Hybrid or Electric? You choose with this new SUV! 2023 Kia Niro review (inc range, 0-100)

So how much does it cost? How far can you drive it and how does it measure up against the best evs in the business lets find out if there is a fly in kies electrified ointment, though, is this: the nero is, quite frankly, not cheap. The hybrid version comes in s or gt line trims and will set you back around 44 grand or around 50 grand respectively. And yes, you can buy a lot of rav4 hybrid for that money. Should you be lucky enough to actually get one? That is then theres. The full electric model – it too is available in s or gt line and its priced at around 65 grand or around 72 grand. When we drove the nero the brands flagship electric vehicle. The ev6 could have been yours for only around two and a half grand more, which seemed if you dont mind me saying a little bit bananas, but their pricing does now make a bit more sense. Given kiara has just lifted the price of the ev6. By close to 5 grand across the board, meaning there is now more clear air between the nero and the flagship ev. So what do you get for your investment? The range starts with the hybrid s, which gets cloth and artificial leather seat, trim, led drls and led rear tail lights, but halogen headlights, a digital driver display and an eight inch central touchscreen, wider sample, carplay and android auto and a six speaker stereo.

You also get dual zone: climate 16 inch, alloys and electric mirrors and windows. Stepping up to the hybrid gt line adds a whole bunch of nice stuff, including twin 10.25 inch screens, one for the driver and the other for infotainment, bigger 18 inch. Alloys perforated bio leather seats led headlights, a bit of steering wheel and heated and ventilated front seats. The full electric trim levels largely match the hybrid specifications, except both ride on 17 inch alloys and the s model gets a better infotainment setup too. The all electric gt line gets the full twin screen experience a better eight speaker, stereo a sunroof, and what the brand calls a premium relaxation front passenger seat which tilts back so you can get comfy while charging, so not quite as out there in the looks department. As something like the kia ev6, is it in fact the nero looks a lot like well ikea up front youll find the latest version of the brands tiger front, end treatment, theres these cool, led lights and led lights at the rear as well, and all this silver Cutting which wraps around the side of the car as well is supposed to be a nod to adventure, but dont expect to be taking this too far off road. There are some nice eco friendly materials at play here in the neros cabin like the recycled plastic thats gone into this headliner or the eucalyptus tree fibres that have gone into the seats, but how nice an experience you have in here very much depends on how much You spend the entry level.

S hybrid, for example, gets the most basic offering, but this top spec gt line, ev, really ups, the tech factor with this kind of wall of screens that links the drivers pinnacle with this central touchscreen. I also really like this touch sensitive aircon control unit as well. It all adds up to a fairly premium feeling space and one that doesnt feel too space age or out of this world, which you can find in some evs now. Why am i telling you all this from the passenger seat, because this one has another party trick theres a little button on the side here you hit it and suddenly youre in what kia calls relaxation mode perfect to while away the minutes, while youre waiting for this To recharge now, this nero is a bigger car than the one it replaces its longer and wider, and it rides on a slightly bigger wheelbase too, and that should mean more space for backseat passengers. Now ive got enough legroom and enough headroom for my 175 centimeters, but were not talking a celebration of space back here. There is, however, some pretty clever features now incorporate into each of these seats is a usb charge point, so you can plug in and charge on. The go and the seats themselves have been designed to act as kind of giant coat hooks. So you can hang your coat over the back now theres two cupholders in the pull down divider here, two more up front and theres small bottle storage in each of the four doors and two isofix attachment points, one in each window seat.

But what i really like is down here is like an australian plug a regular wall plug you might find at home, so you can plug it in charge, larger devices when youre on the go or if youre, camping or something like that you can plug in here. As well, without having to use an adapter now boot space, its not too bad, the ev serves up the most room, with 475 litres, with those rear seats in place and that numbers swirling to 1 ‘2 litres with them folded flat. So were not talking. Oodles of room back here, but certainly enough for a couple of bags or your groceries. The hybrid is pretty conventional pairing, a 1.6 liter engine with a 1.32 kilowatt hour battery and an electric motor for a combined output of 104 kilowatts and 265 newton meters. It gets a 6 speed, dct, auto and front wheel, drive and a sprint to 100 kilometers. An hour is pretty leisurely taking more than 10 seconds, but this one, the ev its a little bit different. It gets a big 64.8 kilowatt hour battery and an electric motor that produces 150 kilowatts and 255 newton meters and thats enough to drop the sprint to 7.8 seconds. Despite this thing, carrying more than 450 kilograms of batteries with it kia reckons, the hybrid car will sit. Four liters per hundred kilometers on the combined cycle and good news. The 42 litre tank will sip cheap 91 run fuel theres no fuel needed for the electric one, though key reckons.

The nero ev will deliver 460 kilometers in driving range when fully charged and when it does come time to plug in a 7 kilowatt wall, box at home will take 9 hours and 25 minutes to go from empty to full or 100 kilowatt dc charger will take 45 minutes to go from 10 to 80 percent Music were going to start the driving portion of the kia, nero ev without actually driving and thats. Because i want to show you something because the first thing that strikes you from behind the wheel of this car is just how smooth the experience is behind the wheel, and i mean seriously smooth ill show you so well. Pull that onto the road here start from a stationary position and plan. Our foot now were not talking lightning, quick acceleration like you find in some evs, although kia says itll clip 100 kilometers an hour in 7.8 seconds which isnt that slow either. But the thing that really strikes – you is just how smooth it is: theres no wide from a gearbox, because, of course, theres no multi speed automatic attached to this. The cabin noise is fairly quiet and ambient its just. The lightest were from the motor as you accelerate, but it just feels honestly trickily syrupy, smooth from behind the wheel. I really like the way this thing drives and, to be honest with you, i could almost end the driving portion right there, because its such an easy fuss free drive experience from behind the wheel that theres actually not that much to report the ride and handling balance Is typically good, the steering feels nice and well weighted.

It goes around corn as well. It goes in a straight line. Well and really thats. All you need to know. The ride tune is interesting, though. Kia really have managed to sort of straddle this line between suppleness and sportiness. It never feels uncomfortable, but you can feel the kind of road imperfections as you go over them, which just allows you to feel a little bit more connected to the road surface below which is never a bad thing either. But you can definitely feel the weight of this vehicle. Remember the batteries weigh more than 450 kilograms and yes theyre low in the car, but thats a fair bit of baggage to be lugging around. So if youre sitting on the ev fence or youre ev, curious theres, really not a lot to be afraid of here, especially with a car like this, it feels refreshingly familiar in places and, to be honest, the ev tech only improves the drive experience. Music, i wont bore you with a long list of safety kit here instead ill tell you whats new, this time around kiaras added a center side, airbag multi collision, braking blind spot collision avoidance, assist rear cross traffic collision assist and an intelligent speed limiter, all of which Are standard fit across the range they join a pretty comprehensive suite of safety kit with the even more advanced stuff like parking collision avoidance, assist and safe exit, assist reserved for the gt line cars. The nero is covered by kias 7 year, unlimited kilometer warranty and the old car needed servicing every 12 months or 15 000 ks cap price servicing also appears and again based on the outgoing model.

You can expect to pay around 3500 over the full warranty period, averaging out to around 500 bucks per annum. Now, one small caveat we havent actually driven the hybrid, yet weve spent all our time behind the wheel of the ev. So, to get my thoughts on that head to carsguy.com.ou for the written review and while youre there, you can check out hundreds of other new car reviews as well and if youre watching us on youtube, please do hit subscribe and throw us a like. Even a comment.