Availability of cars and pricing remain two of the biggest issues facing anyone who wants to own an EV nowadays.
The new Kia Niro – available as hybrid or purely electric – is based on a Hyundai and Kia petrol-variant platform and is offered in two specs: entry-level S and GT-Line.
We tested a Kia Niro EV S during a week of mixed driving to see how it’d perform as a family vehicle.
So, could this be your ultimate first EV?
Price and features of the 2023 Kia Niro EV S
The Kia Niro EV S has a recommended retail price of $65,300 (excluding optional extras, accessory prices and on-road costs)
It has a 150kW/255Nm electric motor, a 64.8kWh lithium-ion polymer battery, and a single-speed (reduction gear) transmission. Official range on a full charge is listed as 460 kilometres.
The Kia Niro EV S is front-wheel drive only.
Most notable in its standard features are an power-adjustable driver’s seat, an 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia unit with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (also wired), as well as a 10.25-inch digital instrument display, cloth and artificial leather seat trim, eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, climate control, LED DRLs and headlights, and 17-inch alloy wheels.
The Kia Niro has the maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing in 2022.
Safety gear includes autonomous emergency braking (with car, pedestrian, cyclist, and junction detection), lane-keep assist, lane following assist, blind spot and rear cross-traffic alert (detection) and avoidance (braking for obstacles), rear parking sensors, rear-view camera, and adaptive cruise control.
The exterior paint on our test vehicle is premium paint (interstellar grey, $520).
Pre-paid servicing options are three years ($621), five years ($1187), and seven years ($1754).
Pay-as-you-go service costs and service intervals are $87 at one year/15,000 km, $445 at two years or 30,000 km, $89 at three years/45,000 km, $473 at four years/60,000 km, $92 at five years/75,000 km, $473 at six years/90,000 km, and $95 at seven years/105,000 km – for a total of $1754.
Cargo space in the rear is listed as 475 litres (VDA); and it has 20 litres of storage space under the bonnet. It does not have a spare tyre; it has a tyre-puncture repair kit.
The Niro EV has had its towing capacity upgraded to 300kg unbraked and 750kg braked.
Driving the 2023 Kia Niro EV S
The Kia Niro EV S is 4420mm long (with a wheelbase of 2720mm), 1825mm wide and 1570mm high.
This is a nimble vehicle with sporty steering and a real easy driving feel about it when you’re zipping around town and in the big smoke.
I usually spend the lion’s share of my time driving utes and 4WD wagons, so it’s refreshing to get a decent go in a compact SUV that’s also an EV.
The new Niro is the first Kia model to benefit from comprehensive Aussie-tuned suspension and steering since 2020.
Ride and handling are well sorted, even if that suspension is a touch on the firm side.
It rides on Continental EcoContact 6 Q (215/55 R17) and they’re perfectly fine for driving on sealed surfaces.
On a full charge, we used just over 22 percent on the drive from Sydney’s Marrickville to just south of Wollongong, a distance of 81km.
After a few days of daily driving we charged at one of the free NRMA chargers at Wollongong’s Stewart Street East car park and managed to get from 55 percent to 79 percent in 23 minutes on a maximum 150kW charger.
Note: There are two DC Fast Charging units at this location, with CHAdeMO and CCS2 connectors, so four plugs in total. The machine closest to the street can deliver a maximum 150kW charge; the next machine in can yield a maximum 75kW charge.
What we think of the 2023 Kia Niro EV S
The Kia Niro EV S is an appealing all-rounder – refined, nice to drive and not too shabby to look at.
It’s an appealing entry-point for those who want to get into an EV but, with a price-tag around the $70 grand mark, once you factor in on-road costs, it’s still pretty costly.
The EV realm is an exciting one – more choice is always better – and once EV prices come down across the board more people will be able to buy them, and we’ll see the playing field level out.
