We’ve been a big fan of Kia vehicles over the years, but nothing got us more excited than the Niro when it was launched – complete with a choice of Hybrid, EV or PHEV powertrains with a nice long range between charges and a reasonable price. Unfortunately as luck would have it, we never got to test one… until now. The All-New 2^nd generation has been around for several months now and we’ve finally got our opportunity to drive it. Will it disappoint us or is it better than we expected? Let’s find out…

What Is It?

All-electric 4-door Small SUV
Available as a Hybrid, Plug In Hybrid (PHEV) or an EV
FWD with Single-Speed Reduction Gear Transmission
Range is 407 kms, regardless of which Niro you get – wow… talk about making things simple and uncomplicated for the consumer!!!
The Niro EV comes in 3 flavours: Premium, Premium+ and Limited
Premuim+ adds: Wireless phone charger, Smart power liftgate & Heat pump
Limited adds to that: Sunroof, Harman/Kardon premium audio system, LED lights and Heads-up display (HUD) system
We’re driving the Limited EV
17” Alloy Wheels are standard

How Does It Look?

We really liked the first Gen Niro, but this new one kicks it up a big notch in the looks department – less square and more… refined
Our Limited had the $250 optional painted C-pillar and Side Garnish which we thought really made is stand apart from the other Niro’s and would definitely spring for that if we were buying this car
The White and Silver combination also makes it stand out from the crowd – love it

What’s It Like Inside?

The interior is a typical SUV interior and not a futuristic-type you tend to get with EV’s – and that’s not a bad thing
Visibility is excellent all around
The Charcoal Black Synthetic Leather interior is very nice – we really liked the pattern on the seats
Didn’t like the piano black surround on the centre console and lower part of the doors. The colour is a nice contrast, but the shiny black is a magnet for fingerprints and reflections
The heated /manually adjustable steering wheel is very much like the Hyundai steering wheel… but just a little bit different
The driver gets a semi-customizable 25″ digital instrument cluster that blends into a 10.25” navigation/infotainment screen
The HVAC are tactile touch-control and don’t light up until you start the car – we’re not usually big fans of these types of systems…give us dials and buttons any day, but it does look nice you get dials for the HVAC, but no volume control for the audio system – what? … However, there actually is a volume button. Touch the orange fan button and the HVAC buttons/switches turn into Nav/Audio system etc… very cool! The heat dial then becomes your volume control – genius!
Advanced Head-Up Display (Augmented Reality) work well – you get the warning for vehicles in your blind spot flashing there, as well as the “hey, the car ahead has moved – pay attention” notification – love it
The driver and front passenger seats gets an 8-way power adjustable + 2-way lumbar adjustment.
The heated and cooled front seats are very firm, but comfortable
The key FOB is a little different from your traditional one, with buttons on the side of the FOB
Remote Start/Stop is included
Storage is good – typical for this size/type of vehicle. The glovebox it OK, and the first thing I’d ditch is the manual – there’s one in the infotainment if you really need it
The centre consoles’ storage/armrest is deep, but relatively small
The moonroof comes only on the Limited Package
The rear floor is completely flat – and quite deep, offering more storage than we were expecting
Heat Pump System – a boon for those of us in a cold climate to pre-heat the cabin while still connected to the electric outlet while you’re charging
Cargo Volume: Rear Seat Up – 23 cu-ft (646 L) / Rear Seat Down – 7 cu-ft (1805 L)

Infotainment etc

The 10.25” navigation/infotainment etc. sits in the middle of the vehicle, but it looks like it’s also part of the driver’s instrument cluster. They are both contained within the same wide screen and there is no differentiating between the screen and the surround.
I found sometimes I had to touch the virtual button a couple of times to get it to actually respond, but it’s something you get used to. Swiping was fine.
The Harman Kardon Premium Sound System is very good
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto comes standard
Rear passengers can plug USB C items into the plugs located on the side of the front seats – unique place for the plug location

EV and Safety Features are described in detail after What’s The Verdict?
At the end of this review

So How Quick Is It & How Does It Handle?

Shift-by-Wire gear selector is becoming the norm now with EV’s and that’s no different with the Niro
Steering is very good and predictable although quite light – perfect for low speed driving
Switching the Drive mode is as easy as it gets. It has its own dedicated button on the steering wheel
There are 3 main Modes: Eco, Normal ad Sport. If you hold the button down for a few seconds it’ll enter winter drive mode – nice touch because there’s nothing worse than having to toggle through a couple of winter modes to get back to Sport etc.
In Eco mode the Niro is quite sedate – great for 99% of drivers
In Normal mode it ups the enjoyable level with plenty of oomph when you give it some welly
In Sport mode – stomping on the gas pedal gets you an instant response – as per usual with EV’s and the car takes off nice and smooth
Towing is NOT recommended

Horsepower: 201 / 150 kW @ 6,000 – 9,000 rpm
Torque lb-ft: 188 (255 Nm) @ 0 – 6,000 rpm
Top Speed: 167 km/h
0-60 mph (sec): 6.7
Range: 407 kms

What Does It Cost? For up-to-date pricing visit: KiaCanada

To Buy…
Base Price for the Niro EV is $48,400
Test Vehicle: Limited – $52,995
+ Paint: $250
As Tested: $53,245
+ Destination Charge is now a whopping $2749!!!!

To Operate…

Rated at (Le/100 km): City – 1.9 / Highway – 2.3 / Combined – 2.1
The NiroEV DOES qualify for the Federal Rebate of $4,424.78
EV Incentives in Quebec are (up to $8,000) and B.C gets $3,000, on top of the $5,000 Federal Grants
For vehicles that do qualify click HERE

Warranty:

Comprehensive: 5 years/100,000 km
EV system components: 8 years/160,000 km
Roadside Assistance: 5 years /Unlimited km

The Competition
Chevrolet Bolt + Bolt EUV, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai IONIQ 5 + Kona EV, Kia Soul EV, Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model3, VW ID.4

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good: Great looking – perfect size urban vehicle
The Bad: The competition is tough in the Niro’s size/price category and it may get overlooked unfortunately
The Ugly: Nothing jumps out

What’s The Verdict?
As mentioned above – the competition is tough in the Niro’s size and price category. There are a lot of EV’s vying for your money and it may get overlooked against the likes of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai IONIQ5 or Tesla Model3 which are very similar. Price-wise, EV’s are all in the same $50-65,000 price range too… but the Niro is better priced at $52k for our top-of-the line model. THAT could be the deal that would get it over the line – because no matter who you are, price does pay a big part when buying a car. It definitely has to be on your shopping list

Niro EV Features:

150 kW Electric motor
Battery Capacity: 64.8 kWh
Two-way onboard charger (V2L) – allows owners to use the vehicle to charge all sorts of electronic devices, including other EVs (backwards compatible with 400V infrastructure using IONIQ 6 standard multi-charge system)
Programmable when you want to charge – set times for cheaper tariff rates at home for example
Preconditioning (Heat Pump): To help the battery reach its optimal performance state, prior to departure – and to optimized range, you can precondition the vehicle interior temperature while it’s still plugged in by setting departure times
Home chargers are now extra… once upon a time they were included with your new EV purchase. However the prices have tumbled by at least 50% compared to a couple of years ago
Home Chargers vary in price from around $679 to $800 at Home Depot and you can choose between 30 Amp and 48 amp Level 2 charging
You MAY get government financial rebates/assistance to help defray the cost

Charge Times:

Can you plug the EV into a traditional 120V outlet at home? Yes. How long will it take to charge? Quite a while, but it is doable – just don’t run the car to empty and expect to fill it up overnight. If you do, then expect around 57 hours to get it back up to 100%
Home chargers (Level 2, 40 Amp / 240V) will general give an output of 9.6 kW and will add approx. 67 kms per hour. 20-100% should take about 6 hours to charge – very doable overnight
Fast Charge (Level 2, AC 11 kW charger): 6 hrs 5 mins
Fast Charge: (Level 3, 50 kWh [400V] charger): 65 mins (10-80%)
Fast Charge: (Level 3, 100 kWh [400V] charger): 45 mins (10-80%)
Ultra Fast DC Charge: (Level 3, 350 kWh [800V]) 43 minutes (10-80%)

Related – Charging, Recharge Times & Costs

Kia SmartSense safety features include:

- Blind View Monitor (BVM) – loved that it actually chimed if you put your signal light on and someone was in your blind-spot and it may even apply the brakes before you change lanes!!
- Surround View Monitor (SVM)
- Highway Driving Assist (HDA)
- Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA)
- Lane Following Assist (LFA)
- Lane Keeping Assist (LKA)
- Rear Occupant Alert (ROA) – great if you’ve got kids, annoying as hell if you don’t
- Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA)
- Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA) – it can even hit the brakes if necessary
- Parking Distance Warning (Forward and Reverse)