Kia Niro EV Review (2022-present)

What is the Kia Niro EV?

The Kia Niro EV is the successor to the popular Kia e-Niro. It’s had an identity change, but this is still a very evolutionary progression from that highly successful electric hatchback, and in fact carries over the same 64.8kWh battery pack and front-mounted electric motor, which delivers a WLTP combined range of 285 miles. That’s not quite as long-range as alternatives such as the Skoda Enyaq iV 80, but it is slightly longer than the MG ZS EV and 58kWh VW ID.3 manage, and longer even the entry-level Hyundai Ioniq 5, all of which are rivals to the Kia Niro EV.

At 4.4m in length, the Niro EV is a bit bigger than the VW ID.3, but shorter than the VW ID.4 and Skoda Enyaq iV, and is a very credible alternative to all of these EVs in terms of practicality and prices – which start at around £36,000 and run right up to £43,000.

It sits on a new ‘K3’ platform, which is different to the E-GMP platform that the bigger, plusher, faster and more expensive Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 sit on, but perhaps the more significant change is the styling. Gone are the rather bland, forgettable looks of the Kia e-Niro, and in its place is a blockier, more upright SUV-style car, complete with the company’s trademark angular LED headlights. At the back, the contrasting rear-quarter panel is optional on top-spec 4 trims, which you may or may not be relieved about, while some slim, high-set rear LED lights finish everything off. To our eyes, at least, it’s not a pretty car and is arguably rather over-styled, but it’s also far more purposeful and interesting than before, which is likely to gain it a lot of fans.

How practical is it?

Practicality is one area where the Kia Niro EV has noticeably improved over its predecessor. For a start, there’s now a ‘frunk’; a 20-litre cubby beneath the bonnet of the car that’s ideal for storing charging cables. The boot is also much bigger, now offering 475 litres of boot space, with convenient underfloor storage. Not quite as big as the 585-litre boot in the bigger Skoda Enyaq iV, but usefully bigger than the 385-litre boot in the VW ID.3, and you’ll certainly get a chunky baby buggy in the back if you need to.

Passengers have loads of leg- and headroom in the back of the Kia Niro EV, and their own USB-C charging points, but you don’t get a rear passenger air vent on the base-spec Niro EV ‘2’ and you can’t get separate climate control for those in the back on any trim level. You do get heated outer rear seats if you go for the top-spec Kia Niro EV 4, though.

Up front, the Kia Niro EV has taken much of its new dash and infotainment from the Kia EV6, which is no bad thing at all. The materials feel classy, including the vegan leather that you get on higher-spec trims, and there are some interesting trim inserts with patterned, metal-look finishes that brighten things up.

The driving position is great on the mid-spec car that we drove (which gets upgraded driver’s seat controls and lumbar support), but don’t expect it to feel as SUV-like as the MG ZS EV or Skoda Enyaq iV, for instance. It feels more like a slightly jacked-up hatchback, albeit with good visibility thanks to the fairly upright windscreen pillars and tall windows. Visibility to the rear three-quarters and out of the narrow rear windscreen is quite poor, though; at least the standard reversing camera, and blind-spot collision warning on all but the cheapest ‘2’ trim, provide some reassurance on that front.

What's it like to drive?

Very pleasant and assured, if nothing sparklingly involving. You can’t get the Niro EV with four-wheel drive, it’s front-wheel drive only, but it does get 201bhp and a sprightly 0-62mph time of 7.8 seconds, so it does feel satisfyingly quick; not just from a standstill around town, but also if you go for a squirt of acceleration at higher speeds, to merge with motorway traffic or the like.

There are three drive modes – Sport, Normal and Eco, and while Eco does neuter the throttle response very noticeably, the Niro EV still feels confident if you want a sharp getaway, and we actually favoured this drive mode for everyday pottering. Sport mode weights up the otherwise rather light steering, but it doesn’t solve the problem that there’s a real shortage of feedback to the steering. It’s weighted nicely for wheeling around tricky town streets and car parks, but it just isn’t terribly involving on a good road. Still, body control is progressive and there’s plenty of grip from the front wheels (in the dry conditions we’ve tested it in, at least), so it always feels surefooted and calm, which is what you want.

Our test car rode on 17-inch alloy wheels, and proved comfortable even over scruffy town roads. There’s a fair amount of suspension noise, and a bit of a shudder through the cabin over bigger potholes, but otherwise it’s nicely settled and comfy, making for relaxing transport whether you’re on the motorway or in town.

Regenerative braking can be toggled through four different levels, and can also be set to ‘automatic’, which means that the car senses cars and other obstacles up ahead and increases the brake regen’ to keep a safe distance. There’s also an ‘i-Pedal’ mode. This brings one-pedal driving around town, like the Nissan Leaf offers, but the Kia’s system also integrates its adaptive function. All of this can be controlled via the paddles on the steering wheel, including whether you want the brake regeneration to activate its adaptive mode or not. It all feels very intuitive – in fact, this is our favourite brake regen setup for both user-friendliness and effectiveness.

Technology, infotainment and equipment

The Kia Niro EV is offered with three trims, badged 2, 3 and 4. Equipment levels are very good, with even the Kia Niro EV 2 getting 17-inch alloy wheels, climate control, all-round electric windows, an 8-inch colour touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Adaptive cruise control is also included, and features a stop-and-go traffic function, plus there's lane-keep assist and autonomous emergency braking that can sense a car, pedestrian or bicycle.

Most buyers will go for the Kia Niro 3, which gets auto wipers, upgraded interior trim, heated front seats and steering wheel, electrically adjusted driver’s seat with lumbar support, blind spot warning, electrically folding side mirrors, front parking sensors, wireless phone charging and substantially upgraded infotainment. Top-spec 4 adds a head-up display, heated rear seats, heated and ventilated front seats, leatherette upholstery, sunroof and more.

It’s definitely worth going for ‘3’ trim, then, with the infotainment being the chief reason. This trim brings twin 10.25-inch screens; the central is a touchscreen with satnav, phone integration, music features and system settings covered, while the second is housed into the same frameless display and makes up the driver’s colour readout. It’s a really good system, with clear graphics and good usability. The icons are generally easy to hit precisely on the touchscreen, and the menu layouts are logical.

It's worth noting that 3 and 4 trims also bring the option of a heat pump, which improves your real-world driving range in the winter thanks to having more efficient cabin heating.

Kia Niro EV running costs

Any electric vehicle, including the Kia Niro EV, remains much cheaper to run than an efficient petrol or diesel car despite rising energy costs in 2022. A full battery in the Niro EV will cost £18, assuming a price of 28p per kWh on your domestic electricity. That means that, with an average real-world range of 240 miles, it will cost 7.6p per mile to run – still less than half what it costs to fuel a petrol car doing 40mpg, or even a diesel car doing 55mpg.

If you expect to rapid charge regularly, that will push running costs up on your EV, as public rapid charging often now works out at a similar cost per mile to using petrol or diesel, so do factor that in. Even so, the Kia Niro EV will likely average some 3.5m/kWh across the year, and promises to be efficient even by electric vehicle standards, so we’d expect it to cost less to ‘fuel’ than a Skoda Enyaq iV, which is typically a bit less efficient at more like 3.3m/kWh average over the seasons in our experience.

Purchase costs don’t look as affordable as they once did on the e-Niro, it has to be said, and the biggest problem with the Niro EV is that it is busts the £40k mark in its higher specs. That puts it in contention with all sorts of excellent cars, from the bigger Skoda Enyaq iV to the much more stylish Hyundai Ioniq 5, and even the Kia EV6. This is why we recommend sticking to the mid-spec Niro EV, as above that it can suddenly become much harder to justify. Not only that, but with the impressively affordable MG ZS EV also making the Niro EV look rather pricey, the Kia is no longer the default answer to the question ‘what’s the best budget family EV’?

We’d also like to see lower PCP finance costs, since Kia estimates that the Kia Niro EV 3 that we favour will cost over £550 per month after a 10% deposit. Having said that, the brochure and monthly finance costs on the Niro EV are still in line with what you’ll pay for rivals such as the Skoda Enyaq iV – if a little over what you pay for with slightly smaller alternatives like the VW ID.3 and Kia’s own Soul EV.

Kia Niro EV reliability

The Kia Niro EV is too new to have garnered any useful feedback from owners, but Kia is routinely at the favourable end of reliability and owner satisfaction surveys – plus, you get the famous seven-year, 100,000-mile warranty for peace of mind (which covers the battery as well as the vehicle itself). The Kia Niro EV shares a lot of its hardware with the outgoing e-Niro, which has been rated highly for reliability, coming third in the electric vehicles class in the 2021 What Car? Used Car Reliability Survey. Kia as a brand came a heartening 9th out of 30 brands tested in the same survey.

Kia also came out glowing in the Driver Power 2022 new car survey, with the XCeed being named the best new car to own overall, and the brand as a whole coming third overall – just behind Porsche and Tesla.

Ultimately, all the omens are good that the Kia Niro EV will be a really reliable, enjoyable car to own.