Kia Niro GT-Line review: fully loaded, but expensive

While other EVs are grabbing the headlines – and buyers’ attention – this understated model has more standard features for the price.

This one flies under the radar

Kia has spent a lot of money making sure folks interested in an electric car know all about its battery-powered hero. The Kia EV6 is the face of the brand today but it’s not the only electric model offered by the manufacturer. Smaller, cheaper and somewhat less glamorous than the Kia EV6, the compact Kia Niro EV is worth a closer look.

The Kia Niro is smaller, cheaper and less glamorous than the EV6. Picture: Supplied.

It represents an easy transition

Some electric cars feel like spaceships. Odd-looking inside and out, with unfamiliar controls that require a carefully managed handover before you venture into traffic. That’s not the case with the Kia Niro, which looks and feels much like a regular model. Folks familiar with a Kia Sportage or Sorento will feel instantly at home in the Niro, which represents an approachable introduction to the world of electric cars.

The Niro’s cabin feels more conventional than other EVs. Picture: Supplied.

There are plenty of toys to play with

Priced from $72,100 plus on-road costs (about $78,000 drive-away), the Kia Niro GT-Line is not a cheap car. But it is loaded with equipment including twin 10.25-inch wide-screen displays, heated and cooled seats and clever touch-sensitive controls for the climate and infotainment.

Wireless smartphone charging is present, but you need to plug in a USB cable to access smartphone mirroring, sending tunes to an eight-speaker Harman Kardon stereo.

It also looks sharp on the outside, with two-tone paint, machined alloy wheels and interesting aerodynamic touches including a prominent rear spoiler and air blades moulded into the tail-lamps.

Two-tone colours and a rear spoiler give the Niro a sporty look. Picture: Supplied.

But sometimes, less is more

The Niro’s underpinnings are shared with other petrol and hybrid cars, which prevents Kia from fitting an enormous battery into the car. Even so, it has 64.8kWh of energy storage that translates to a claimed 460 kilometres of range. Our time with the car suggests that number should be achievable. It’s quiet on the highway, with a better ride than the previous-generation Niro, thanks to careful local tuning by Kia Australia. Interestingly, the 150kW and 255Nm Niro EV has significantly less torque than the outgoing model – some 140Nm less than last year’s car. That’s because it sends power to front tyres also tasked with steering and turning duties and the eco-friendly, low rolling resistance rubber found on most electric cars struggles to rein in excessive grunt. Kia was not alone in reducing the output of a front-drive electric car recently, and the car doesn’t suffer for it. The Niro still reaches 100km/h in less than eight seconds and is a more refined machine on a day-to-day basis.

Engineering tweaks make the new model easier to drive. Picture: Supplied.

The closest competition might come from within

Kia’s EV6 starts a few hundred dollars upstream from the fully-loaded Niro. If you can go without all the luxury gear of the Niro GT-Line, Kia’s EV6 Air is quite plainly the better car. Based on dedicated EV architecture, it’s more spacious, better balanced on the road, accepts charge at a faster rate, and sends power to the rear wheels – which is almost always preferable to front-wheel drive. If you can find an EV6 Air, it’s well worth the $78,500 asking price. But an EV6 GT-Line with the lot is about $96,000 drive-away – about $18,000 more than the Niro.

Originally published as Kia Niro GT-Line review: fully loaded, but expensive