Kia Niro EV: range, battery & charging
The Niro EV should offer enough range for most, but the majority of rivals offer much faster charging
|
Range |
Battery size |
Wallbox charge time |
Rapid charge time |
|
285 miles |
64.8kWh |
10hrs 30mins (0-100%, 7.4kW) |
45mins (10-80%, 72kW) |
Under the metal, the Niro EV isn’t radically different from the e-Niro that came before. The Niro EV doesn’t use the same electric-only underpinnings as, say, the Kia EV6 – in fact, you can still get the Niro with full-hybrid and plug-in hybrid power as well.
Kia Niro EV range
All versions of the Kia Niro EV come with a 64.8kWh battery pack that feeds a 201bhp electric motor. Kia says this is enough for a maximum WLTP combined range of city and motorway driving of 285 miles; this is slightly more than what’s possible in a MG ZS EV Long Range (271 miles), Smart #1 (273 miles) and Renault Megane E-Tech (280 miles), however, the Hyundai Kona Electric – a car that shares its basic underpinnings with the Kia – can instead manage up to 305 miles on a charge.
Things aren’t all bad, though; in our time with the Kia Niro EV we found it to be pretty efficient and Kia’s claimed figure to be accurate. Across a mixture of motoring, country and town driving, and without any concessions to hypermiling, the Niro EV averaged 3.7 miles per kWh, which equates to a real-world range of 240 miles.
We even saw it return an impressive 4.2 miles per kWh after one trip, so if you keep the Niro EV out of ‘Sport’ mode and utilise the regenerative braking, you should cover close to 270 miles on a charge. That said, all but top models aren’t available with a heat pump, which means you’ll likely see your range figure tumbling in colder months.
Charge time
The Niro EV’s maximum charging speed stands at 72kW, which is actually slightly slower than the old e-Niro’s 77kW. It’s still enough for a 10-80% top-up in around 45 minutes, but some way off the 100 or 150kW speeds that rivals like the Smart #1 and Renault Megane E-Tech can manage.
If you know you’re going to need some extra juice on a journey and programme the sat nav to take you to a charger, the car will pre-warm the battery as you approach to ensure the best possible charging speed. But if you’re just topping up the Niro EV at home, fully replenishing the 64.8kWh battery from a 7.4kW wallbox will take around ten-and-a-half hours.
