Kia e-Niro (2019) Review

Kia e-Niro (2019) At A Glance

Desirable electric crossover SUV. Very spacious. Impressive 282-mile range. Seven-year warranty.

Expensive compared to the Hyundai Kona Electric and Nissan Leaf. Demand is likely to exceed supply.

Satisfaction Index

Reviews for Kia e-Niro (2019)'s top 3 rivals

Hyundai Kona

Electric version of Hyundai Kona. Two models available: 39KWh with a range of 180 miles and a 64KWh version...

Honda Jazz

Very practical. Safe. Cheap to run. More desirable than ever before.

Polestar 2

Looks great, drives great.

Ask Honest John

What's the best small, electric 4x4?

"I'm planning to use our 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman for a deposit on an electric 4x4, some kind of lease deal. The question is, what 4x4 do we need? We share our time between London and rural Suffolk, and the lanes have been particularly muddy and icy of late. It would also need to transport two cocker spaniels and have enough room in the back for baby seats as we have grandchildren (dogs and children not necessarily at the same time as we have access to other cars). So, as small as possible, decent off-road ability and ground clearance, funky, and able to travel between London and Suffolk easily in terms of range. Thanks."

The Jaguar I-Pace might do the job. It has an official range of up to 292 miles and is a fairly practical choice, but it's not cheap. Also consider the Audi e-tron or Mercedes EQC. Alternatively, if you're happy to compromise on the 4x4 requirement, consider the Peugeot e-2008 or Kia e-Niro. Both are very versatile small electric crossovers.

Answered by Andrew Brady

What winter or all-season tyres should I put on my electric car?

"I live in an area of Wales where we can get quite a lot of snow and ice in the winter. I have previously had 4x4s and fitted winter tyres but now have a Kia e-Niro with its original spec Michelins. I'm planning on fitting winter tyres soon but wonder if there is anything I need to be aware of in choosing for an electric car. Is there a specific winter tyre that you would recommend? I'm also wondering whether the Michelin Cross Climates may be as good as fitting specific winter tyres. Your advice would be much appreciated."

Michelin Cross Climates+ and other all-season tyres are a good middle ground for those who usually change between summer and winter tyres anyway. It saves the hassle and cost of getting them changed, as well as storing the alternate set for half of the year. There's nothing really worth considering in terms of buying tyres for an EV, though you could look at tyres that'll offer decent fuel economy. Here are the tyres I'd look at if I were you: Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-2 are good in wet, dry and snowy weather. They're also quiet on the move. Continental AllSeasonContact are another great all-rounder for all-season performance, and they're good on fuel. But they aren't as quiet or refined as rivals. Goodyear UltraGrip 8 Performance are also great snow tyres. The Falken Euro All Season AS200 are good in the snow and they're quiet tyres, but not as good as rivals in wet weather. They're also not great on fuel economy. Michelin Cross Climate+ are good in dry and wet weather but aren't quite so good in the snow. But the Michelins aren't too pricey and there are lots of sizes available - which is a big plus.

Answered by Georgia Petrie

Why is there such a long wait for new electric cars?

"Just tried to buy a Peugeot e-2008 from my local dealer, it had done 250 miles and was their demonstrator. However, Peugeot has said they can’t sell me that particular car. There is a six to seven-month wait for a similar vehicle. Can you recommend a similar vehicle in the same price range?"

There's a lot of demand for electric vehicles at the moment so it's not surprising to hear of a long waiting list for the Peugeot e-2008. Also consider the Kia e-Niro, Hyundai Kona Electric or maybe the MG ZS Electric.

Answered by Andrew Brady

Will a Kia E-Niro's electric range suit long drives?

"I'm thinking of buying. Kia E-Niro. Can it be charged at home and how long will it take to charge? I travel 150 miles twice a week, is this car any good for long journeys?"

The Kia e-Niro is an excellent electric car. The long-range model can officially travel up to 282 miles between charges, so 150 miles should be comfortably doable. A home wallbox will take around 9.5 hours to fully charge it (from 0-100%) while a rapid charger (such as those found at motorway service stations) will top it up from 20-80% in a little over 40 minutes. You should be able to charge it at home for less than £10, depending on how much you pay for electricity.

Answered by Andrew Brady

On the inside of an Kia e-Niro (2019)

• Boot space is 451–1405 litres

While some electric cars feel very futuristic inside, the e-Niro's interior just feels like any other car - albeit one that's rather premium and well-equipped. There are lots of soft-touch materials and everything feels logically laid out. It's not quite a Volkswagen Group product, but it's not far off.

An eight-inch media display in the centre of the dash is standard, featuring navigation with European mapping, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It's a really good system - reacting quickly to commands with menus that are easy to navigate.

There are only five seats, but there's plenty of space inside the e-Niro. There's loads of room up front, with plenty of adjustment in the driver's seat to make finding a comfortable driving position easy. You don't sit as high as in some crossover SUVs, but access is painless and you do feel elevated compared to rival electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf.

Three adults can fit in the back without it feeling too snug, although the middle passenger might not be so happy after a long journey - not helped by a bump in the floor. There are two Isofix points for fitting child seats and good visibility should help prevent travel sickness.

The boot is surprisingly big - even bigger than the hybrid Niro, and loading bulky objects is relatively easy. The rear seats can, of course, be dropped should you need more room.

Specification (from launch):

First Edition models feature 17-inch alloy wheels, seven-inch digital instrument panel, eight-speaker JBL premium sound system, black leather seats, electric parking brake with autohold, eight=inch touchscreen display with navigation and European mapping, smart cruise control with stop and go, lane keeping assist with driver attention warning, forward collision-avoidance assist.

Child seats that fit a Kia e-Niro (2019)

Our unique Car Seat Chooser shows you which child car seats will fit this car and which seat positions that they will fit, so that you don't have to check every car seat manufacturer's website for compatibility.

Which car seat will suit you?

Driving Kia e-Niro (2019)

With a generous 204PS and 395Nm of torque, the Kia e-Niro will surprise anyone who's not driven an electric car before. As soon as you press the accelerator, it surges forwards without delay. There's no hesitation as the automatic gearbox kicks down or any waiting for the revs to build, like you'll find in a petrol or diesel car.

Of course, this isn't always ideal. If you're clumsy with the accelerator the wheels will spin, even in the dry, but you soon learn to drive around that.

Performance peters out once you're above 40mph, but it's eager enough to join the motorway or overtake when required. Drivers can select from three different drive modes: eco, comfort and sport. The latter's a bit out of character for the car, making the steering heavier and the throttle even more responsive. It's best left in comfort.

With the batteries positioned under the floor, the e-Niro doesn't roll about as much on twisty roads as you might expect for a heavy crossover. It's not as enjoyable to drive out of town as a Volkswagen e-Golf, but it's fun to drive in urban areas and easy to position thanks to its superb visibility. Standard parking sensors and reversing camera are useful, too.

Wind and road noise is quite noticeable at higher speeds, but it's still a very relaxing car to drive day-to-day. There's lots of technology to make life more comfortable on the motorway, such as its adaptive cruise control (which slows down and speeds up with traffic) and lane keep assist, which will nudge you back into your lane if you stray without indicating.

There are paddles located behind the steering wheel, which allow you to increase or decrease the regenerative braking depending on your requirements. With this cranked up to the max, it uses the e-Niro's electric motors to slow the car down quite dramatically without you having to touch the brakes.

It's great around town, as you can almost resort to one-pedal driving (although it's not quite as severe as the system used in the Nissan Leaf). Turn it down a few notches and it will coast like a petrol or diesel car.

Charging is simple enough, using a flap located in the e-Niro's grille. You can plug it into any domestic socket using a three-pin plug (provided with the car), but it takes nearly 30 hours to charge it fully this way. You'd be much better to have a 7.2kW charger installed at home, which will take around nine hours to charge the battery fully.

When plugged into a 100kW fast charger, Kia says the e-Niro can be topped up from 20 to 80 per cent in just 42 minutes. Finding such powerful chargers in the UK are difficult - but a rapid charge at the motorway services should be able to charge the e-Niro up to 80 per cent in just over an hour.

Kia e-Niro (2019) Models and Specs

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Model History

• October 2018: Kia confirms details of electric e-Niro
• December 2018: Kia issues corrected range figures
• December 2018: Kia e-Niro prices announced
• December 2019: New top-spec Kia e-Niro 4 announced