We put ourselves at the controls of the most affordable and practical Kia Niro. Surely one of the most reasonable hybrids today
If you have to change your car and you find yourself joining the group of undecideds, I have bad and good news to give you: the life of your current vehicle is not eternal, but luckily in the market you have options as safe as this Kia Niro . Yes, we are facing the second generation of a model that has electrification and design in its DNA, but that does not give up anything: it is a crossover, but it is not too big or heavy.
Its design, inspired by the 2019 Kia HabaNiro Concept , is original and avant-garde, but it has a spacious and practical interior and finally, it is only available with electrified mechanics, indeed, but all of them are truly ecological, they spend little and also the range very easy to understand.
The Kia Niro is only offered with only three mechanics and two trim levels . The latter (so that they sound familiar to you) are called Concept, Drive and Emotion and the engines are an electric ‘EV’, another plug-in hybrid ‘PHEV’ and this conventional hybrid ‘HEV’ that has an ECO label from the DGT and does not require any kind of plug. It associates a 105 horsepower 1.6 atmospheric engine with another 44 horsepower electric, which is powered by a compact 1.32 kWh capacity battery., capable of recharging with the energy of braking and retention, in addition to that which comes from the main engine. Come on, you just have to think about driving and measuring the performance that this 141-horsepower compact with front-wheel drive and dual-clutch automatic transmission and 6 gears, as standard, gives in exchange for the little it spends.
Distinguish the complicated from the simple
If there was a rock band that took our country by storm at the end of the 20th century, those were the “Heroes del Silencio” and if there is a car brand that is doing the same now, that is Kia, which is consolidating year after year as the most sold above all, to individuals. It seems clear that both found in their respective disciplines “The Right Spark” –Avalanche, 1995–, I reflect as I drive the first kilometers with this Niro HEV. Indeed, I drive the top-of-the-range version, the so-called Emotion, and for this reason, I am still acclimating to a very technological and avant-garde-style cabin, but beyond learning to interpret the digital instrumentation, everything else is extraordinarily simple in a car that exudes modernity like this one.
In the city, the Niro HEV performs as quietly as it is masterful. The driving position is higher than that of a conventional car, which gives us a very good perspective of both traffic and the dimensions of our car . In front, we see where its elongated hood ends and behind, the vision is equally generous thanks to a wide, fairly flat rear window and, of course, lower than is usual in SUV class cars. The side windows are also generous and match the mirrors so it’s easy to feel at ease and in control right out of the box.
Afterwards, what is most striking –as I mentioned at the beginning– is the silence. The electric motor is capable of moving the Niro HEV by itself from a standstill and up to 50 km/h as usual, provided we are careful with the accelerator, of course. Thus, the noise is minimal and the cost of gasoline too, although when the heat engine is connected it also does so smoothly and quietly. As if this were not enough, the steering in this environment is also perceived as very light and easy to carry, and the shock absorbers allow us to overcome “lying guards” or bumps with great integrity.
In urban and interurban use, it stands out both for how quiet it is, and for how little it spends
More and more established in the driving position of this Niro HEV, I leave the city and start playing with the driving modes, in search of different sensations. It offers two: Eco and Sport. Once again, all very logical and easy to interpret.
Everything burns if you apply the right spark
The response of the engine, the gearbox and the steering, gain precision when we go from the Eco motorcycle on which the Niro starts, to the Sport, but curiously, the steering wheel paddles also change their function and instead of regulating engine retention, they go to function like an automatic transmission when used in this “sports” mode. In any case, let no one expect strong sensations behind the wheel of this crossover with a marked road character that stands out for offering highly efficient, pleasant and more precise driving than one might expect.
It does not offer a sporty behavior or anything similar, but it is agile, precise and efficient
For example, in automatic mode, the hybrid system manages very well the retention that must be applied at all times to let the car move “under sail” when necessary, or retain to recharge the batteries, for example, going down a mountain pass. On the other hand, the chassis shows great ease in entering curves and the suspension that was so comfortable in the city, holds the body firmly away from it. This, together with sufficiently precise steering and, above all, the action of a very fast double-clutch gear change, gives the feeling of being in front of a car that is more agile than its predecessor –in fact, it is lighter– and also more precise than other conventional hybrids with continuous variability such as the Toyota CH-R, for example.
The other aspect in which the Niro stands out more than its most direct rivals is the purely practical. For a car of its size, which is no more than 4.42 meters long, it offers two spacious front seats and three really generous rear seats. For example, in this rear area of this hybrid version, we have more legroom than in a Sportage –the Kia in the upper segment– a similar width and a spacious trunk, with regular shapes and great access. We are talking about 451 liters expandable to 1,445 if we fold down the rear seat backs that make the 348 liters of this same car in its PHEV version very evident and also the hood offered by other rivals such as the Captur in its hybrid versions.
Time to reckon
As standard, that is, with the Concept finish, the Niro HEV is not as flashy as the unit illustrated in this article, but it does include valuable equipment items such as lane keeping assist, city emergency braking with pedestrians, the parking assistant with rear sensors and a camera, the system that avoids collisions when leaving from a standstill, the multimedia equipment with Android Auto and Apple Car Play, the auto-ignition of automatic lights and high beams or the climate control.
Kia Niro – photos
The Drive adds multimedia equipment with a large screen –10.25 inches– and wireless mobile charger, parking assistance camera, front sensors, front and fog lights with LED technology and other important ADAS such as the angle obstacle detector dead, rear cross traffic alert or speed limit recognition. For its part, the Emotion, which is the top of the range, adds most of the most distinctive comfort and aesthetic elements in this Niro: 18-inch wheels with 225/45 tires, chrome handles and door sill protectors, aluminum bottom bracket, “hands-free” automatic opening gate, passenger seats with electric adjustments, heated steering wheel, etc. and even a remote parking system with a key.Thus, the price rises from an attractive 28,300 euros for the Concept to 34,496 for the Emotion, passing through the 31,996 for the Drive, which really seems an interesting intermediate option.
