2023 Kia Niro EV Review | Australia

Now it comes as both a hybrid or a full av and no longer a plug in hybrid option. Here i have the full ev nero in the top gt line trim, and i do love me a top trim and ill also talk about the specs of the lower trim. Now i know this might appear to be just another release in the kia vehicle lineup. Now this 2023 neuro release is kind of a big deal, not just in terms of this striking new design or the improvements in drive and tech over the outgoing model. Ill go through all of that and detail. The main noteworthy features, one of the biggest bits of news with the new nero, is the key connect system, but well talk about that a bit later. So lets start with this standout new design, the front sports. What kia is calling their new tiger face, design, which is a nice upgrade from the outgoing baboon piece theres, this sleek front, grille and heartbeat monitor style, leds now being an ev. It has this little door up the front, and the best part about the front is that it still has a semblance of a grill. What we have here instead is a nice dark pattern which symbolizes the essence of grille without actually being on the side. Sport sees 17 inch alloys on all ev variants. Personally, im really loving this design and the hybrid comes with either 16 or 18, depending on the trim theres, this aero c pillar, which actually serves a very purposeful role of optimizing.

The airflow around the nero, but even cooler with these cool contrasting colours again and at the back we get a bunch more cladding and these boomerang rear tail lights slightly more traditional than say ev6, but with very modern elements. Theres eight colors to choose from across the range this one is not my favorite. Both the full av and hybrid are front wheel drive as mentioned. There are two power chain options to choose from the hybrid has a smart stream 1.6 litre petrol engine thats paired with a 32 kilowatt electric motor that combined produces 104 kilowatts of power in 265 newton meters of torque and theres. A new, lighter 6 speed dct. That also increases efficiency, and that gives you a much to improve hybrid from kia, which can sip as little as four liters per hundred kilometers impressive. Now let me tell you about whats powering this ev theres, a 64.8 kilowatt hour battery electric motor combo. It zaps out 150 kilowatts of power and 255 newton meters of torque. The driving range is 460 kilometers wltp, which is good, but its only five kilometers more than the outgoing euro, a 50 kilowatt charger, which is the quickest one i know of in our adelaide cbd, would take you from 10 to 80 in just over an hour, a 350 kilowatt dc rapid charger will get you from 10 to 80 in just 43 minutes and while thats impressive, what would be more impressive is for them to build more of them around, so its actually more functional hurry up, please driving is smooth and cushiony.

It almost seems like this car was tuned for the australian roads, and actually it is, as is often the case with kia and hyundais, they tune suspension setups to suit our roads. I really noticed how quiet this one is even compared to the hybrid, which i guess would be expected with the ev and im talking actual road noise, not the obvious absence of an engine. Less road noise, also due to these smaller 17 inch wheels as opposed to the 18 inches in the hybrid gt line. One of my favorite features found in evs is that lovely region breaking, although some are better than others. This one is definitely one of the better ones. You can use the paddle shifters to determine the strength of the regen braking and once you get used to it, you will likely want to keep the car on the max setting and you can almost get away without using your brakes. Another great feature is while youre in adaptive cruise control mode, this car actually activates regen, braking, which is great brake towing capacity for this nero ev is now 750 kilograms, as opposed to 300 kilograms in the outgoing euro. Now that is significant for people who like to toast off the interior in the new nero, looks so much more modern now and its not overdone at all its just really nice and streamlined. There are no analog components anymore across the range, its all digital baby, its something im still getting used to, though the gt line trims come with a massive 10.

25 inch, infotainment screen, as well as a 10.25 inch digital display cluster. They both sit in line with each other, giving the driver a panoramic viewing experience im really impressed with the resolution of the screens too its really nice and crisp compared with the screens we saw in the new land cruiser and the vira pro 4x. We just reviewed have another look at these nero screens. Oh yeah theres. Actually so many controllable functions within these screens too can actually be really distracting. If you allow it to be Music, i notice they sit a little lower than they do in the ev6. But then there is the up display in higher trims, so you can get your key information while keeping your eyes on the road. The interior ergonomics are really well laid out and a lot of the main elements and buttons are in line with the new sportage and the ev6. You have the circular gear, selector theres wireless charging and a combination of usb and usbc up front with usbc outputs on the sides of the front seats as well so back here there are air vents and pocket holder. These funny handle things and the armrest with cupholders dorbian has got an extra little slot there, but its not very big um. These back of the seats are really hard. I just say that that i hit my hand, and i know they probably have to be there for structure but yeah dont dont smash your hand on it.

Boot space is also plentiful. You get an increase of 25 liters on the outgoing euro to 475 liters. Oh goody, now i can fit more overpriced, groceries that i cant afford. You can also change the height of the boot by moving the floor, which is handy if you have something thats a bit deeper that you need to put in, and you get this new design of removable boot cover which, if you want to take it off, you Can kind of just fold it up and it does fold up easily. Some of these things are really awkward um it just pops away. Look at that theres also 20 liters of frunk space up front where you can keep your cables or small items. There is a vehicle to load exterior adapter. You can use for powering up a campsite or charging another car, as we have had to do in the past, and you also get a b2l interior socket under the back seats, borna sateed. So lets get down to talking about careconnect its an oem developed connected car service. What is that you ask? Well, if you download an app on your phone, you can access a whole other range of functions through key connect, stolen vehicle immobilization, real time data weather traffic and a valet mode will allow the main user to monitor vehicle status. If left with a third party, you can access info on past trips, you can be aware of how the car is functioning at all times.

Now a big thing for the ev side of things is having the ability to schedule your charging a handy feature. Will let you manage your charging times to be in line with when your electricity cross our best value? All your solar panels are producing the most power, and so on that is cool. You can also remotely access climate control, which is great on an icy cold day or on those scorches and other cool features are the ability to remotely lock and unlock your car integrate. Your calendars and even find my car with augmented reality guidance. Oh there are so many features with the prospects of so much more being able to be unlocked in the future. Kia has already hinted to us that there will be over the air updates coming soon. So stay tuned key connect will be offered as complimentary on the new nero for seven years, just like kias warranty. So this means it potentially will be a subscription service after that term, not sure how i feel about that yet now outside of tesla. This is the first time weve seen a manufacturer offering something this comprehensive, a real game, changer so lets watch this kia connect space. It is jam packed with the latest safety features across the range, including aeb lane keep assist and lane follow, assist blind spot collision warning with rear cross traffic collision warning blind spot collision avoidance, assist with rear cross traffic collision avoidance, safe exit warning parking sensors with dash Display rear view, camera with dynamic parking guidelines, driver attention, alert, intelligent speed, limit, assist, haptic, steering, wheel feedback, high beam, assist and more some of the options exclusive to the gt are the safe exit, assist parking collision avoidance assist and the remote park assist pricing for the All new nero starts at 44 380 for a hybrid s trim, and this fully electric gt line has a recommended retail price of around 72 000 pricing will remain a sticking point for many wanting to enter the electric vehicle market and with the nero carrying a price Tag almost on point with the larger ev6, you wont be choosing this one based on cost alone, but its still an impressive electric vehicle and, with that key connect, its raising the bar higher to more closely compete with, say tesla in the tech department.