The Niro crossover has been redesigned from the ground up and will have two new electrified powertrains - a plug-in hybrid and a full electric battery version. The price for the plug-in hybrid model will start at €38,500 and it will go on sale in July. The full battery EV version will go on sale in September but prices for it have not yet been finalised.
The Niro EV has recently been voted into the top spot in the mass-market category in the American J.D. Power 2022 Electric Vehicle Experience Ownership Study. It's the second consecutive year Kia owners rated the Niro EV as the best mass-market electric vehicle (EV) to own. J.D. Power surveyed over 8,000 EV owners about the key experiences of cost-of-ownership, battery range, customer experience, style and driving enjoyment.
Kia Ireland is launching the new Niro with two plug-in models - 'K3’ and ‘K4’. The ‘K3’ model will be the entry level version and the higher equipped ‘K4’ will start at €41,500.
Standard equipment for the K3 includes 18" alloys, LED headlights with bi-function projection, heated front seats, a 10.25" touchscreen/navigation screen, Kia Connect Telematics, a wireless phone charger and Apple Car Play and Android Auto with voice control.
The car will also have Lane Keep Assist, Lane Follow Assist, Smart Cruise Control, Blind-spot Collision Avoidance and dual-zone automatic air conditioning as standard.
The ‘K4’ features features a rotary dial for drive, reverse and park, power adjustable front seats ,heated rear seats ,driver heads-up display ,10.25" driver display screen and a power tailgate .
Kia claims the 62kW motor in the PHEV version will deliver an electric-only range of up to 59km for the version with 18-inch wheels. It will also have a heater to enhance electric-only driving in colder weather - something that seriously affects battery range.
The company also claims the full battery version will deliver up to 460km of range and a top speed of 167 KPH. Bringing up the EV’s 64.8kWh battery from 10-80% takes just 43 minutes with a suitable DC rapid charger under optimum conditions. Do note the terms "suitable rapid charger" and "optimum conditions".
