Niro 4

Suck the fun out of driving with the Niro EV.

I've put specific EV issues at the bottom of this review...

Forgive me, I am particularly unhappy with my NiroEV.
To be fair it has always been efficient in getting from A to B, but there is little enjoyment to be had in driving it.
The trigger here, in the end, was that the dealership was unconcerned my new KIA had failed to start many times - maybe they were unsurprised; the EV6 stablemate has had similar issues with something called Zombie mode.
After this, I felt I had had made a rotten choice, or that it was tough and that all cars are like this these days...
When I traded my car in and opted for a European brand with more experience in electric vehicle manufacture than KIA I found that there is at least one EV of similar size and range to the Niro EV that beats it in virtually every way.
So I'm sorry that the Niro EV got me so wound up that I felt compelled to write such a poor review, but my review is still my actual experience of it. I stand by it.

Styling:
Why doesn't the charge door on the nose of the car ever shut so that it's flush?
No one ever complimented its styling.
And actually now I think about it, I don't like it either.
Looks like a toad.

Dashboard noises:
It rattles. Not sure from where exactly, but it's temperature related, and it's coming from two places. Annoying.

Passenger seat noises:
It actually rattles when no one is sitting in it. I think it's coming from the headrest. That’s fairly annoying too.

Boot noises:
Something in the boot moves about as you turn through corners. It's constant.
I was never been able to pin it down, but it's a common problem as it's mentioned in Niro EV forums.
They seem to think it's the boot door moving about.
My boot door was powered.
Annoying.

Overtaking:
There’s plenty of power, but the Niro feels too heavy.
It’s got no enjoyment designed into the chassis, and therefore, overtaking anything sensibly is quite disconcerting.

Suspension, ride and driving:
It has suspension - it's just not done very well.
Rough, and noisy, and at times actually worrisome.
What do I mean by this?
On some fairly innocent looking road surface undulations the Niro feels like it’s raising a white flag.
Once, under acceleration on a wet road there was such a loud bang from the front suspension that I actually got out and inspected the car for some sort of impact. There was none.
On a separate incident the tracking went out during strong braking.
I felt compelled to warn passengers every time there was a pothole on the horizon that was unavoidable so they could brace themselves for the shock.
These incidents lead me to believe that the suspension and steering on the Niro have not been made very well.

Driving assistance:
Again, not done very well.
Very annoying with endless notifications, beeps and warnings, and very strong tugs at the wheel. Hateful.

Stop and start cruise control:
Not done very well.
In town driving it loses sight of the car in front. Very little automation - lots of input required.
Lots of beeps and warnings all the time. Pointless.

Uncomfortable plastic seats.
Long journeys are not good. Dead-legs On Arrival (DOA).

Touch screen (So-called):
Horrible to use.
Like a very old iPad - it doesn't respond to touch and you end up pressing again. Very distracting.
Goodness only knows how old that chip-set is.

Rear wash/wipe: simple thing to get right with a bit of thought. No.
Not done well at all.
Doesn't spray evenly down the rear screen.
Even the rear washer is noisy enough to make passengers turn around to see what is happening.
Then, it misses a large section so that some of the rear window is clean and some is scratched and dirty. Thoughtless.

Why would there be a ripple in the rear glass?
My guess is it's just not been made very well.

Windscreen: Very important to get right.
Not made very well. Night driving is awful.
Difficult to see through during night driving with oncoming headlamps having a mass of glare around them (this is brand new).
I've cleaned and cleaned it. Makes no difference.
It's not me because, this isn't happening on my replacement car which, is NOT a KIA.

Every journey starts like this: Annoying.
Walk up to the car and the door mirrors fold out, but nothing else happens so, to unlock the car you press the button on the door handle, but it doesn't unlock yet, oh no. Not yet.
Wait for a "click", then wait for another, okay now it's unlocked and you can open the door.
Get in and close the door. Then open and shut it again, because it didn't close fully.
Roll the dice to start the car, but don't be late for the train; IF the Niro actually starts, the touchscreen system will then take an AGE to get going too.
Look down, and turn the gear selector to R and reverse off the drive.
Look down again and turn the gear selector to D.

There's lots of looking down, or looking away from actually driving, with this car. Very little comes naturally.

Where was I? Oh yes - sometimes I've left the driveway and STILL the radio hasn't woken up.
..and yes, the Niro has broken down and refused to start several times. Woeful.

Tethered AppleCarPlay in the Niro is hit and miss, and a right faff through the so-called touch screen.
Try listening to the radio instead. Only a few presses of the touch panel/screen to get there.

Voice control:
Useless. Hopeless. It can do very little of any worth. It's just another "looking away" from driving, distraction.

Heater controls.
Not tailored for the UK market so, the four heater icons you're going to be most interested in are an arm-reach away, or as stated, in the perfect position for a LHDrive car.
Annoying.


EVness:
Loses 1% of charge every night. That's not right, surely?

No OTA Over The Air vehicle updates - you have to go the dealership.
What this means for you is that when your Smartphone gets an update and the KIA App doesn't work anymore, you have to get the car updated at the dealership which, takes a day. Annoying.

EV's are mostly refined and quiet.
The Niro EV is neither of these things.
On the surface the quality appears to be high, but under the skin it's noisy, and rough.

I got rid of my Niro EV as soon as I could at enormous expense: the trade-in value was absolutely cruel.

Value for money:
Kia are raising their heads above the parapet with all their recently super-stylish cars, but quality is only as thin as the paint on the Niro EV.
For a newly designed EV it charges too slowly, it drives too poorly, and the add-on extras don't work as you expect.
Added to this, it's absolutely no fun to drive whatsoever and makes you reach for your wife's keys instead.

Definitely overpriced. Look elsewhere.

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