Australian Kia Niro EV GT-Line: 3 likes and 3 dislikes

I’ve simply pushed 340km in a Kia Niro EV GT-Line electrical automotive round Sydney in addition to on a day journey and these are my prime 3 likes and dislikes.

I drove more often than not in ECO mode with i-Pedal most regeneration (one pedal driving) turned on, which is certainly one of my favorite options of this automotive.

In NSW the driveaway worth for the highest spec Kia Niro EV GT-Line is $77,939.75 and the usual Kia Niro EV S is $70,799.75.

Disclosure: The automotive was loaned by Kia Australia for 11 days to assessment. I agreed to satisfy all of the related working prices e.g. tolls, charging and so on.

What I Preferred

Effectivity – that is actually wonderful which suggests the Niro EV manages to go additional for each kWh of battery storage (64.8kWh complete) in comparison with many different electrical automobiles.

For instance throughout my return day journey from Marrickville to Kiama south of Sydney I used 10.8-16.9kWh/100km on totally different segments of the journey which is nice mixture of flat, winding, steep uphill and steep downhill sections of street. should you exclude the steep uphill part the utilization was nicely underneath 14kWh/100km.

Stress free driving expertise – Because it’s primarily based on a ICE automotive platform the inside of the Niro EV that includes loads of helpful buttons and bodily controls doesn’t really feel like an excessive amount of of a shock from the long run for somebody driving their first electrical automotive.

There is no such thing as a vary nervousness because the automotive has a 460km WLTP vary and is so environment friendly. When charging the automotive the port is conveniently positioned on the entrance of the automotive so you’ll be able to drive right into a charging bay without having to reverse.

The beneficiant 7 Yr Guarantee limitless km guarantee consists of free KIA Join distant entry app and free roadside help for the total size of the guarantee.

Driving Screens and Software program – The automotive software program with two giant screens is rather well designed and person pleasant. As are the various buttons and toggles (yay for bodily controls) within the centre console and on the steering wheel.

A lot in order that more often than not I used the in-built KIA HERE Maps slightly than connecting my telephone to make use of Android Auto. Apple Carplay can be out there for iPhone house owners.

What May Be Higher

Lack of 360 diploma cameras – It’s laborious to park on my avenue as it’s actually outdated, slopes right down to crumbling edges of asphalt, there are massive bushes rising alongside the sting inside the street boundary and most of the people don’t have any driveways so we’ve to park avenue aspect.

There’s a good reverse digicam and on the opposite sides of the automotive there are parking sensors however not having 360 diploma digicam protection is a weak spot at this worth level as a result of opponents embody it.

DC Quick Charging – the Niro EV solely has a prime DC charging fee of mid 80kW which is analogous to less expensive EV’s just like the BYD Atto 3 and MG ZS EV. It actually must be greater than 120kW so house owners can save time throughout lengthy journeys through the use of extremely quick DC chargers.

Value – whereas the automotive is superb in some ways the value (NSW driveaway $77,939.75) of this GT-Line mannequin is competing with loads of different nice EV’s across the identical worth level from Polestar and Tesla which have a lot quicker DC charging speeds and in addition 360 diploma cameras.