Page 1 of 2

Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:09 pm
by FuzzyDuck
Hi,

I currently have a diesel Qashqai on a PCP deal that runs until the end of the year. I've started to look around for a replacement as I want to move away from a diesel car. So my key requirements are:

1) Small/medium SUV (with a decent boot space for golf clubs & trolley)
2) Petrol Hybrid (but not PHEV)
3) Driver aids such as lane assist, collision warning etc.
4) Sunroof or panaramic roof

The last one is actually from wife, she hates dingy interiors. Nissan fails on 2) as they have no hybrids currently. I looked at the Toyota C-HR which initially looked attractive but fails on 4). I eventually found the Kia Niro and as far as I can see the Niro 4 ticks all the boxes. The only other request from wife is that the car should be in red, but it seems the 4 is not available in that colour, which seems strange.

I've had a few quotes via CarWow and the best deal is from Kia Lincoln, roughly %13 discount (including deposit contribution) which seems a good deal. I would rather deal with my local Kia dealer (Basingstoke) but in case they won't (can't) match the Lincoln deal, does anyone have any feelings on the Lincoln dealership (good or bad)?

Thanks

Steve

Re: Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2018 6:12 pm
by Pippy. Polo
That is a shame the your local dealer won't match the price as we used carwow got great offers then went to triangle of Chesterfield and thay matched the deal on my niro 4 so happy 😊 days good luck with your decision

Re: Prospective new Niro owner - New enquiry

Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 1:29 pm
by Samir
Hi,

I am considering buying a Niro but can't decide on HEV or PHEV.
I live in London (suburbs), and do a fair amount of stop start driving.
Is the premium of the PHEV worth the money over that of an HEV?
If I use a/c or heating the motor turns on, so what is the point of PHEV?
Apparently the use of heating has a significant impact on the EV range.

Re: Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 10:29 pm
by niroal
I can get up to 900 mpg on a single 31 mile journey in my PHEV this time of year & without trying easily over 1000 miles on the smaller tank than the standard model.

If it is worth it depends on what it costs extra. It costs us less than £20 extra a month than the standard model so justifiable for the increased economy & more powerful electric motor.

BTW once the engine is warm, the car will run the heating with the engine off & air conditioning can run on the electric at all times so does not need the petrol engine.

Re: Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 10:33 pm
by AlanW55
Very tricky to answer on such scanty information. The A/C runs off the lithium battery, the heating works off the heat from the engine ( I assume you mean the petrol engine when you say motor, not the electric motor) . It is the case that the engine can be running under no load, merely providing heat, while the electric motor is doing all the work moving the car, all dependent on battery charge etc. For example, on a cold winter morning, after you have charged the PHEV overnight, it will set off under electric power, but the engine will start to provide heating without contributing to moving the car ( this can occur because there is a clutch between engine and motor, that would be open in these circumstances). So the engine will be using petrol, but only minimal due to low load.

Re: Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2018 11:33 am
by niroal
AlanW55 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 28, 2018 10:33 pm Very tricky to answer on such scanty information. The A/C runs off the lithium battery, the heating works off the heat from the engine ( I assume you mean the petrol engine when you say motor, not the electric motor) . It is the case that the engine can be running under no load, merely providing heat, while the electric motor is doing all the work moving the car, all dependent on battery charge etc. For example, on a cold winter morning, after you have charged the PHEV overnight, it will set off under electric power, but the engine will start to provide heating without contributing to moving the car ( this can occur because there is a clutch between engine and motor, that would be open in these circumstances). So the engine will be using petrol, but only minimal due to low load.
Your understanding follows what I find. On this morning's very cold start, the petrol engine ran on what I assume is idle for the few few miles, as the revs did not appear to alter with speed & the car stated it was still running in EV mode even though. The engine power is not totally wasted as according to the energy flow diagram it is supplying (granted limited) power to the traction battery to keep it topped up. Once the petrol engine was warmed up it shut off, but its residual heat continued to warm the interior even after the engine had shut down.

Re: Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 7:34 am
by Samir
Hi All,

Thank you for your responses.

Looks Like I most likely go for PHEV.

Three more questions;

1) Most of the online car reviews ( Auto Express, Autocar, etc) rate the car as average with a very firm ride, how do you rate the ride and handling. I currently drive a Mercedes A Class ( Previous generation), diesel, which has a decent mid range pick up, which is ideal for overtaking. The ride in my car is firm, but rarely causes any handling issues, eg vibrations intruding into the car due to rough road.

2) Most of the supermarkets near me have charge points, are these charge points universal, or is it a case of finding one that fits, eg, can I use Tesla supercharger point?

3) I was a little concerned about the quality of the plastics used, as they seem quite hard and brittle, How do you find the overall quality of the car?
I noticed that Skoda and the new VW T-Roc use very similar plastics in their builds.

4) I have yet to figure out how to make a new post. The last one I sent was tagged onto the end of an existing post. This is the first forum I have joined so am a bit of a novice.

Re: Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2018 7:40 pm
by Suman
I can answer a couple of questions:

1. The ride is pretty firm on the 18" wheels but not terrible. You'll certainly notice it on London's terrible streets.

3. There are some hard plastics in places, but the major touch points (arm rests, steering wheel, seats and controls, central cubby lid) are good quality. The only rough plastic item I would touch occasionally is the glove box handle.

Re: Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:46 pm
by Samir
Thank you Suman for your comments, I will bear that in mind.

I how create a post, as I have been looking, but not able to figure it out. I had to tag on the end of another post.

This is the first forum I have joined.

Re: Prospective new Niro owner

Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 4:39 pm
by niroal
Samir

In answer to your questions:

1 The PHEV on 16" wheels does not have a particularly poor ride, but it is not pillow soft either. I have been in a current shape A class & the ride is no worse than that.
2 Supermarket chargepoints are generally 3 or 7 kW untethered chargers that you use the supplied cable to connect to. However most near me are run by charging companies, they may charge a connection fee or a subscription service, so do some don't so without specifics I can't help you there. Most chargepoints with an attached cable are rapid chargers & are not designed for relatively slow charging cars like PHEVs. Tesla points are generally for Teslas only.

3 I agree with Suman about the plastics, touch points are great, I find the steering wheel much more expensive feeling than my previous 2015 Ford Kuga.

4 In each forum heading, near the top is a box that says New Topic, clicking on that starts a new thread.