 0-62mph takes 9.1 seconds in the saloon and 9.4 for the Sportswagon

You also shouldn't expect to hit its claimed economy figures unless you only drive short distances

The interior is just like the regular Optima, save for a different set of gauges and some new buttons for its driving modes