Another competent Korean car—the Kia Niro EV, reviewed
The Kia Niro EV is another battery electric vehicle that proves the Korean car industry is on top of its game right now. [credit: Jonathan Gitlin ]
The Kia Niro EV is a battery electric vehicle I've been eager to drive for a while now. Two years ago, I tried the $26,000 Niro, a 40mpg (5.9L/100km) hybrid that charmed my socks off. Last year, it was the Niro PHEV, a plug-in hybrid that beefed up the battery in exchange for not too much more money. Both of those still carried around an internal combustion engine; the $39,090 Niro EV does not. Aside from some subtle design clues, you might not know one from the other, but a blanked off nose grille and bits of blue highlight trim give the game away that this version ditches the ICE.
Instead, a 64kWh lithium-ion battery lives low-down between its axles. Under the hood lies a 201hp (150kW), 291lb-ft (395Nm) permanent magnet synchronous motor that drives the front wheels. If those specs sound familiar, they should be: the Niro EV shares its electric powertrain with another budget BEV from Korea, the Hyundai Kona EV.
As we discussed with the hybrid Niro review, Kia calls it a crossover. Whether you do depends on how sensitive you are to its visual height-as a shape, it screams, "I'm a mini SUV" much more softly than the Kia Seltos we looked at last week. You don't sit that high up-enough for a bit of extra situational awareness, perhaps, but still a couple inches lower than another Kia is-it-a-hatchback-or-a-crossover, the Soul. Pigeon-hole it where you like, that part is probably not as important as whether it fits with one's lifestyle.
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