- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.6i/32kW Hybrid, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
136kW (comb), 170Nm
- Fuel
Hybrid (91) 4L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto (DCT)
- Warranty
7 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2022)
2023 Kia Niro review: Australian first drive
The 2023 Kia Niro mixes sharp new design and a much more modern interior with a choice of efficient hybrid or long-range electric powertrains.
- Upmarket interior design
- Spacious seating
- Vastly improved dynamics
- Ambitious pricing
- Stiff ride on Niro Electric
- Dual-role steering wheel paddles on Niro Hybrid
Introduction
While the Kia Niro nameplate is only a relative newcomer to the Australian market, the 2023 Kia Niro seen here marks the arrival of the second-generation Niro, just 14 months after the first-generation car went on sale.
The new model cuts a much sharper figure, with some familiar Kia styling elements blended with angular new cues not seen on the previous, much softer model.
There are now two powertrain options: a closed-loop petrol-electric hybrid or an all-electric model. Both are front-wheel drive, and the previous plug-in hybrid model hasn’t returned this time around.
Electric Cars Guide
Would you like to learn more about electric cars? Visit the Drive Electric Cars guide for information, tutorials and links to more content.
Both powertrain options are available in entry-level S and up-spec GT-Line trims. Base price for the Niro Hybrid S starts from $44,380 plus on-road costs, while the GT-Line Hybrid steps up to $50,030 plus on-road costs.
Opt for a Niro Electric and pricing kicks off from $65,300 in S trim, or $72,100 for the GT-Line.
Hybrid models claim fuel usage of 4.0L/100km, while the Electric has a claimed range of 460km from a 64.8kWh battery.
Equipment found on the S Hybrid includes 16-inch wheels, halogen headlights with LED ‘heart rate monitor’ daytime running lights, LED tail-lights, gloss-black roof rails, dual-zone climate control, polyurethane steering wheel, soft-touch mesh-textured dash and front door armrest, electrically adjustable driver’s seat, and an 8.0-inch infotainment screen.
The Niro Electric S swaps out some of those features for LED headlights, a premium leather-look steering wheel, and adds in a 10.25-inch digital instrument display.
Moving up to the GT-Line brings a full faux-leather interior (instead of part fabric/pleather), laminated front door glass and privacy tinted rear glass, ambient interior lighting, a curved dual-screen instrument panel, and 18-inch wheels on the GT-Line Hybrid (or 17s on all Electric grades).
Full pricing and spec info can be found here.
For Kia this represents something of a problem. The small SUV Niro Hybrid costs almost as much as a top-spec Toyota RAV4 Cruiser 2WD ($45,750), meanwhile if you head to a Hyundai Showroom, an Ioniq 5 is larger, with longer range, and more powerful than a Niro Electric GT-Line, but still (slightly) cheaper.
Not to mention stiff competition from cars like the $64,000 Hyundai Kona Highlander Extended Range ($64,000), Polestar 2 Long Range Single Motor ($68,400), and Tesla Model Y with a $72,300 start price – all before on-road costs.
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Key details | 2023 Kia Niro Hybrid | 2023 Kia Niro EV |
Price (MSRP) | From $44,380 plus on-road costs | From $65,300 plus on-road costs |
Colour of test car | Cityscape Green | Snow White Pearl |
Options | None | None |
Rivals | Hyundai Kona Electric | Tesla Model Y | Hyundai Ioniq 5 |
Inside
The interior of the 2023 Kia Niro is a nice place to spend time. Unlike the first generation car, which arrived in Australia with a few years under its belt already, the new Niro is as fresh as they come.
Design elements from the EV6 and Sportage make their way to the interior, with features like the mesh dash covering and touch panel climate/media control bar cribbed from elsewhere in the Kia range.
The more ergonomic design and minimalist design ethos made for a roomier feeling cabin too.
Front seat comfort is quite roomy, and it;s easy to forget the Niro isn’t a larger SUV. Kia’s ergonomic work has paid off, although for me the touch row you can flick between media controls and climate is fussier to use in a moving car then it needs to be.
Niro S models suffer from the same problem as the new Sportage too, with a wide array of button blanks staring back at the buyer as a constant reminder they didn’t string for the GT-Line.
Rear seat comfort is similarly decent, and rear passengers get air vents in the back of the console, with access to USB-C chargers in the sides of the front seats. There’s also a a USB-A and USB-C port up front.
With upright rear doors, and no sloping roof line, getting in and out of the back is nice and easy too.
At the rear, Niro Hybrid has a boot rated at 425 litres with the rear seats up, or 1419 with the second row folded. A space-saver spare is located under the boot floor.
Niro Electric models have a slightly larger 475-litre boot to the rear seats, or a slightly smaller 1392-litre space with the seats folded. A puncture repair kit takes the place of a spare wheel for the Niro Electric.
2023 Kia Niro Hybrid | 2023 Kia Niro EV | |
Seats | Five | Five |
Boot volume | 425L seats up 1419L seats folded | 475L seats up 1392L seats folded |
Length | 4420mm | 4420mm |
Width | 1825mm | 1825mm |
Height | 1545mm | 1570mm |
Wheelbase | 2720mm | 2720mm |
Infotainment and Connectivity
Inside the 2023 Kia Niro S features an 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen with Bluetooth, AM/FM/DAB radio, a six-speaker audio system, wireless Apple CarPlay, and wireless plus wired Android Auto.
GT-Line models step up to a 10.25-inch central screen and 10.25-inch instrument display, along with a 10-inch head-up display ahead of the driver.
Satellite navigation and a new Kia Connect telematics system with seven years of complimentary access to remote services including vehicle lock/unlock, location services, range/fuel level status, and charging/pre-conditioning data (Niro Electric) are also included with the GT-Line.
The all-new interior houses separated displays in the Niro S, and a dual-display integrated panel in the GT-Line. The Niro Hybrid S features a 4.2-inch colour display between digitised speed and rpm readouts, while the Niro Electric S adds a 10.25-inch fully-digital instrument cluster.
As seen on the larger Kia Sportage and EV6, beneath the infotainment screen is an integrated touch panel capable of being switched between infotainment and climate control functions. GT-Line models also add a wireless charging pad in the centre console.
Safety and Technology
The 2023 Kia Niro is yet to be tested by either ANCAP or Euro NCAP and does not yet carry a safety rating.
All variants in the range come with autonomous emergency braking including car, pedestrian, cyclist and intersection intervention. Lane-keep and lane-follow assist, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic alert and avoidance, and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go can also be found in each variant.
A reversing camera, rear park sensors, driver attention alert, intelligent speed limit assist, and rear seat reminder are also along for the ride.
Move up to the GT-Line and additional features like safe-exit assist (to prevent opening the door into an approaching car or cyclist), reverse parking collision avoidance, and front park sensors also join the specification list.
2023 Kia Niro | |
ANCAP rating | Untested |
Value for Money
With the electric vehicle landscape fast-evolving, Kia’s gamble on Niro pricing is a high-stakes one.
With a $65,300 starting price for the Niro Electric S, this costs more than a $63,900 Tesla Model S, $63,900 Polestar 2 Standard Range Single Motor, or an Hyundai Kona Electric, in either entry level or top-spec Extended range trim, with a $60,500–$64,000 price spread.
Similarly, with a $44,380 start price, the Kia Niro Hybrid S is more expensive than any Toyota C-HR variant, but is over $2000 less than the cheapest plug-in hybrid Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross. A two-wheel-drive Toyota RAV4 Hybrid XSE is less, as is a Haval H6 Hybrid – when you take into account its drive-away pricing – and both are larger.
At a glance | 2023 Kia Niro Hybrid | 2023 Kia Niro EV |
Warranty | Seven years / unlimited km | Seven years / unlimited km |
Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km | 12 months or 15,000km |
Servicing costs | $1299 (3 yrs), $2645 (5 yrs), $4010 (7 yrs) | $621 (3 yrs), 1183 (5 yrs), $1751 (7 yrs) |
Energy cons. (claimed) | N/A | 16.2kWh/100km |
Energy cons. (on test) | N/A | 21.8kWh/100km |
Battery size | N/A | 64.8kWh |
Range claim (WLTP) | N/A | 460km |
Charge time (11kW) | N/A | 6h 20m |
Charge time (50kW) | N/A | 1h 5m |
Charge time (100kW) | N/A | 45m |
In terms of ongoing costs, the Niro Hybrid is available with pay-as-you-go capped-price servicing, which will tally up to $4010 over seven years. The Niro Electric is available with a choice of pay per visit or pre-paid service plans. In each case, you’ll pay $1754 over seven years.
During the Niro launch drive, we sampled both the Hybrid and Electric in Adelaide and the surrounding Adelaide hills. Against a 4.0L/100km claim, the Niro Hybrid used an indicated 5.5L/100km. The Niro Electric claims 16.2kWh/100km and used 21.8kWh/100km during the drive loop.
Kia suggests a 460km driving range (to WLTP standards), up just 5km over the outgoing model, despite a same-size battery capacity and slightly higher consumption in the new model.
Fuel Consumption - brought to you by bp
Fuel Usage (Hybrid) | Fuel Stats |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 4.0L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 5.5L/100km |
Fuel type | 91-octane regular unleaded |
Fuel tank size | 42L |
Driving
Starting the drive program in the Niro Hybrid reveals that the Niro has jumped massively between generations.
Quieter, smoother, and all-around nicer to drive, the 2023 Kia Niro Hybrid ticks all the boxes.
Ride quality errs towards firm for tootling around town, but at no stage is it too harsh or uncomfortable.
Performance is pleasingly peppy around town, without bordering on performance territory. Perhaps the most significant difference, for anyone used to a Toyota hybrid, is Kia’s use of a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which has a positive impact on acceleration and delivers a hybrid that feels much more traditional to drive.
Under the bonnet lives a 77kW/144Nm 1.6-litre engine that works in conjunction with a 32kW/170Nm electric motor for a combined 104kW and 265Nm. The on-tap torque available makes for good rolling acceleration, and the package is refined and quiet overall.
Switch to the Niro Electric, and despite the external similarities, the feel and performance are quite different.
As is the case with all electric vehicles, the Niro delivers a near-silent experience, and with a single-speed transmission, there’s nothing to interrupt or upset the flow of acceleration.
With additional weight from the battery pack, ride is impacted. The Niro Electric feels heavier and rides more firmly around town. On the open road, and threading through corners, that extra weight, despite being mounted low in the car, gives the Niro a more clumsy, almost top-heavy feel.
Both cars have paddles on the steering wheel that can be used to adjust the amount of battery regen in EV mode, or in the Hybrid to control the gears manually with the petrol motor running.
The Niro EV also features a one-pedal driving mode, which means the accelerator can be used as the sole pedal (except where an emergency stop is required) with the car rolling to a graceful stop when the accelerator is lifted. Unlike in Kia’s EV6, i-pedal mode doesn't remap the accelerator as aggressively, leaving the Niro feeling peppy when it’s in use.
If you do opt to drive without one-pedal driving, the brakes have a smooth and fluent feel to them, and speed is wiped off, the transition from regen braking to friction brakes is smooth, and at times hard to pick.
In this generation, Kia has kept the 150kW power output the same, but actually reduced the motor’s torque to 255Nm, down from 395Nm previously.
The aim here was to improve around-town drivability, and it seems to have worked. There’s less tugging through the front wheels, and much more controllability in the wet.
Key details | 2023 Kia Niro Hybrid | 2023 Kia Niro EV |
Engine | 1.6-litre four-cylinder hybrid | Single electric motor |
Power | 77kW @ 5700rpm petrol 32kW electric 104kW combined | 150kW |
Torque | 144Nm @ 4000rpm petrol 170Nm electric 265Nm combined | 255Nm |
Drive type | Front-wheel drive | Front-wheel drive |
Transmission | Six-speed dual-clutch automatic | Single-speed automatic |
Power to weight ratio | 72kW/t | 87kW/t |
Weight (tare | 1454kg | 1727kg |
Tow rating | 1300kg braked, 600kg unbraked | 750kg braked, 300kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 10.6m | 10.6m |
Conclusion
Kia has delivered an excellent small SUV with lively dynamics, a well-designed and spacious interior, and a choice of frugal hybrid or long-range electric models.
So there must be a catch, right? Absolutely, and in this case it’s the price. While Kia still lays claim to some of Australia’s cheapest cars at the small end of its range, the Niro is priced like a premium product.
Treading on the toes of bigger hybrids, like the RAV4, and electric cars from Tesla, Polestar and more seems like folly. Yes, the Niro is good, but at the top of the range it’s surrounded by equally good competitors, and is only going to have a harder time as even more competitors join the market.