2023 Kia Niro EV Review, Takes On the Chevy Bolt

The Kia Niro EV might elicit a yawn or two when youre driving it, but its also remarkably Adept at its intended purpose, which is to deliver an EPA rated 253 miles of range, while hewing to an affordable price on our 75 mph Highway range test. It fell. A little short of that number at 210 miles, the exact degree of that affordability remains to be seen as Kia is scrambling to price the Nero in the wake of news that it wont be eligible for the federal tax credit, since its battery production and final assembly Happen in Korea built on the Brands, K3 architecture, which also underpins the Hyundai Elantra. The Nero is a handsome two box design that would blend into the small crossover landscape, if not for its avant garde D pillar, which is available in contrasting colors and recalls the Audi r8s signature side. Blade Kia calls the Neros, extroverted d pillar, the aeroblade, so the brand isnt exactly discouraging R8 connotations size wise. The Nero EV is roughly 5 inches longer than the Chevrolet bolt euv and more than six inches shorter than the Volkswagen ID .4 two EVS. That KIA identifies as competitors listing those two as Rivals leads us to believe. The Nero EV will start at about 33 000 for the base wind trim level and head up to forty thousand dollars for the loaded wave version highs, 253 mile EPA range attractive and practical interior free of EV gimmicks. Both versions get the same 201 HP, electric motor.

Turning the front wheels, acceleration lacks the neck snapping punch of many EVS as Kia tuned, the accelerator to gradually feed in power, rather than smacking you, with its 188 pound feet of torque right off the line in eco mode. The right pedal acts like it doesnt know. Youre flooring it switching to normal is closer to what you might expect from a typical eco mode, and Sport feels about what normal should be. The time to hit 30 miles per hour is a sluggish 2.9 seconds, no matter the mode. The front tires wont break loose when the car is accelerating from a stop something the old Nero EV would do with ease past 30 miles per hour. The motor starts feeding full power to the road in our hands. It got to 60 miles per hour and 6.7 seconds and through the quarter in 15.2 seconds at 94 miles per hour, both measures beat the bolt euv by a tenth of a second switching Drive modes from Eco to sport also adds heft to the steering effort normal And Eco modes deliver the most natural steering feel and the Nero will cut into Corners with Precision, albeit without a lot of grip from its low rolling resistance. All season rubber. We measured 0.84 grams on the skid pad hitting the brake pedal Blends. Regenerative braking and the friction Brakes in a natural and Progressive manner that many EVS Miss hit them hard from 70 miles per hour and itll stop in 182 feet paddles on the back of the steering wheel.

Are there not for gear selection, theres, just one gear, but to adjust the region when you lift off the accelerator, one pedal driving is possible and holding the left paddle will bring the Nero to a stop even in less aggressive region modes, while region will send some Electrons back to the battery eventually youll have to plug in the Nero EV. Strangely Kia doesnt include a 120 volt cord and expects customers to rely on level 2 hookups or the standard DC fast charging capability. Unlike the pricier ev6, the Nero lacks the 800 volt architecture that puts the fast and Fast charging plug into a DC fast charger and Kia promises. You can take the battery from 10 to 80 in about 45 minutes with a peak charging rate of just 85 kilowatts. An ev6 can dispatch a charge of 10 to 80 percent in just 18 minutes for comparison in our testing, the bolt euv one of the slowest charging EVS on the market went from 10 to 90 percent in 84 minutes. Kia is throwing in 500 kilowatt hours of no cost charging through Electrify America, which works out to nearly 2 000 miles. Being free of EV gimmicks makes it a bit dull lacks off the line, punch ho hum handling, while youre waiting for the battery to refill. Take a seat in the spacious cabin and note the headliner, which is made from recycled wallpaper. Thank you. Grammy Mildred. The fabric on the seats is partially constructed from eucalyptus, which will Delight koalas.

A large digital panel in front of the driver offers three different gauge looks paired to drive modes key is easy to use, infotainment system sits front and center. For a moment we thought there was no volume knob and then we hit the button that turns the HVAC into radio controls. Suddenly the temp knob turned into a volume knob and then back again rear seat. Passengers dont have as many toys to play with, but they do have excellent Headroom and adult grade legroom. The battery powered version is one of the three powertrains available on the new Nero theres, also a hybrid model, with a small 1.3 kwh battery and a plug in hybrid, with up to 33 miles of range and a larger 11.1 kwh battery Kia anticipates that 25 of Nero customers will go for the EV version, its a competitive entry in a growing field of sub minus 40 000 EVS.