Kia e-Niro: almost 500 km of range for the electric crossover

The Kia e-Niro will have a range of 485 km according to the WLTP cycle, making it the best mainstream electric car in this respect, alongside the Hyundai Kona EV.

The Kia e-Niro will be one of the electric vehicles with the longest range on the market. The South Korean brand has revealed some of the most important details of this model, including that it will have a range of 485 km, according to the WLTP cycle. The Kia e-Niro is the first 100% electric crossover from Kia and will be presented on October 2 at the Paris Motor Show. In this way, the Niro range becomes one of the few models on the market to offer all three forms of electrification among its versions: hybrid, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and electric.

Range and charging: up to 615 km on a single charge!

The Kia e-Niro features a lithium-ion polymer battery with a capacity of 64 kWh, the most powerful in its category (mainstream electric cars), alongside that of the Hyundai Kona EV. The Kia e-Niro offers a range of 485 km according to the WLTP cycle, being surpassed in this section only by some Tesla models, and even improving on the range of the new Jaguar I-Pace (470 km according to the WLTP cycle), an electric SUV with a 90 kWh battery.

Clearly, the new electric crossover from Kia is one of the best vehicles when it comes to range, especially if we drive it around the city, where Kia claims that the car can reach up to 615 km on a single charge. The car also features a fast-charging system with a power of 100 kW, which allows 80% of its battery to be recharged in about 54 minutes.

So far we have discussed the 64 kWh battery version, but the Kia e-Niro will also be available in a more affordable variant with a 39.2 kWh battery. This latter option will offer a range of 312 km according to the new WLTP homologation cycle.

Crossover performance

In its 64 kWh battery version, the Kia e-Niro will have a motor producing 204 CV of power and 395 Nm of torque, a powertrain that will allow the crossover to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 7.8 seconds; 0.1 seconds faster than the new Nissan Leaf, for example.

For its part, the standard 39.2 kWh battery will be paired with a 136 CV motor and 395 Nm of torque. The standing start acceleration of this version will be 9.8 seconds.

As with the hybrid and PHEV versions, the Kia e-Niro will feature a front-wheel drive system across all its variants.

Technologies for more efficient consumption

The Kia e-Niro features a series of technologies that improve battery efficiency and increase the car’s range. These include regenerative braking, coasting guide control (Coasting Guide Control CGC) and predictive energy control (Predictive Energy Control PEC). These technologies allow the driver to recharge the battery and maximize range when coasting or braking. The CGC and PEC systems are linked to the navigation system and take into account upcoming curves and topographical changes to suggest to the driver when to lift off the accelerator in order to recover additional energy.