Kia Niro EV| Review

Kia continues to somehow leap ahead of its Hyundai owner in terms of design, look and cabin feel. The latest Niro EV is no different. While the looks aren’t as mature as the Sorento, for its market segment it’s a fun representation for the sector.

Special mention :  Spacious, comfortable, decent range and charges reasonably quickly.

Needs work : Road/wind noise at higher speeds, would prefer charging flap towards the rear, the rear parcel shelf needs a little flimsy.

BHP 204 BHPElectric / Auto
0-100 km/h in 7.5 secondsRoad Tax €120
Price: €41,775
Boot space 475 / 1,392 litres
Range 414 km

Officially, the Niro EV will cover 458 KMs between charges, meaning you shouldn’t have any issues if you regularly drive long distances. While it all depends on the time of year and the amount of accessories you use, the Niro EV managed to cover around 400 kms during mild winter weather.  If you plug the Niro EV into a 7kW home wall box, it’ll take around 10 hours and 30 minutes to charge from 0-100%. It will accept a maximum of 72kW which could take around 43 mins to charge from 10-80%.

This latest generation Niro impressively builds on the success of the original. It’s a small SUV and comes with hybrid, plug-in hybrid and this fully electrified option. The electric Niro has a slightly different front end because of the charging port location. Some cool new additions are the coloured inserts at the side that run up the C-pillar. These sit away from the body and funnel air along the side for aerodynamic efficiency. At the rear, the Niro has sloping lights and an angled window giving it a low, squat rear end. 

Acceleration feels sprightly, with the Niro EV pulling well when you put your foot down officially sprinting from 0-100 km/h in 7.8 secs. There are a couple of driving modes and changing from Eco to Sport sharpens up the acceleration immediately. It’s still no performance hatch but is sprightly for a family SUV.  When it comes to ride, it’s clear that comfort has been prioritised over sporty handling, and many buyers will consider that perfectly appropriate in a car designed for families. The relatively soft suspension means you’re well isolated from imperfections in the road surface but at higher speeds and rougher road surfaces, wind and tyre noise do manage to creep into the cabin, enough to raise the volume on the stereo a couple of times.

The most impressive part of the design is the way they’ve created space in the cabin. Inside there’s a step up in technology from the old model. The layout gives the cabin a bright and airy feel and is miles above a VW in that it’s a lot more pleasant to look at. The materials and buttons around the centre console are finished in piano black which looks great but attracts lots of dust. Space is significantly better than in the Peugeot e-2008 however you can’t adjust the angle of the rear seat backrests in the same way you can in the Kia EV6. You can however fold the seat backs down (in a 60/40 split) when you need the extra boot space. The 451-litre boot is 15 litres larger than the outgoing e-Niro and the maximum braked trailer weight for the Niro EV is rated at 750kg. It also comes with a small amount of luggage space under the bonnet, with room for charging cables but not much else.

The K3 & K4 trims come with a 10.25-inch screen with built-in sat-nav. The top spec ‘4’ models get a head-up display and a 10.25-inch digital dash. The digital dash itself is clear and easy to read with some differences in the dials such as the speedo which shows the numbers instead of a gauge. The 10.25-inch central screen is crisp and easy to read with the infotainment system simple to navigate. Only when you quickly jump between menus can it start to lag a little. Under the screen, you’ll find a band of touchscreen buttons which can either control the cabin’s climate or at the flick of a button switch to a shortcut menu for the infotainment screen. Twisty physical dials are easier to use on the move but the touchpads are responsive and large enough to gauge while driving.

As standard on the Niro, you’ll find two front USB charge ports (one Type-A, one Type-C) and two Type-C charging ports on the side of the front seats. There’s plenty of safety kit on all versions – including automatic emergency braking (AEB) that senses cars, bikes and pedestrians, although the 2 model misses out on blind-spot monitoring. Top-spec 4 trim adds a sunroof, Harman Kardon sound system and powered memory seats as standard. Upgrade to the top-spec Niro 4 models and some of the interior surfaces become a little softer and generally look more expensive, it’s not Mercedes territory but for what it is, it’s very nice indeed.

The competition comes in the form of Peugeot’s e-2008 and the Irish Car of the Year winner 2020 the Kia e-Soul. You should also consider the lower slung Cupra Born, Peugeot e-208 and VW’s ID 3. 

The Niro does a good job of tricking you into thinking it’s a smaller car and it’s easy to develop confidence from behind the wheel. Efficient, practical and boasting excellent onboard technology, the Kia Niro is a family SUV that offers great value for money.