KIA Niro, hybrid + SUV in Korean style

This is not the first time that I, on a personal level, have written lines like these announcing that 2016 is going to be a great year for Kia.

After a busy 2015, the new year has already seen the arrival of two models: the new generation of the Sportage and the completely new Niro.

It is the first model the brand has designed specifically to be a hybrid. There will be no non-hybrid version

Kia has been involved in hybrid vehicles for some time, although it has not enjoyed great success. Looking back, the previous generation of the Optima already had a hybrid variant which, however, passed without much notice in most markets. Only in the USA did it gain some notoriety, though far from the Korean brand’s expectations.

For several months the brand has been teasing us with a new hybrid model, the Niro, which has now finally been officially presented. The Niro is the first model in Kia’s history to be designed and built from scratch as a hybrid vehicle, hence the brand’s enormous interest in seeing this vehicle receive the welcome it deserves.

The people at Kia have decided that the Niro will be a model within the compact SUV segment, one of the most successful and fastest-growing worldwide. Its design leaves no doubt, thanks to lines that clearly identify it as a Kia. The front is the most distinctive part of the Niro, the one that differs most from other models in the brand’s range. The side and rear are much more similar to those Kia has accustomed us to in its latest launches.

Inside, the cabin also has basic lines quite similar to those of other Kias, with a dashboard featuring a relatively vertical section where the air vents and the entertainment system are set into the central part. Until we can judge it in person, the build quality seems similar to other models in the brand’s range, that is, good.

The Niro is built on a platform specifically designed to accommodate the components of a hybrid system perfectly. In fact, it is not ruled out that a plug-in hybrid version of the Niro will arrive later.

The Niro offers a total output of 145 CV with average consumption of 4.6 litres per 100 km

To begin with, the Niro you see in the pictures uses a “traditional” hybrid system consisting of a naturally aspirated 1.6 GDi four-cylinder petrol engine, operating on the Atkinson cycle, an electric motor and a 1.56 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. In total, the Niro delivers 145 CV and 264 Nm.

It is paired with a dual-clutch automatic gearbox, and although performance is not expected to be brilliant, the Niro achieves average homologated consumption of 4.6 litres per 100 km, which is a great figure considering it is an SUV that is relatively large, tall, and fitted with 18-inch wheels.

Source | Kia

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverKIA Niro6 versions · from 34,220 €