Kia Niro locked in for Oz

Kia is about to launch another all-new SUV in Australia – and its first electric vehicle – with confirmation that the Kia Niro will be offered here from the second quarter of this year in conventional hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full-electric form.

The Korean brand revealed late last year that the all-electric Kia e-Niro would arrive Down Under in the first half of 2021, along with plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) variants of the popular new Kia Sorento large SUV.

But now Kia Australia has detailed plans to offer three electrified powertrains with the 2021 Kia Niro small SUV, in a similar strategy to the one Hyundai has employed with the Hyundai IONIQ passenger car range.

Speaking at the launch of the all-new Kia Carnival people-mover, Kia Australia’s product planning chief Roland Rivero confirmed that the Kia Niro we’re getting will have just received a mid-life update and will be available here from launch in hybrid, PHEV and EV guise.

He also said the Niro would make its local debut at the Kia-sponsored Australian Open tennis tournament, transporting players and officials and being showcased at the event along similar lines to the way the company promoted the new Kia Seltos last year.

As well as putting a first-quarter launch date on the Kia Sorento PHEV, Rivero confirmed that a regular self-charging hybrid powertrain would be offered on Sorento in Australia later in 2021.

The Kia Niro hybrid blends a 77kW/147Nm 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine with a 32kW/170Nm electric motor (delivering a combined output of 104kW) and a 1.56kWh lithium-ion polymer battery. It drives the front wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

The PHEV version uses the same combustion engine with a 45kW/169Nm electric motor and larger 8.9kWh battery, providing an all-electric driving range of up to 42km and fuel consumption as low as 2.2L/100km. This is down from a still-frugal 4.7L/100km quoted for the orthodox hybrid.

The EV version of the Kia Niro, which carsales drove in 2019 when it was under serious consideration for Australia, pairs a 150kW/395Nm electric motor with a 64kWh battery that is claimed to offer a range of about 450km.

The powertrain is the same as that used in the Hyundai Kona Electric, which will also receive an update in the first half of this year.

Given the obvious similarities between Niro and Kona, you can count on the Niro EV being priced in similar territory to the circa-$60,000 Kona Electric.

Meanwhile, the Kia Sorento PHEV on sale soon combines a 132kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine with a 67kW/304Nm electric motor to deliver a combined 195kW/304Nm. It draws from a 13.9kWh lithium-ion polymer battery driving all four wheels (biased towards the front) via a six-speed automatic transmission.

The 2021 Kia Niro joins Seltos, Sportage and Sorento in the brand’s SUV stable, which will soon fill out even further with the sub-Seltos Kia Stonic crossover.