Kia Motors America announced today that its first hybrid, the 2011 Optima Hybrid, will be priced at $26,500. The Optima Hybrid, with an expected rating of 35 miles per gallon in the city and 40 on the highway, goes on sale in June. The gas-electric Optima shares its hybrid system with the Hyundai Sonata, which surprisingly carries a lower based MSRP of $25,800. Nonetheless, the Optima Hybrid beats the price of Ford Fusion—which offers similar fuel economy at 41/36—by about two grand. It matches the base MSRP of the Toyota Camry Hybrid, which only musters 33 mpg in the city and 34 on the highway.
Last week, Nissan announced that its 2012 Infiniti M35h would be the world's first hybrid to come equipped with standard pedestrian warning sounds when it goes on sale early next year. Other hybrid makers seem to be moving in the same direction—perhaps in anticipation of new regulatory frameworks in countries that could mandate such systems on all vehicles capable of driving in near-silence.
