Boot undertray

All Kia Niro related discussions
djbobbins
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by djbobbins »

My Niro 2 is in order and due for delivery (hopefully) in late May.

When we test drove, one of the slight concerns we had was about the size of the boot (bearing in mind the other vehicles we were considering were a Skoda Octavia or Superb estate).

The width and (front to back) depth of the boot seem okay but I'm conscious that the polystyrene undertray uses up about 10cm of height, which will be a constraint when it comes to loading suitcases for the family European road trip this summer. I don't want to defeat the purpose of having an efficient hybrid by whacking a great big roof box on top of the car!

Does anyone have any experience of removing the undertray and its not-very-useful-for-suitcases small cubby hole type storage? Is anyone out there selling aftermarket lower profile liners?

Any info much appreciated!

gimball
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2016 4:38 pm

Post by gimball »

I got mine without the styrofoam thingy from the dealer, the boot is quite large that way.
djbobbins
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by djbobbins »

Does that mean it's onto the metal or is there a lower profile liner / carpeted floor in the boot?

I know I ought to have checked when I test drove the car, but the test car was the sales guy's own vehicle and had his golf clubs in the boot!
h2onorth
Posts: 174
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2016 6:19 pm

Post by h2onorth »

Hi Guys. On my Niro 2 ,under the styrofoam storage tray is another tray, held in by, if there was one, a spare wheel retaining lug. In this sparsely occupied tray is only the puncture repair kit and 12volt pump together with locking nut key. Take this out and you have a full size spare wheel space plus a bit more. If a spare wheel was in its place ( special order) the usual styrofoam insert holds the jack , wheel brace, screw driver and locking nut key.
The space left above the spare wheel leaves about an inch to the boot floor covering. For a holiday you could remove the styrofoam bits and fill the the space left ( bare metal) with soft items.
BUT BUT touring holiday with no puncture repair or spare wheel option seems somewhat risky.
I intend to buy a space saver or spare wheel so as to ensure not to get immobilised if blowout or ruined tyre/ wheel
Good luck h2onorth
djbobbins
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by djbobbins »

That's really helpful, thank-you.

I will be having a think about getting a spare wheel (even if only a space saver) as I've seen people get caught out by splitting a sidewall on a tyre, having no spare and being miles away from somewhere to get it changed.

In my case the company fleet provider covers Europe-wide breakdown etc so I'd be able to get it fixed but it would be a headache, time delay etc - especially if in rural France at 10pm on a Sunday evening!
djbobbins
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by djbobbins »

I did a bit of exploration yesterday evening.

The polystyrene moulded tool holders will readily lift out (tools can be carried in much less space).

The plastic mouldings under the boot floor which bring it up to level with the lip edge (I guess somewhere between 100 and 150mm) can be removed by undoing the sum total of 10 cross head screws. This then leaves the painted metal boot floor, with wheel well (looks big enough for a space saver wheel still).

I didn't measure the new height of the boot but my gut feel is that it'd be tall enough to stand airline carry-on wheeled cases (which my kids use as luggage for holidays) upright, as opposed to on their sides. This will make a significant difference to the volume of luggage we will be able to get in the boot and should remove the need for fitting a roof rack and topbox, which would I suspect seriously hamper the fuel economy on a 2,000+ mile road trip.

I can partly understand the benefit of the boot floor being flat to the lip edge, but for holiday travel when large items are being carried, the nooks & crannies within the moulded plastic under the false floor are of little use.

As the lift-out upholstered false floor does not quite fit the aperture when the plastic mouldings are removed, the only thing I need to decide is whether to really go to town on adapting the boot for more practical use by cutting some 13mm plywood to the right size for the aperture without the plastic mouldings in place, then upholstering it in black automotive carpet.

I am convinced this would be a practical aftermarket option for someone to develop (but in a more professional plastic, rather than my Heath-Robinson plywood, obviously!). Other cars with false boot floors, from my experience, have it such that these can be readily lifted out. I'm surprised that Kia didn't do something similar, or offer a larger boot (without the false floor) as an option. Hey ho, necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes.
h2onorth
Posts: 174
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2016 6:19 pm

Post by h2onorth »

Hi djbobbins . Like u I looked at the space options below boot floor. I have bought and fitted space saver there by removing the pump and puncture kit polystyrene package. I kept the top storage unit as it still fits. (Not for a full size spare of course) I store my jack and tools in the existing polystyrene unit.
Yes the space you describe could be used and I suppose your new lining would level/ smoth the uneven floor currently there. Presumably you would need to keep your puncture kit somewhere else, particularly if a long journey is being considered.
h2onorth
djbobbins
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by djbobbins »

Yes, my plan is to temporarily remove the tools, puncture repair gunk, compressor etc from their respective polystyrene mouldings and store them in the (now shallower) wheel well.

Black automotive carpet is available from eBay for £15 or so for a piece that would do the new false floor probably twice over. The existing plastic false floor would just about fit but does not sit flat owing to there being two lugs (one at each corner near the seat mounts). There isn't a notch for these when the plastic mouldings are removed and they don't appear to be removable, otherwise I would have just retained the existing false floor but used it without the underfloor mouldings in place.

I will try to remember to take and post project photos.
djbobbins
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Mar 03, 2017 7:57 pm

Post by djbobbins »

So with a bit of free time at home this afternoon, I set to on adapting the boot floor.

The plastic mouldings were easy to remove (10 screws in total) and all the safety equipment fits in the wheel well, with the polystyrene insert left in place.

I then used the original false floor as an outline template for the new floor, which I cut out from a couple of pieces of plywood left over from other jobs. The majority of the boot is therefore done in 18mm marine ply, so no worries about loadbearing capacity.

After a few bits of fettling, e.g. cutting notches for the protruding rear seat hinge mount, I ended up with two pieces of ply which I have hinged together, and left a small cut out at the hatch end of the boot so that it is still easy to access the wheel well.

I then covered the ply with car carpet (sourced from eBay for £12 including delivery, I used only half of what was sent) which I bonded down with spray contact adhesive (£4 from Screwfix).

I have wrapped the carpet over the edges of the wood to prevent it from chafing against the trim around the wheel arches.

Then came the moment of truth - would it still fit with the carpet? Yes, comfortably in all dimensions apart from being perhaps a bit too snug to get past the protruding bits of plastic moulding just inside the lip edge of the hatch.

All in all I am very pleased with the finished effect, it has gained me approximately 110mm of additional useable height in the boot, which at a meter wide and around 90cm front to back is just about 100 litres of capacity - a significant increase.

I have of course retained all the original plastic mouldings, screws, polystyrene insert and false floor.

Photos below, if I have got it right they should be in order from starting with the original boot to my finished project. .

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h2onorth
Posts: 174
Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2016 6:19 pm

Post by h2onorth »

Hi djbobbins. Thanks very neat job and Picts good. A project to follow you at some point
h2onorth
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