Hybrid sales in the UK and mainland Europe have doubled over the past five years and are expected to reach 700,000 annually by the end of the decade. The Kia Niro – the Korean carmaker's third plug-in hybrid (PHEV) after the Optima and Optima Sportswagon – slots into this blossoming market place. Continuing QUBE/just-auto's review of interior design and technology trends, we slip inside this compact crossover to see if this is just another small SUV or something different.
Before we start, let's get one question out of the way. What is the importance to Kia of hybrid vehicles? Kia sees that the hybrid market is growing rapidly, not just in the UK but in Europe, too, and it wants a share of it. "But of greater significance," states the Korean carmaker, "all manufacturers have to lower average CO2 emissions to 95g/km or less in Europe by 2020-21, and electric and electrified vehicles are essential to achieve this. We also have our own internal targets of a 25 per cent reduction in average CO2 emissions, based on 2014 levels, by 2020."
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The Niro PHEV is offered in the UK as a stand-alone model based on the mid-range (grade '3') Niro parallel hybrid. Design-wise, it was a joint effort between Kia's studios at Namyang in Korea and Irvine, California. All versions of Niro are built alongside the European Optima saloon and Sportswagon at Kia's Hwasung plant in Asan Bay, South Korea. Rivals to the Niro include the likes of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV and Mini Countryman PHEV.
Kia currently offers both a dedicated hybrid and a PHEV. The reason for that, states Kia, is hybrid technology, and particularly the batteries which support it, are expensive, and while there is a growing number of buyers wanting to buy into the technology and demonstrate their environmental credentials, not all can benefit from some of the tax advantages it bestows. The carmaker states: "So, the dedicated hybrid allows those who want a hybrid but gain little reward from a plug-in to reduce their running costs at relatively little expense, while the plug-in will benefit business operators and users hugely with its 200mpg-plus potential fuel economy and 29g/km CO2 emissions."
Split level dash
Once seated, the fascia and information clusters follow what is becoming a modern theme for the Korean brand, starting with a wide dashboard set out on horizontal lines. The dash itself is split into upper display area and lower control area where the heating, ventilation and driver assistance switches are located. Being a hybrid system, there is lots of information to convey to the driver yet this is presented in a useful, uncomplicated display. On the flipside, steering wheel controls are useful but the Niro's wheel feels overloaded with them.
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By GlobalDataElsewhere in the cabin, just about every last nook and cranny has been used for storage of bits and bobs. One quirky feature that we soon came to love is a foot-operated parking brake that liberates space for yet more oddments in the centre console. Other thoughtful touches include an overhead sunglasses case.
Material-wise, the areas of the cabin that you touch the most are swathed in soft-touch materials, while other parts are hard plastic set beneath a light grey headliner. A leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearshifter, high-gloss black inserts hither and thither and satin chrome interior door handles add to the classy feel.
Cavernous cabin with a decent-sized boot
At 4,355mm long, 1,805mm wide and 1,535mm high, the compact Niro PHEV sits between the carmaker's cee'd hatchback and the Sportage SUV in size. While front seat head, leg and elbow room is ample, space in the back seat is also good thanks to the long, 2,700mm wheelbase.
One major difference with the PHEV is the slight reduction in luggage capacity from 373 to 324 litres when all five seats are occupied due to the enlarged battery pack, although this has been partially offset by reducing the petrol tank capacity from 45 to 43 litres. The boot expands to 1,322 litres – down from the 1,371 litres of the Niro parallel hybrid – with the 60:40 split rear seats folded. That's not bad, especially compared to a Nissan Qashqai that we reviewed earlier this year, where the boot has a carrying capacity of 430 litres, increasing to 1,598 litres with the 60:40 split rear seats folded flat. The luggage area features an undertray for storing the recharging cables. A tyre mobility kit was found in the boot rather than a spare wheel, reducing weight yet further.
Advanced air-con
Another neat trick of the Niro is its HVAC system. This has been adapted from that in the Soul EV, and allows only the driver's side of the car to be cooled when the other seats are unoccupied to minimise energy usage. It does this through a smart air intake, in contrast to rival systems which merely divert the airflow towards the driver when other vents are closed and consequently do not reduce energy consumption.
Advanced driver assistance systems and connectivity
Standard advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) include autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, hill hold assist and lane keeping.
The Niro also comes fitted with Kia Connected Services featuring TomTom and wireless smartphone charging. The latter is located in the centre console tray and uses inductive charging to power the batteries of a smartphone. It works a treat with a confirmation light that illuminates when charging. It also displays the phone's charge status in the instrument cluster. An in-built safety system prevents overheating, while occupants are warned if they are about to leave the car with the phone – or chocolate bar – still on the charging pad. The eight-inch touchscreen displays the sat-nav with easy-to-follow menus plus view from the reversing camera, itself cleverly integrated high into the rear wiper housing.
In addition, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay which, via pre-downloaded apps, link smartphones to navigation, music, hands-free calls and texts and voice recognition services. Perhaps best of all is an eight-speaker JBL Premium sound system with a 320-watt external amplifier that, again, come as standard.
Weightwatchers
Made up of 53 per cent advanced high-strength steel, Niro's structure is particularly strong. It also has liberal doses of aluminium. Its bonnet, tailgate panel, front bumper back beam and several chassis elements, including the front knuckles, front lower arms and brake calipers are made of aluminium to further help reduce weight. Even the parking brake pedal, which is made of fibre-reinforced plastic, contributes to the weight savings. The lightweighting theme spreads into the interior as the front seats save 1.3kg each thanks to their high-strength steel frames. The shapely front seats are also space-saving with special foam-backed covers and slim headrests.
On the road
The Niro PHEV features the same 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol engine as the Niro parallel hybrid launched in 2016, but in this case the combustion engine is paired with a more powerful 44.5kW (60bhp) electric motor supported by a larger 8.9kWh lithium-ion battery pack to extend the car's range on electric power alone. The Niro PHEV is capable of travelling up to 36 miles on the energy stored in its batteries.
So driving back and forth to my nearby office presented a good opportunity to put this to the test using pure electric mode. Niro's HEV Select gives access to two driving modes via a button in the centre console. In EV (charge depletion) mode the car runs as a purely electric vehicle when the energy stored in the batteries is adequate, and is able to regenerate electrical power on the move to recharge the batteries. HEV (charge sustaining) mode allows the powertrain to balance the use of motor and petrol engine for a seamless combination of electric and internal combustion power. In this mode, a greater proportion of propulsion comes from the petrol engine and the charge level of the batteries is constantly being topped up for later use. Drive Mode Select gives the driver the choice of Eco and Normal settings to obtain maximum energy efficiency or greater performance. This switch is also located in the centre console. A driving style guide delivers information through the instrument panel regarding how efficiently the car is being driven so that drivers can adapt their driving style as necessary. Overall, we managed a decent 58mpg on a mixed 350 mile route.
Two battery charging cables were found in bags stuck to the boot liner with Velcro. One bag contained a UK standard three-pin plug allowing the car to be connected to a domestic socket while the other a cable for connection to a roadside charging point. All in all, it took just over two hours to fully charge from empty.
Although when pushed hard on a clear road, the cabin still feels quiet thanks to some high-insulation rigid bushes in the front subframe, high-strength steel in the rear wheel arches and additional insulation in the A- and B-pillars. The low drag co-efficient (Cd) of 0.30 contributes towards the suppression of wind noise, aided by laminated windscreen glass, a cowl over the front windscreen wipers, specially profiled door mirror casings and covers over the holes in the roof rails, which sit flush on the bodywork.
The net result is a cheap-to-run car loaded with standard kit that we have come to expect from this carmaker. It ticks a lot of boxes. Its slightly raised height give it a little SUV style, too. While consumers are unlikely to consider buying a Niro because of its interior, the PHEV has moved the hybrid on from a car that you should drive to one which you want to drive.
