Kia Niro EV 2021 Review

Local pricing for the 2021 Kia Niro EV starts at $62,490 plus on-road costs for the Niro EV S, rising to $65,990 plus ORCs for the Niro EV Sport.

That puts it right up close to a rival vehicle based on the same platform and using essentially the same powertrain, the MY21 Hyundai Kona Electric that starts from $62,000 for the Elite and $66,000 for the Highlander grade.

The just-launched Nissan LEAF e+ hatchback isn’t far away either at $60,490 plus ORCs, and the forthcoming Mazda MX-30 Electric will land in August priced at $65,490 plus ORCs.

There’s currently only one other full-electric small SUV from a mainstream brand on the Australian market – the MG ZS EV, which has a smaller output and range but is priced much, much lower at $43,990 drive-away.

Standard features across both trim levels of the Niro EV include climate control (single zone), a trip computer, eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar support, keyless entry, electric-powered fold-in mirrors, rear parking sensors, reversing camera and a leather-clad steering wheel.

The six-speaker audio system shared by both grades incorporates wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth and digital radio.

For the high-grade Niro EV Sport, the 10.25-inch touch-screen is standard with satellite navigation, the seats are upgraded and additional standard features include alloy sports pedals, one-touch auto-up and down facility for the front power windows and an electro-chromatic rear-view mirror.

Kia charges $520 extra for premium paint colours. For the Niro EV, the colours are Clear White, Aurora Black Pearl, Runway Red, Snow White Pearl, Silky Silver and Yacht Blue. The last colour is exclusive to the EV, but the hybrid and plug-in models are also available with three other colours: Sunset Orange, Platinum Graphite and Deep Cerulean Blue.

Kia offers the Niro EV with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, but the battery’s coverage is capped at seven years or 150,000km. Apart from the distance limitation, the battery warranty is also a year less than competitors are offering for their EV battery warranties.

Roadside assistance is part of the package for seven years too, as is capped-price servicing.

The 2021 Kia Niro EV does not carry a coveted five-star ANCAP safety rating, unlike the hybrid versions (both regular and plug-in) which make the grade – albeit based on older 2016 testing conducted by Euro NCAP. The EV remains unrated.

Seven airbags, including driver’s knee airbag, keep occupants protected inside the Kia Niro EV in the event of a collision.

And hopefully sidestepping such an event, the Kia is also fitted with autonomous emergency braking (car/pedestrian/cyclist), lane keep assist, lane follow assist, active cruise control and driver attention alert.

On top of that, the flagship of the range, the Niro EV Sport, also comes with LED headlights, blind spot detection and rear cross traffic alert.

For night driving, the Niro EV Sport’s LED headlights proved to be very effective. They cast a clear white beam well ahead of the car.

Auto high beam assist is also standard, and that is very responsive to oncoming cars, even dipping the headlights for a car approaching the intersection from a side road about a hundred metres ahead. Kia’s engineers have done some good work with that.

While the 2021 Kia Niro EV is no Porsche Taycan, it will get up and boogie if the driver demands straight-line performance.

Launching from a full-bore standing start, the Niro EV is slightly hesitant at first, but right around the 50km/h mark there’s wheelspin and torque-steer galore. That would be a mark against a car as a general rule, but it’s kind of entertaining too.

So the powertrain has what it takes to make the Niro EV quick point-to-point around town, but can also stump up enough torque to transport a family of four and all their luggage for a holiday up the country without undue concern for either range anxiety or overtaking ability.

And naturally, being electric, the Kia is quiet and refined at touring speeds as well, although the tyres make themselves heard on coarse-chip bitumen – but no more than to be expected.

The Niro EV is an efficient consumer of electrical energy, posting a figure of 15.5kWh on a night-time test run – with half the drive completed using the Eco mode, the other half a mix of Sport and Normal modes.

That overall figure is less than the official energy consumption number (15.9kWh), but no doubt helped by little tricks such as the climate control isolation for the driver only.

On a commute the following morning – grappling with solidly congested peak-hour traffic – the energy consumption fell further, to 15.0kWh. That’s not only substantially better than our experience with the 40kWh Nissan LEAF two years ago, it also finishes in a dead heat with the smaller and lighter Hyundai IONIQ hatch.

The ‘shift paddles’ fitted actually extend the Niro EV’s brake energy recovery (on steeper descents, for instance), but can be used like real shift paddles too – providing enough braking to make the Niro dip its nose just before a corner.

Finally, the 64kWh battery – the same battery capacity as in the Hyundai Kona Electric and 2kWh bigger than the battery in the Nissan LEAF e+ – provides a range of up to 455km, according to WLTP figures.

And around 20 per cent of the battery capacity, equating to over 100km of travel, could be restored using a standard 10-Amp power outlet in a little over seven hours. Overnight, in other words.

Family SUVs aren’t normally the sort of cars one expects to drive for the enjoyment – and especially if they’re electric-powered. But the 2021 Kia Niro EV is the exception to prove the rule.

It can be flung around, throwing caution to the wind – within reason. The steering response is surprisingly good by the standards of any SUV under $70,000, and by the standards of most passenger cars as well.

It’s also very stable on centre at open-road speeds and delivers quite good steering feel straight ahead or changing course.

Riding on Michelin Primacy 3 tyres (215/55R17), the Niro EV Sport tucks into corners and grips very well – better than either the Kona Electric or the Nissan LEAF, for example.

It feels close to neutral and fosters a stronger sense of security in the driver’s mind when the Kia is hurled into a bend. The brakes work well too – quite strong and pulling the Niro EV down from higher speeds without any real drama.

Ride comfort deserves qualified praise. At lower speeds the Niro EV follows the bumps in the road very closely and the car does pitch and toss at times. It can feel a little choppy, although the ride quality is not harsh as such, and in fact things smooth out at higher speeds (from 80-100km/h).

But it doesn’t feel quite as settled as the LEAF or the Kona below 80km/h.

From behind the wheel, there’s an immediate impression of standard Kia design, but the Niro EV – we’re receiving the last of the first-generation model – offsets its parts-bin switchgear with a space-age instrument cluster that doesn’t look out of place.

The indicator stalk is on the left and the wiper stalk is on the right, and the drive selector is a rotary dial with a concentric button to push for ‘Park’.

Other than those design departures, the Niro EV is as easy to drive from the off as any other Kia passenger car or SUV.

Firmly cushioned but nicely shaped, the front seats provide the appropriate level of comfort and support, and easing oneself into or out of the seats is made easier by the Niro’s moderate hip point.

With its added length in the wheelbase, the Niro EV provides generous rear seat legroom, and the boot space is voluminous too. There are adjustable vents in the rear of the centre console, but no recharging ports in the back.

If Niro EV owners should need to cart around larger loads, they will find the step left between the boot floor and the folded seats to be an inconvenience.

And also, while a powered tailgate is just another energy hog in a family car, its omission in a vehicle costing close to $70,000 will be a disappointment for some buyers. On the flipside, the tailgate is quite light to lift and close.

Other minor concerns included the inability to program a destination into the satellite navigation system using the voice recognition system, unless a smartphone was connected to the car through Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

And while I don’t miss this sort of game-boy stuff at all, the lack of bells and whistles such as an energy-flow meter or energy-consumption history might have tech-savvy early adopters pouting.

There are so many interesting examples of electric vehicles either in the pipeline or already on sale in Australia, and the 2021 Kia Niro EV is arguably the best among the mainstream brands so far.

The Niro EV is not nearly as affordable as the MG ZS EV, and the MG’s battery warranty is one year longer than the Kia’s. But in other areas, such as overall performance, the Niro stands tall.

Up against other rivals, the Niro EV looks to be a better package than both the Hyundai Kona Electric and the Nissan LEAF e+.

Mazda’s MX-30 Electric also doesn’t deliver anything like the same range, nor the same performance as the Kia, and pricing of the Mazda isn’t earning it high praise either. But we’ve got our first Aussie drive next month, so the jury’s still out.

Without pushing into premium territory, including the Tesla Model 3, about the only other choice right now that buyers might consider is the Hyundai IONIQ, which is considerably more affordable but lacks the Niro’s practical SUV packaging and its commendable range.

But that’s today, of course.

Hyundai is planning to bring its IONIQ 5 here, the Toyota bZ4X is on its way, Volkswagen has the ID.4 and ID.3, and Kia itself has other EVs in the works. To name just a few…

Life for mainstream brands marketing electric vehicles in Australia is about to get interesting.

How much does the 2021 Kia Niro EV Sport cost?
Price: $65,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 150kW/395Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 64kWh lithium-ion polymer
Range: 455km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 15.9kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested

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