Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Discussions about other vehicles other than the Vibe & Matrix.
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Chiadog
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Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by Chiadog »

Kia's new Niro Hybrid appears to be a near perfect VIBE Clone!
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http://www.automoblog.net/2016/02/24/fi ... ro-hybrid/
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Chiadog
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by Chiadog »

Kia Nero has some pretty impressive technical specifications. Significantly, it does not have a 12 Volt car battery! I've always wondered why a hybrid needed an "extra" battery.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/02 ... 2-kia.html
BenWA
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by BenWA »

Chiadog wrote:Kia Nero has some pretty impressive technical specifications. Significantly, it does not have a 12 Volt car battery! I've always wondered why a hybrid needed an "extra" battery.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/02 ... 2-kia.html
The "extra" battery is a good idea in a hybrid IMO, with it comes to the likes of the Prius. (Something baout how the hybrid system is different from the likes of Ford's I recall reading)

If you are far from home and your hybrid bank goes to crap from a bad cell or two without warning, you can still start and drive it as a regular gas car with a starting battery and the gas engine.
2003 Vibe Base A/T
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Chiadog
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by Chiadog »

BenWA wrote:
Chiadog wrote:Kia Nero has some pretty impressive technical specifications. Significantly, it does not have a 12 Volt car battery! I've always wondered why a hybrid needed an "extra" battery.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/02 ... 2-kia.html
If you are far from home and your hybrid bank goes to crap from a bad cell or two without warning, you can still start and drive it as a regular gas car with a starting battery and the gas engine.
Anything is possible, but if I'm not mistaken that "Safety" battery let a lot of ford hybrid drivers down!
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by BenWA »

Chiadog wrote:
BenWA wrote:
Chiadog wrote:Kia Nero has some pretty impressive technical specifications. Significantly, it does not have a 12 Volt car battery! I've always wondered why a hybrid needed an "extra" battery.
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2016/02 ... 2-kia.html
If you are far from home and your hybrid bank goes to crap from a bad cell or two without warning, you can still start and drive it as a regular gas car with a starting battery and the gas engine.
Anything is possible, but if I'm not mistaken that "Safety" battery let a lot of ford hybrid drivers down!
That's what I meant. The Toyota system gives you a more of a fail safe backup way to drive if the hybrid system fails in one way or another. Ford's doesn't. And maybe Chevy's too? It's been a while since I read about it. I had considered a used Prius when I was considering cars; but I ultimately decided on the Matrix/Vibe.

As I recall, the Ford gas engine on a hybrid relies on the hybrid bank to start.
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Chiadog
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by Chiadog »

From memory, I think Ford and Toyota both use the planetary gear hybrid drive system, very complex but also the most efficient system. Both use a 12 volt car battery to start the engine.
The Kia Niro uses a much simpler hybrid system which is technically less efficient in operation, but offsets the efficiency deficit with a larger lithium ion battery, allowing for more miles driven before the engine is forced to run. The Niro system has only one motor/generator which is sandwiched between the engine and the automatic transmission. It'll be interesting to see how close they get to 50mpg!
BenWA
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by BenWA »

I might be wrong on who is like Toyota and who isn't....
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JPark
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by JPark »

I was just checking the Niro out. Its interior dimensions are near identical to the First Gen Vibe. Nice! I'm interested in the plug-in hybrid due at the end of the year. One issue: it looks like the seats don't quite fold flat.
RIP '06 Platinum Vibe--at 189k miles, you died too young
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by lannvouivre »

The 12v normal car battery closes the high voltage electrical contacts on the high voltage hybrid battery system, at least in Fords. That's all it is for.
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petervivian
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Re: Gen 3 Vibe?; Kia's 50mpg Nero Hybrid.

Post by petervivian »

Looks nice. What about the quality of Kia's recent small cars?
05 Vibe (Frosty), 13 VW CC (Fortana Red)
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