Kia Niro plug-in for NZ
Kia has confirmed that its Niro hybrid will be launched in New Zealand in the first quarter of this year.
Niro, with a 1.6-litre petrol engine and lithium-ion battery pack, was trialled among select media and potential customers in NZ last year, in petrol-electric hybrid form.
That model will also be joined by the latest Niro Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), which can be recharged from an external power source and travel a claimed 40km solely on electric power.
The ‘‘standard’’ hybrid version on 16-inch wheels achieves 3.8 litres per 100km in laboratory testing (4.4l for the more luxurious model on 18in rims), while Kia says the PHEV version is capable of 1.3 litres in mixed-use EV/hybrid driving across the same cycle.
Kia claims the Niro is the ‘‘first dedicated hybrid-SUV to be produced anywhere in the world’’.
What makes it an SUV we’re not sure, but it is a bespoke model built upon a battery-friendly platform (shared with the Ioniq range of cars from parentcompany Hyundai).
Part of Niro’s design and engineering ethos is to present the latest hybrid technology in a very mainstream package.
Hence the SUV styling and a ‘‘normal’’ six-speed automatic gearbox, which is matched to a Transmission Mounted Electric Device (TMED) that can combine full output from both petrol and electric powertrains.
The TMED can also access the battery directly at high speed, for greater acceleration.