The Kia Niro Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid go on sale in Spain

On the occasion of the recent Geneva Motor Show, Kia took the opportunity to update the Niro, a crossover of great importance for the brand, since its market launch in 2016 the brand has sold more than 16,900 units in Spain alone, in addition to achieving a market share of 8.7% in the private channel by sales volume of electrified models, thus placing Kia as the second best brand.

Now, and after its progressive introduction in the various European markets, Kia begins sales of the Niro in both its hybrid version (HEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) in the Spanish market, a model that arrives loaded with novelties, especially in technology. To a lesser extent, as we reported at the time, there are aesthetic changes that serve to unify the appearance of its hybrid, plug-in hybrid and 100% electric versions.

Broadly speaking, the exterior changes the front and rear bumpers, which allows the front light cluster to adopt a new brand-signature design that Kia calls “ice cube”, which can optionally be full LED, together with LED daytime running lights with a double-arrow design; while at the rear the light cluster is also modified with a new light signature, as well as new reflectors and fog lights at the ends. Finally, there are new wheel designs in 16 and 18-inch sizes for the Niro HEV and 16-inch for the Niro PHEV.

Inside, the changes centre mainly on an improvement in the quality of the materials, with a higher-quality look and better feel, although these will logically vary depending on the trim level chosen: Concept, Drive and Emotion (as well as the Luxury package, which adds exclusive elements to the Emotion trim). New features include the new standard 8-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system and a 4.2-inch TFT display for the instrument cluster, both optionally upgradeable to a 10.25-inch TFT-LCD touchscreen and a 7-inch digital TFT supervision display; as well as the paddle shifters behind the steering wheel and the new electric parking brake.

But that is not all, as technology will be a major selling point of the new Niro, especially thanks to the UVO Connect system, through which drivers can connect to access real-time information such as traffic, weather forecasts, points of interest, fuel prices, parking and its prices where it is paid, and, for the Niro PHEV version, information about charging points. This system is complemented by the UVO App, which offers vehicle data and trip information, and can be used remotely from our smartphones to, for example, send routes to the vehicle or check where our car is parked.

On top of all this come the numerous driver assistance systems found today on the great majority of models on the market, such as adaptive cruise control, lane-following assist (Level 2 autonomous driving technology) usable up to 180 km/h, forward collision avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, driver attention warning, blind-spot and rear cross-traffic collision warning, speed limit warning, or automatic high beam switching.

Mechanically, the new Niro uses for both versions a 1,600 cc GDi petrol engine producing 105 CV and 147 Nm of torque, which works together with an electric motor to deliver a combined output of 141 CV and a combined torque of 265 Nm, plus a lithium-ion battery of 1.56 kWh for the Niro HEV and 8.9 kWh for the Niro PHEV. The result is a consumption figure for the first of 4.8 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 110 g/km, while for the second the combined consumption is 1.4 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of 31 g/km, in addition to a range of up to 65 km in fully electric mode.

Both the Kia Niro HEV and Niro PHEV are already available in Spain, with starting prices set as follows:

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverKIA Niro6 versions · from 34,220 €