Guess what - Kia have done a hybrid.
But why is that?
Well, Kia are becoming, well they already are, big competitors in the Europe and here
in the UK, but if it wants to keep up with the mainstream, it will have to have a model
range to match… boom, enter the Niro hybrid.
And due to Kia’s success with its Sportage crossover, it kind of makes sense that the
Niro is a crossover too.
Also, it fills a gap the hybrid segment – I mean you’ve got the Toyota Prius hatchback,
the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer PHEV MPV – that’s a mouthful!
But no crossover, until now anyway.
The Niros design actually fits in with rest of the Kia range by thanks to its polarising
looks – something I, and I’m sure many others, have come around to - and the Niro’s
design almost looks like the result of splicing both the Sportage and Sorento together with
this extended rather flat front end, these cool creases in the bonnet and of course that
trademark tiger nose front grill.
Right so, getting in the memory seat function starts to do its job and before you set off,
you will hear some… nice music.
You get that in the Kia Soul EV as well.
You’ll have to take the footbrake off, like you do in a Toyota Prius, put it into drive
and then… you’re good to go.
And you will get pure electric power at first so you won’t actually hear the engine running
but the transition from the electric power to the combustion engine is very seamless,
yeah you can hear it.
You’ll hear this now…
You can hear it but in terms of power delivery, it’s extremely linear and smooth
The Niro is a straight-up hybrid, which is to say there is no plug-in electric option,
not yet anyway.
And it only comes available with one powertrain, consisting of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol
engine mated to a six-speed automatic dual clutch transmission.
And with the power of these combined, the Niro produces 139bhp and a maximum of 265Nm
of torque – getting from zero to 60mph in 11.1 seconds.
So that’s the performance figures out the way.
What about the all-important economy figures?
Well, we’ve actually got the top of the range first edition model so its not as efficient
as the entry level model but this claims 101g per kilometre of co2 and claims to return
an average of around 64mpg.
Now we’ve been driving on a mix of country roads, motorways, B roads and we’ve been
getting an average of around 45-55mpg.
But what about how the Niro drives?
Well, let’s face it, it could get away with being very average, I mean it’s a hybrid,
a car aimed at being efficient.
But Kia haven’t just settled for that – because the Niro is really good to drive…
the steering is well weighted, weight is up when you go into the corners a bit more and
the ride is incredibly comfortable.
It’s very refined from the outside world and I mean our camera guy was shouting for
me from outside the car and I couldn’t hear a word he was saying and it doesn’t feel
like it’s bogged down in just giving you high mpg figures.
I mean the Niro actually sits on all new platform which has been designed specifically for electric
cars and to accommodate future technology.
You can feel it, it doesn’t feel boring to drive, you can actually have a bit of fun
with it.
So we’ve traded in our first edition model for something slightly more realistic, this
grade 2 model which is expected to be the best seller and this gives us a good idea
of you’ll get if you buy one and what It might look like.
Now familiar features include these dual layout of buttons, which appears slightly more compact
than Sportage and Sorento but, hey, this is a compact SUV and everything well layed out
and the buttons are easy to understand and everything is in reach and easy to get your
head around – and everything feels solid and well-built too.
Kit wise is very generous from entry level with DAB, Bluetooth and even lane keep assist.
But the main bit of kit you will probably want is this nice and responsive touchscreen,
with comes available in either a seven-inch size on the grade ‘2’ models, or an eight-inch
size on grade ‘3’, both of which get sat-nav and a reversing camera.
So at £21,295 the Niro is cheaper than a Prius and 2 Series Active Tourer PHEV, and
although the Prius’ 94mpg figure pips the Niro, the Kia has something the Prius doesn’t…
crossover appeal.
And thankfully the Niro doesn’t lose out on any of Kia’s new-found interior quality
or driving dynamics, and it keeps in-line with what has been making its customers happy,
including a seven-year warranty.
So good on you Kia.
And should the likes of BMW and Toyota be worried?
Well, I think so, yes.
But we will delve into the Niro a bit deeper when we get it into our office and we can
spend a bit more time with it, but until then you can browse our other videos and keep your
eyes peeled for our full review of the niro.
Looks better in red doesn’t it?