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Kia Niro EV reveal: 236 mi range, sales starting 2018 in Korea
- Thread starter IndyGopher
- Start date
Better be quick to order. They aren't going to be making many.
tonybelding
Active Member
CleanTechnica article → Look Out, Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi, & BMW — Kia Niro SUV Has Better Efficiency & Range, At Half The Price! | CleanTechnica
This is eye-opening. It may not be a Tesla beater, but they do make good argument that it embarrasses the much-hyped recent European entrants.
This is eye-opening. It may not be a Tesla beater, but they do make good argument that it embarrasses the much-hyped recent European entrants.
⚡️ELECTROMAN⚡️
Village Idiot
Probably because now a days most sedans are boring and unattractive. Might as well get an ugly crossover or SUV for its utility since most sedans are even less visually appealing. The Model S is still outselling the Model X. Well at least until the Model 3 came out.
Doesn't matter what the Model 3 is doing. Affordable long-range BEVs with production at 50k per year are going to have waiting lists.
Short range BEVs already have waiting lists with a significantly worse value proposition.
Are you still crapping on about this?
You know you’re completely misusing the word Econobox right, and it makes you look fairly silly. It applies to the Bolt, the Kona and the Niro. It means a simple, plasticky compact car - which is all of the above.
What sux is that Hyundai have managed to make EVs bland and unfun. Compared to their ICE equivalents why would anyone buy one and at twice the price? My Leaf is more fun than Ioniq.
They could have made them fun like the Kia Stinger and they could have made more of them but no, they would rather fob us off with 20,000 units and try to peddle Hydrogen fuel cell cars.
BTW- I think about 70,000 Model 3 owners would disagree with you that there are no Model 3 deliveries. Maybe you should go preach to the choir on the Hyundai forum?
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I was mocking your use of it actually. You look like a fool calling the Niro an econobox. It's got a nicer interior than the current Model 3 LR, let alone the base model. Not to mention the overall higher spec, and greater cargo capacity and cabin space.
In any case, a $30k car isn't an econobox, is it? That refers to a small, cheap car in the $10-15k region like the Hyundai i10 or Nissan Micra. And even they have some tech that the Model 3 lacks at any price.
Don't get me wrong, if you want a stripped down sports hatchback that's fine. But calling those cars an "econobox" is laughable and the kind of thing you would expect from an Apple fan when faced with higher spec, cheaper competition. "Oh but the iPhone has a glass back that I'll immediately cover up to avoid it shattering, and only Apple has Facetime!" I've heard it all before.
There's no accounting for taste, but for anyone who wants a good look at the interior of the Niro (and the Hyundai Kona), here you go...
I already put the video up a couple of days ago.
Pretty decent interiors considering how low priced they are
seattlite2004
Active Member
I agree...interiors are pretty nice. I'm liking the Niro. Looks like the Niro has Carplay and/or Android Auto and heated steering wheel...nice. Exciting times and choices for EVs!
Anyone else ordered one?
Deliveries to start in April for the UK. Already shipping in Norway.
Deliveries to start in April for the UK. Already shipping in Norway.
Ulmo
Active Member
These Kia Niro EV's share powertrain parts with the good-stat powertrain of the Hyundai Kona Electric. They have them in stock around me in California. I will go in tomorrow to test drive one. They have no test ratings for the electric, but they do for the hybrid plug in. Given its safety ratings, range, and stats, they seem to meet my minimum specifications for on-paper specs, unlike every single other EV to date except for some Teslas (the Bolt failed too many safety ratings for me) and of course the Kona. I tried the Kona which also had that, and I liked it very much, except for the rough ride on bad roads (not an issue on good roads), pedestrian-grade noise levels (I'm used to my MBz), and rear seat leg room (sorry that I didn't even try sitting in it). I will now look at the Niro EV, and compare to the Kona Electric. Also, check out Bjorn's very good review videos of the Kona Electric and Niro EV (I'm halfway through Bjorn's videos, and it looks like Niro has more positives in comparison to Kona).
The selection at IIHS doesn't include the EV Niro:
The selection at IIHS doesn't include the EV Niro:
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Ulmo
Active Member
Watching
.
Also, since Bjorn has a lot of videos, to find his Niro videos, you have to run a search like this: Bjørn Nyland
P.S., if you read "Kia Niro" and also know of the "Hyundai Kona", your brain will sometimes see "K...N..." with "a" and "o" in there too, and accidentally you might think "Kona" when your brain sees "Kia Niro", so just be careful with reading, writing, and saying those differentially.
Edit 2: Charging speed in
great.
Mostly good news shown in
.
Two chargers failed in middle of charge (& had to restart). Hmmmmm.
It has camper mode (called "Utility Mode")! Good, but need banana boxes to build up to hump. He doesn't discuss camping length (feet room for laying down). Reminder: in freezing winter, maybe turn off winter mode during camping until you wake up so you can re-warm in morning for preheating battery for driving maybe (see Bjorn's video).
Also, since Bjorn has a lot of videos, to find his Niro videos, you have to run a search like this: Bjørn Nyland
P.S., if you read "Kia Niro" and also know of the "Hyundai Kona", your brain will sometimes see "K...N..." with "a" and "o" in there too, and accidentally you might think "Kona" when your brain sees "Kia Niro", so just be careful with reading, writing, and saying those differentially.
Edit 2: Charging speed in
Mostly good news shown in
Two chargers failed in middle of charge (& had to restart). Hmmmmm.
It has camper mode (called "Utility Mode")! Good, but need banana boxes to build up to hump. He doesn't discuss camping length (feet room for laying down). Reminder: in freezing winter, maybe turn off winter mode during camping until you wake up so you can re-warm in morning for preheating battery for driving maybe (see Bjorn's video).
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Ulmo
Active Member
The 2019 Kia Nero EV has 239 EPA miles of range (which is more than the title says for 2018 of 236).
Another note: way more rear leg room (and has possibly better headroom) than Kona, so that is one of the three problems with the Kona knocked down in the Niro; I will get a chance to test that rear seat tomorrow to see if I fit. The other two things I will want to know are noise and bumpy roads tests. Everything else seemed good so far in stats and Bjorn videos. I'm curious if Niro has that awesome chauffeur stop mode like Kona does.
Another note: way more rear leg room (and has possibly better headroom) than Kona, so that is one of the three problems with the Kona knocked down in the Niro; I will get a chance to test that rear seat tomorrow to see if I fit. The other two things I will want to know are noise and bumpy roads tests. Everything else seemed good so far in stats and Bjorn videos. I'm curious if Niro has that awesome chauffeur stop mode like Kona does.
There were some issues at first but they have mostly been sorted now by updating the software on the chargers.
Unfortunately CCS is just not as robust as CHAdeMO so this will probably keep happening with each new vehicle for a while yet.
Ulmo
Active Member
I took a test drive yesterday of the 2019 Kia Niro EV, available now from Capitol Kia in San Jose, California, and it was good. My impression from start to finish was that it was consistently good on almost every point. Some things were great and some things were so so, but average good.
When I compare the Niro EV to its cousin the Kona Electric, the Niro EV is just a better car (except the couple percent of range, which to me wasn't a deal breaker since the Niro already meets my minimum range spec).
Here are some general points about the Niro EV:
I recommend anybody that wants an electric vehicle to check if the 2019 Kia Niro will work for them. Its stats are the second brand of EV that I would consider acceptable for me (the first being Tesla Model X and Model 3), mostly because it passes my safety requirements, my range requirements, my size requirements, and has acceptable comfort, at one third the price of the Model X and slightly cheaper than the Model 3.
When I compare the Niro EV to its cousin the Kona Electric, the Niro EV is just a better car (except the couple percent of range, which to me wasn't a deal breaker since the Niro already meets my minimum range spec).
Here are some general points about the Niro EV:
- Great visibility out the windshield.
- Neat feature: It also has the same chauffeur stop that the Kona has.
- Unfortunate common thing ICE manufacturers do: It has a delay in the accelerator when you accelerate. Plan ahead accordingly.
- Ride comfort medium: The suspension was softer, not as harsh, as the Kona. I found it mostly acceptable during my drive. It doesn't insulate you from the road the way I really want, but almost no car does. We went over a lot of bumps, and I never felt like the car's suspension was trying to injure me unlike most other cars which seem like they are for sadists.
- Lots of room: There is ample headroom in the driver's seat.
- Lots more room: Like Bjorn, I did the "sit behind myself" test in the Niro. I set the front seat for me sitting there, then I went to the back, and my legs had all sorts of comfortable room and there was lots of headroom. That was superb.
- Lots lots more room: Remember the Bjorn box test video above.
- The left armrest is comfortable. It has one unlike Tesla.
- The right armrest is comfortable. It has one unlike Tesla.
- Good motive power and handling: The drive was sane and handled well. I went up a hill, and it took the climb and all the corners well. I also went down that hill, and it stayed disciplined enough during the descent with my control.
- Noise check: good: We had buses and trucks next to us idling at stop lights; one of my major complaints is that such a thing would be noisy in my Tesla Model S, and in addition, I experienced noise in this situation in the Kona, but not so in the Niro: in the Niro, I found those noises to be muffled down to a sane level. It wasn't the blissful quiet of my double-walled glass 2005 E Class Mercedes in that situation, but I had zero complaint about the noise level with the trucks and the busses next to me, unlike in most cars.
- Terrible narrow driver's seat: unfortunately, the Niro decided to go with the seats that chew away the sides of my back, since my back doesn't fit in those seats. I would have to modify the seats. However, that's a physical task that can be accomplished with some type of cushion modification, not a drivetrain modification, so it seems like that could be fixed after-market without voiding the warranty of anything else on the car. I have this same problem with most modern Tesla Model S's, including my recent 2017 Model S rental, and the 2016 Model S I had.
- Robot hell: A few times, the Niro pushed me into the part of the lane it wanted me to be in. I don't know if that feature can be turned off on the Niro; I've had the Tesla Model S try to push me into trucks and medians as well as fail to get out of the way of oncoming traffic, and I fear something similar from this function in the Niro. What if I'm avoiding something in the lane, and the Niro steers me back into that lane?
- This car gets top score in the IIHS tests.
- This car has the minimum range to make it to and from my usual work commute plus one average errand.
- It has a CCS plug, and from the Bjorn tests it looks like it has decent charging speed (not spectacular show-boat speeds, but very healthy speeds; 20 to 40 minutes to get enough to go to the next driving segment in many cases). Of course, check the availability of CCS chargers for all of the routes that you would use with this vehicle. In my case, I know that I would have sufficient CCS charging available with the Niro (since I found most the CCS chargers back when I would use my Chademo adapter with my Tesla).
I recommend anybody that wants an electric vehicle to check if the 2019 Kia Niro will work for them. Its stats are the second brand of EV that I would consider acceptable for me (the first being Tesla Model X and Model 3), mostly because it passes my safety requirements, my range requirements, my size requirements, and has acceptable comfort, at one third the price of the Model X and slightly cheaper than the Model 3.
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Ulmo
Active Member
Kind of like Coax vs. Bluetooth? I found Chademo to be pretty finicky. I wish things had more reliability, for instance, like single mode fiber or Ethernet, not Bluetooth or Wifi. If CCS is worse than Chademo, then oh boo. Hopefully they revamp the whole CCS standard and come up with a simplified robust standard that isn't failure-prone, and can offer it as a cheap upgrade to existing CCS equipment and existing CCS vehicles.
