Kia Motors Gets a Guinness Fuel Economy Record

Kia Motors set a  new Guinness world record for the lowest fuel consumption in a hybrid gasoline vehicle while driving through all “Lower 48″ U.S. states. The 7,899 mile fuel economy record was made by a factory-standard Kia Optima Hybrid depart from Kia’s plant in West Point, Georgia, on August 26, travelling through the 48 adjoining states in a clockwise direction, before finishing in South Carolina just 16 days later, on September 10.

To do it, Kia turned to Wayne Gerdes from Wadsworth, Ill., one of the top hypermilers.They achieved 64.55 miles per gallon. That’s 61% better than the car’s EPA gas mileage ratings.

Experienced Fuel Economy Driver Wayne Gerdes

Senior Executive Vice President & COO of Kia Motors Corporation, Thomas Oh, said, “Fuel economy is becoming increasingly important to car buyers all around the world and the Kia Optima Hybrid is one of our latest models to address this consumer requirement.

“Driving through all 48 adjoining US states is the ultimate ‘real-world’ challenge, but the Kia Optima Hybrid gives the drivers the very best chance of setting a new Guinness World Record, as it has been specifically designed to achieve maximum fuel economy in all driving conditions, not just in the city,” Oh continued.

The 2.4-litre Optima Hybrid employs a unique and innovative parallel gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain developed by Kia that delivers a unique blend of performance – acceleration to 100 kph (62 mph) in 9.2 seconds, a top speed of 195 kph (121 mph), plus highly-competitive fuel economy equivalent to a 40.7 per cent fuel consumption improvement over the standard Optima EX model in the USA.

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(Source: Kia Motors)