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First Impressions of Niro 2

Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2017 11:21 am
by AlanHo
I have compiled a report summarising my first impressions of my new Niro 2.

It was done principally to post on a forum I moderate based in Australia. The Niro has yet to arrive there and the forum members wanted an unbiased report on the car and some technical data that KIA do not publish.

It's too long to post as text here so you need to download a pdf



https://1drv.ms/b/s!AsWeojYaF3Xu3TmKOflSyxAyS42f

Re: First Impressions of Niro 2

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:01 pm
by Franko
Thanks for the excellent review. I'm considering the Niro here in the US. Is your fuel mileage still over 60mpg?

Re: First Impressions of Niro 2

Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2017 9:12 pm
by Fred_Bristol
Hello Alan
We test drove a Hyundai Ioniq PHEV today and was quite impressed. The key feature, as far as my wife was concerned, was the electric style take off when negotiating junctions, i.e. no hesitation as the automatic gearbox decides whether to select 1 or 2. How does the HEV perform in this situation?

We are blessed with living in a large 20 mph zone with "speed cushions" at frequent intervals. If driven gently will the HEV stay in electric mode at low speed? Our electric car is so much better in this situation than our petrol car with 7 speed DSG box. A typical short journey is less than 2 miles. How gently do you have to drive to avoid the engine starting?

£5,111 is a lot to pay for the extra 7kW of battery when a 41kW battery in an electric car is £5,000.

Fred

Re: First Impressions of Niro 2

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 3:10 pm
by niroal
According to the Ioniq pricelist the PHEV has an about £2600 premium on the same spec as the base model is not available as a PHEV (granted that includes the plug in grant), so yes £5000 + before government intervention!!!!

There are more differences than just the battery though, the motor is more powerful in the PHEV & all the charging hardware has to be included.

The boot according to the figures is much smaller on the Ioniq PHEV than the hybrid so would be a little nervous what it will be like on a Niro PHEV as the Niro has a smaller boot to start with.

Re: First Impressions of Niro 2

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 10:06 pm
by Fred_Bristol
Further to my previous question about how the HEV performs; we now know. Test drove one today (Niro 3) paying special attention to the response at road junctions and negotiating roundabouts. No hesitation or gear hunting. My wife described it as like driving our electric car, i.e. it just goes, no fuss. (High praise from her. If she is happy that is a major milestone.)

Seemed reasonably quiet over indifferent road surfaces, possibly more tyre noise than the Ioniq (Niro 3 on 18" wheels vs Ioniq on narrower 16" wheels).

Fuel consumption was 55+ mpg, which isn't bad for fairly busy moving traffic in 20, 30, and 50 mph zones. The 1.2 TSI DSG Yeti returned 35 mpg over a similar route afterwards. Incidentally the Yeti is more economical on its 16" winter tyre wheels than it is on its wider 17" summer tyre wheels, another example like the Niro where going to a wider, lower profile tyre increases fuel consumption.

Dealer confirmed that the Niro PHEV will arrive in September but no prices yet.

Fred

Re: First Impressions of Niro 2

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 11:51 am
by niroal
The Niro 3 & the Niro 4 (replacement for the First Edition) are available with 16" wheels as a reduce cost option. The beat part about the 16" wheels is they do Michelin Cross Climates (the 18" Niro wheel size is not available currently) in that size so you don't have to swap to winter wheels so that is a cost saving!