Two hybrid concept cars from Kia — the Kia Cee’d hybrid and the Kia Sorento hybrid — have been unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. They were displayed alongside their facelifted sister models. In Korea, Kia has already launched its Forte LPI Hybrid, which is also on display at Frankfurt. While the Cee’d uses a similar powertrain to the Forte, its 1.6-litre engine runs on petrol instead.
The Sorento Hybrid uses a new 1.6-litre diesel unit, which is fitted with twin turbochargers that help it produce 161bhp. The engine is mated to an electric motor and drives the front wheels via a new double-clutch transmission offering a choice of fully-automatic, or manual sequential gear changes. Kia said that it plans to bring to production in 2010 the double clutch gearbox, which helps the Sorento achieve CO2 emissions of 119g/km.
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