Electric Kia takes the lead
FOR the most part, electric cars have been small hatchbacks for a number of years. Sure, there have been bigger, more spacious hybrids, but the majority of all-electric vehicles have been built largely as city runabouts. Things are starting to change, however.
Electric cars are becoming a more substantial part of our motoring future, and so they need to fit into our lives the way every other petrol or diesel does.
They need to have more space, more practicality, more performance and quicker charges, not to mention substantially better ranges.
No one wants to spend hours in a service station late into the evening, waiting for a car to charge and enviously staring at those filling up their tanks with petrol or diesel.
One such car is the new Kia e-Niro, the all-electric version of the hybrid Kia Niro that was launched in 2016, of which more than 11,000 have been sold in the UK. It promises almost all of the aforementioned qualities, and is wrapped up in a currently fashionable SUV bodystyle.
It’s an attractive car, there’s no denying that, and if you look closely you’ll notice the front grille, front bumper, 17-inch alloy wheels and rear bumper have all been changed from the standard hybrid Niro. It’s just a shame the choice of colours is rather uninspiring.
Underneath those looks, almost all of the electric technology is identical to that of the Hyundai Kona, the all-electric crossover from Kia’s sister company.
But where the Kona comes in two distinct range and performance flavours, the e-Niro can only be bought with the longer range, higher performing battery and electric motor combination.
As a result, the e-Niro performs like a very normal SUV. Drive with some care and you should be able to manage 282 miles on a single charge – and because electric motors can deliver all of their power immediately it actually feels quite quick.
While the e-Niro’s 104mph top speed is nothing to write home about, 0 to 60mph takes 7.5 seconds. That’s really impressive for a seemingly normal SUV, and four seconds faster than the hybrid Niro.
Will the e-Niro actually manage 282 miles on a full charge? Well, electric cars haven’t always had the best reputation for delivering on their figures, but Kia has taken a number of steps in the hope of building a car that doesn’t overpromise and under-deliver, like a