A strange place we thought to have a first driving event, Gateshead, a place I have never been before, and its only an hour and a half up the road from where I live. Up there I was suddenly a Southerner.
We set off in the KIA and headed further north, past Newcastle, going past the outskirts of Morpeth and then to the very nice market town of Alnwick, and then down the beautiful, even stunning in places coast road- very impressed with this route and part of the world.
The Niro is built at KIA’s plant in Korea, and is up to a high standard throughout. The Niro is KIA’s first dedicated hybrid, and the first hybrid of any description for the company in the UK – The Optima Hybrid will soon join the party.
This compact five-door SUV is powered by a 1.6-litre GDI petrol engine that produces 104bhp, and this is coupled to an electric motor that gives a combined power output of 139bhp, and this power is connected to a very smooth and efficient 6-speed DCT (Dual-Clutch) automatic gearbox. KIA were very keen to point out that this Hybrid has a ‘proper’ gearbox, and not a CVT like some other Hybrids have. This 6-speed auto did work well, and so quiet and refined.
Hybrid sales in the UK and mainland Europe have doubled over the past five-years, and are expected to reach 700,000 annually by the year 2020, so the Niro stands KIA in a good position if these predictions come true.
So back to the journey ‘up-north. When driving the Niro, like other Hybrids, you really cannot tell if you are using the petrol engine, or being powered by electric, or both and it is so smooth you cannot feel the different power modes changing. The engine will cut out automatically, and when there is an opportunity the battery is recharged to give it a boost, all ready for when you need the extra power, or just travel on electric alone. The range on pure electric is not far, in fact not far at all. The maximum is around 3 miles, but then Hybrids are not really about pure electric travel, but more about saving fuel and using the engine as little as possible to improve fuel consumption and reduce C02. When you set off from standstill, it is generally powered by electric, then at around 25mph, the engine takes over, and this is seamless and you really cannot feel the change from one to the other.
We reset the trip computer when we started the journey and over the 92 miles we covered the car achieved 53.1mpg compared to the official combined figure of 64.2mpg with 18-inch wheels. If you choose a Niro with 16-inch wheels the MPG figure goes up to 74.3mpg, quite a big jump of 10 more miles per gallon for having wheels that are 2-inches smaller, bit odd we thought, but you can’t argue with the facts, and all the testing involved to get these official numbers.
The 0-60mph is 11.1 seconds, a top speed of 101mph, where permitted and C02 figures of 88g/km with 16-inch wheels and 101g/km with 18-inch wheels – again, a big difference between the two wheel sizes. The fuel tank is relatively small, only holding 45-litres, so fill it up for £48, and have a range of 500-600 miles depending on your Driving Style.
Press another button and KIA very kindly tell you ‘Driving Style’ – we were quite pleased to find out that we achieved: Economical 23%, Normal 69% and Aggressive 8%. Which means if we had driven more economically we would have got more than the 53.1mpg. The problem with these ‘Green’ cars is you do want to get the best fuel consumption, but this is often at the expense of drivers behind you as you travel at a speed that is achieving maximum miles-per-gallon, but at a speed that they don’t like – such as 26mph in a 30mph, or 37mph in a 40mph. But once you have a Driving Style Meter you do try and play the game. And no doubts in future, Niro owners will be comparing notes and seeing who is winning in Driving Style.
There are four models in the UK: ‘1’, ‘2’, ‘3’ and the one we drove ‘up-north – the ‘First Edition’ which has a very high level of standard equipment including grey leather trim, electric front and rear seats, electric tilting and sliding sunroof, and 18-inch wheels. But the models below this First Edition have a good level of goodies fitted as standard. Even the ‘1’ is a far from no-frills entry level model, and has 16-inch alloy wheels, dual automatic air-conditioning, LED daytime running lights and taillights, DAB radio, trip computer, 3.5-inch TFT supervision cluster.
The parking brake is operated by your left foot, it is situated to the left of the footbrake, and whist other cars have a similar position and system for the park-brake, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is right. I personally do not like the brake in this position, it is not easy to operate and just doesn’t seem the natural place to put it. A good old-fashioned handbrake in-between the two front seats, or one of those new-fangled electronic parking brakes would have been preferred by me, not a brake down on the floor – no thanks.
The KIA Niro is 4,355mm long, 1,805mm wide and 1,545mm tall, so in good proportions and it can be said it is a true SUV, with lots of versatility and practicality. Plenty of rear leg room and a good sized boot too.
I enjoyed driving this SUV Hybrid, enough power, very comfortable, plenty of room, quiet and smooth, and if you drove it more, and got more used to the system, and driving styles, you could easily achieve a better mpg than we did, the list of standard equipment is very impressive, and has some good safety features as standard – a good all-round SUV – a great route, some spectacular scenery.
Prices start from £21,295 for the ‘1’ and go up to £26,995 for the ‘First Edition’
And of course the Niro comes with KIA’s seven-year or 100,000 mile warranty – subject to conditions.
