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2013 Hybrid EX test drive, pictures, and differences!

13K views 76 replies 14 participants last post by  Waynerm002 
#1 ·
Hello all!. Dropped my my local Concord (No. California) KIA dealership and they had TWO '13 hybrids. They were kind enough for a quick test-drive and a photo shoot!

1. Visual Differences. Compared to my 2012 there's a EX on the trunk and Hybrid on the sides - that's it; There are no other visual differences between the 11's and 12's.
2. Interior. I sat in both a Leather/Cloth and full Leather EX's and I immediately noticed a big difference. The seats are better contoured, the headrests sit further forward (more supportive), and the seats are much more cushier. Chris told me that Kia is using memory foam on the front seats... not sure about that, but they are much more comfortable. The heated steering wheel button now sits next to the dash dim toggle switch (no longer on the steering column), and the leather rapped steering wheel is as smooth as a baby's bottom (mine is far more granular); feels very nice in my hands - more upscale. All other features are there. That's it, everything else inside looks the same.
3. Trunk. Kia claims more space... the vent was re-routed - it looks slightly bigger, but not by that much.
4. Test Drive. Here's the big surprise... wow, what a difference! During my brief drive the electric motor did more work than I'm currently used to. Under normal acceleration, the '13 felt much quicker with the gas engine not coming on at all (up to about 40 MPH), that hardly happen in my '12. Furthermore, once the '13 gas engine kicked in, it was a far smoother event. The Kia dealer told me that new power train addressed and corrected all of the jerkiness of the current hybrid system. He also told me that the mileage estimates are far more realistic as well. I believe that the torque was raised by 40 ft/lbs and the car sure felt much quicker - I did not notice the gas engine struggling on/off during brisk acceleration but again, it was a short test drive. Very different feel!!! (for the better)
5. Sales pitch. Chris told me that they would pay top $ for my '12 and that there is a $1,000 cash-back on all '13 hybrids and a $2,000 loyalty bonus cash... I paid $28,200 1 1/2 years ago and currently owe about $22,000 - maybe, just maybe I'll see what they have to offer. It may be worth doing for the ultra comfy seats & improved drive (will have to take it on the freeway as well!). Enjoy the pics and let me know what you all think!

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#41 · (Edited)
Thanks for the review.

Does anyone know if, with 2013 they have improved the highway steering problem and the occasional failure of Bluetooth to spontaneously connect?
 
#45 · (Edited)
I never had an issue with steering on the 2011 and actually thought it was very good, never drifted. On the 2013, with the little road trip I took last night, I thought the 2013 steering felt heavier and did seem to drift just the slightest little bit, but it very well could have been the road. There is just something that feels different about the 2013. With the 2011 I could easily let go of the wheel without fearing that I was going to change lanes all of sudden. I haven't got enough time with the 2013 to make a call on that. Need more road time to gain confidence. I think the word I am looking for is the steering feels stiffer. It might have something to do with the wheel covering as well. It is a smoother texture and sponge like. I liked the 2011 covering better when turning, had some rough surface texture, and not sponge like and didn't feel like it would slip out my hand. Maybe I am just gripping a little tighter.

I have an iPhone and that was a big issue with my 2011. One of the iPhone updates took care of the issue about a year ago and is so far not a problem with the 2013. Kia did not have anything to do with that fix.
 
#42 · (Edited)
Going to stop by the dealership tomorrow and see if can get my compass to stay off, which it is supposed to do if you turn it off. It is defaulting to on at every engine start.

Also I seem to have a very optimistic gas gauge. I have driven 84 miles since leaving the car lot, with an average speed of 16 mph and the gauge is still on the full mark. Hasn't budged nor flickered. My 2011 would have dropped two ticks by that point. The service guy says the only way to check that out is on a mostly empty tank. Since I never trusted how much fuel was in my 2011, how am I going to know when the 2013 is close to empty? The 2011 would be on one tick and say 40 miles to empty, but only take 12 gallons to fill it up. I suppose I could drive it around the dealership lot until it ran out of gas.

EDIT:


Took it on the highway for a 40 mile round trip. The fuel gauge finally moved down a tick when it hit 90 miles on trip odometer. So by my math at 90 miles a tick (18 of them?) I will get 1620 miles per tank.
:crazy:
 
#44 ·
I've been thinking about putting a "Hybrid" badge on my car just so I can park in all the "alternative fuels/eco" parking spots that are around here in NoVA! LOL! :)
 
#46 ·
Hey remitr, the fuel gauge does not work in that way, although we would like it to. On a regular fill up, I usually drive about 120 miles before it loses the first bar from full. When I put 20 gallons in, it takes about 220 - 250 miles of driving before it moves from full, if we used that logic, I would be getting 3960 - 4500 miles per tank. At a 1/4 tank, I have seen 120 to 90 remaining. It really depends on how and where you are driving, if you can drive in EV mode longer then the fuel is used less and you will see better MPGs.

I was zipping along with traffic yesterday at 50 - 75, my mpg reading was 36.4, we slowed to around 40 - 50 on a bit of long straights with some opportunities for long braking to recharge the battery. The car was in EV mode for quite a bit and after my 35 mile trip, it showed 38.2. I was surprised as I had to use the AC on the ride as we hit 80s yesterday, was expecting it to go down but instead it went up. Did you fill it up or did the dealer?
 
#48 ·
Wayne, I know, I was kidding. Should have put a smiley face up there.

I did forget to mention that the EV mode operates between just one bar above half and 3/4 on the battery. My 2011 would operate between 3/4 and one bar below full. I don't know that if that means anything as long as it operates.

Dealer filled it up.
 
#52 ·
Pic from iPhone

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#54 ·
Went for another road trip (mostly flat road with some slight rises) on the highway. Around 60 mph average. 40 miles round trip and averaged per the gauge 39.2 mpg, guess that equates to 37 - 38 mpg calculated. Not bad compared to my 2011 which would register about 34 mpg or lower and be at least 2 mpg overly optimistic.

The thing I noticed was the EV came on more frequently and ran for much shorter periods of time. Would kick on at one bar below 3/4 and shut off at 1 bar above 1/2. It would take 10 - 15 seconds to discharge to the point where it would kick off. This is weird compared to the 2011 which would kick on at one bar below full and off at 3/4. Can't get it to charge any higher than 3/4, but the mileage is already seriously better than 2011. Scratching my head, but happy.
 
#55 ·
Now, I'm assuming you were in ECO mode when you did the run, would that be correct? Any info on how it drives with ECO off? I had a good time driving around today with ECO off, it's a lot more responsive than when I first got it. Maybe it was the time spent driving it hard in NY that the transmission learned and now it responds better to quick throttle inputs.

Remember, the 2013 has a different battery and electric motor than the 2011 and 2012 models. They did not really improve the economy by much but they improved the drivability of the car and got rid of the feeling we experienced when it transition between drive modes. It would be nice to hear from some of the other 2013 hybrid owners about their experience with the new system.
 
#56 ·
I was in eco mode. I could try a run without eco mode tomorrow, although it is supposed to be cooler and raining which will skew any comparison to today's run. But maybe it will get the battery to charge past 3/4 and allow a longer run on ev.

I am thinking about trying to get a video of my dash while doing this, but I think camera placement would be an issue as it would need to be wide angle at a very close focus distance to cover the necessary gauges. I have a hero3, but the minimum focus distance is around 2 ft from what I have read.
 
#57 ·
Would be interesting to see if it charged fully with ECO off, I only get that with ECO on in my car when I am not paying attention and have my foot further down on the accelerator than it needs to be, all the time. I will feel the pedal stiffness ease and when I look at the dash, I notice that the battery is fully charged and the car is in EV mode. With ECO off, the battery does not charge as fast. Any extra press of the pedal, slight incline of the road or if the car speed drops requiring a downshift, it will put both systems in play which makes it harder for the battery to achieve a full charge state. A long steady run will get it to about 3/4 but the power is there if you call upon it and there goes any gains you made. It is fun driving in with ECO off but it is probably more so with the 2013. :)
 
#58 ·
I've seen my 2013 battery charged fully only once while the usual is 3/4 or one bar above as the norm. Unlike the previous comment, I don't notice it going into EV mode with frequent short durations. It seems to hold in EV for quite a long time. In fact, if it charges to 3/4, it often stays in EV until it reads just over 1/4. I'm probably not the best to comment here since I only have 750 kms on my car. It looks like I'll be getting slightly over 1000 kms on it's first tank. That's 600 miles for the U.S folks :)

Rob
 
#59 · (Edited)
I posted a very very boring you tube video unless you really really like watching dashboard gauges move.



You can see how short a range and time that it actually goes into EV mode. First half is in ECO mode and the second half (return trip) ECO off.

This isn't even the full video, just about 3 1/2 or 4 minutes each direction so you can see the EV mode. It is counter intuitive to see it run for such short periods of time, but come on more frequently as compared to my previous 2011, yet is getting much better mileage (per the meter) than the 2011 which would go to one bar below full or full and down to 3/4. As you will notice the 2013 is only operating over 2 bars.

Mostly flat road with gentle rises and falls and traffic.

You can fast forward as needed.
 
#60 ·
Watching the video, I can see what you mean. Mine does pretty much the same thing if I keep that speed but I tend to have longer down hill sections where the battery will get to charge up to full if I let off the gas and then accelerate going up until it gets to 1/2 charge, then the engine kicks in. This morning was good with not too much traffic so we were doing around 75 for a good stretch. I'm in the 35 mpg region, I did some driving around in normal mode and killed the economy. I noticed the 1st bar went away around 240, at 289 I noticed another bar was gone, this is when I was doing some heavy acceleration and enjoying driving it like a normal car. Looking like mid 600 on a 20 gallon fill up, if I do make 700 during my commute this week, I will be happy.
 
#61 ·
Now you can build a 2013 Hybrid on KIA's site. Only three colors offered; they dropped Blue and added Satin Metal (I have a Satin Silver - which has more beige). It seems that the black interior is designated "Spot Seats"; they sure are very comfortable; do any of you have sport seats for 2012 or 2011 - I have beige/tan and the seats aren't so bolstered. If the number work out, I may (just may) trade up; it drives really well. Keep you posted.
 
#62 ·
It's been up a couple of days now. Was it called Satin Silver? Mine is a 2012 and it is Satin Metal, looks beige in garages and at night and when it's over cast but gray/silver in bright sunlight. I wanted to get white but changed my mind after seeing the photos online, love the way it can look different at times. The new seats are more bolstered and a bit more comfortable, another thing that has me liking the 2013s. Check the incentives they have available, make your best deal and then add in the incentives, plus they should have some good rates as well. Let us know how it turns out.
 
#65 ·
I thought he was a KIA employee?? You would think that would get him some consideration.
 
#67 ·
So, quick question, what does the SXL have different than the EX in the Hybrid, besides the Turbo. Do the side mirrors fold in? Nappa leather? not sure what else. I know that the wheels on the Hybrid are different, but I thought there was an 18s with the EX package, even though its a Hybrid.
 
#69 ·
holy smokes, you are right!!, I read that the Hybrid upgrade had 18s, but looking at the American market, the biggest is 17.:(
I was thinking of putting that decal on the 18" wheels just till I wore out the tires. Wow, it looks like its going to cost me some mpg's to add some personal taste.
 
#71 ·
Congrats! Give us some details on the deal and what you notice different about the vehicles. There are a some interested parties on the fence that would like to hear more from those who have the 2013s, especially those that had a previous hybrid. I was so hoping they would add some more colors to the hybrid line but instead they dropped one and now we have less of a choice.
 
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