2023 Kia Niro EV GT-Line review

It’s not much of a secret that Kia’s first-generation Niro EV was a bit on the frumpy side. And it was pricey. And it had a planned shelf life of less than two years because it got here really late. Then it was thoroughly sidelined by the Wheels COTY-winning EV6 when it arrived shortly after. Poor thing didn’t stand much of a chance.

This second-generation car, well, this looks way more like a stayer. It has a new, more stylish body that houses updated electronics, media system and safety gear. It also rides on a new platform while also sporting a new price that pitches it into battle with Polestar and (whisper it) Tesla.

It has a lot to live up to, not because the first generation went off (it didn’t) but because the EV6 is so good and raised our expectations.

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What is the Kia Niro EV?

The 2023 Kia Niro is an electrified, five-seat small SUV comparable in size to the Korean brand’s own Seltos SUV.

It shares little under the skin with the Seltos, however, as it’s based on Hyundai-Kia’s K3 platform which is also underneath the Hyundai i30 Sedan (a car that is easily the best in its shrinking class). It’s also on a different platform to the EV6, which is on the company’s E-GMP electric-only skateboard.

Also available as a petrol-electric hybrid, the Niro misses out on the EV6’s super-fast charging capability and it looks and feels more like an internal combustion engine car than a super-futuristic EV.

Kia has definitely bridged some of the gap with funky styling, the option of a contrasting colour C-pillar and some cool lighting front and rear. The rear lights even include an integrated aero device that cleans up the airflow to help improve range.

It does have the EV6’s cool dashboard, two-spoke steering wheel and the rotary dial transmission controller to make sure you know it’s electric.

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Pricing and features

Kia dropped the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the Niro because punters are unsurprisingly suspicious of them. Or, more bluntly, nobody buys them.

The new range has two each of the hybrid (HEV) and electric (EV) and prices are up across the board.

As you can see, there’s a big gap of more than $20,000 between the hybrid and the EV. If you allow your eye to wander to Kia’s other full EV, the EV6, that car starts at $72,590, albeit for the rear-wheel drive Air (which recently beat the Tesla Model Y in our comparison) rather than the rather more expensive EV6 GT-Line.

The Niro GT-Line has one advantage over the EV6, Kia Connect. As with many EVs available for a similar price, Kia Connect provides remote access to various functions such as door locks, climate control, charging information, and in-car functionality like live traffic updates. And it’s free for seven years.

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Highlights

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The GT-Line also has Kia’s party-trick remote control where you can use the key fob to start the car and roll it forward and back. It’s very useful in tight garages or parking spaces. The seventh airbag is a driver’s knee airbag and not a front centre airbag like some rivals.

As with the EV6, there are two big 10.25-inch screens set into the GT-Line’s dash. The media and entertainment screen is packed with features and a very cool menu option to show you which way the electricity is flowing and how the battery is going.

The eight-speaker stereo also has USB Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (the S has wireless integration but a smaller screen and heaps less digital bling) and a digital radio interface that won’t make you either veer off the road or give up and use your phone instead.

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The hefty safety package also explains some of the high price:

ANCAP is yet to assess and crash-test the Niro so it doesn’t yet have a rating.

The only available options are seven of eight colours on offer. All but white costs $520 and you can choose body colour or contrasting coloured C-pillars for no cost.

One of the worst things about the GT-Line’s pricing is that it puts it out of reach of the state and territory rebate programs, but at least it squeaks into the stamp duty holiday in some states. It’s also a big ask for Kia to charge the kind of money Polestar and EV darling Tesla do. Then again, it’s a brand on the move and if Kia can get a hold of some of these cars, they will sell.

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Comfort and space

As the Niro is based on a conventional platform, you won’t find massive headline interior space figures. However, like the hugely popular Seltos, the Niro is pretty roomy.

The second-generation’s larger boot starts at 475 litres (50 more than the hybrid) but with the seats down, 1392 litres is thirteen fewer than the old car. You get it all back and more with the under-bonnet boot, which holds 20 litres. The boot also has a powered tailgate.

Rear space is excellent for a car of this footprint, with tons of legroom and headroom for me, a middle-aged slightly-under six-footer. Three across the back might not be super-comfortable, but the almost flat floor at least leaves room for that third person’s feet.

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There are also two USB-C ports in the sides of the front seats and air vents for rear passengers too. The fold-down armrest features a pair of cup holders and the rear doors have a small bottle holder each.

I did find the rear seat fairly firm and a bit short in the seat cushion but I didn’t spend a lot of time back there.

Moving to the front, the seats are definitely firm but a three-hour drive around Sydney (and plenty of shorter ones) left me thinking my colleague Mike Stevens was on the money when he said a fifteen-hour journey from Adelaide to Melbourne in a Niro didn’t ruin his back.

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You have a pair of cup holders with retractable stays to convert them to a phone-friendly storage slot, a wireless charging pad, a good-sized glove box and a bin under the armrest.

The dash looks fantastic with its two 10.25-inch screens and the very slick controls for the climate settings can switch to controls for the media system.

It’s super clever in that it saves you from having everything shoved into the screen. You will have to search for some secondary functions, but the big stuff is easy to reach.

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Battery and charging

The Niro EV has a 64.8kWh battery that Kia calls the long-range version, except there isn’t a short-range one for sale in Australia.

Either way, it’s a good size and is bigger than a Tesla Model Y’s 50kWh standard range (as far as we can tell, anyway) and a touch under the Polestar 2’s standard range 69kWh battery.

Its 460km range just shades the previous model’s 455km. Kia quotes energy consumption at 16.2kWh/100km and my time with the Niro – which included plenty of in-traffic driving, short errands and a three-hour drive around Sydney taking in motorways and 80km/h zones – almost nailed that figure with 16.3kWh/100km.

When I handed back the Niro, the battery had just on 25 per cent left and a range of 110km, so that 460km figure looks gettable.

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The V2L plug is located in the base of the rear seat and you can run your laptop or modestly power-hungry appliances from the battery.

On the road

The Niro EV has a 150kW/255Nm electric motor driving the front wheels through a single-speed reduction gear transmission. Fans of the replaced car will spot that the torque figure is way down on the first car’s 390Nm. Kia says that this is to improve driveability, we say it’s to save the tyres. Whatever, it’s perfectly fine.

It’s not much slower, covering the 0-100km/h sprint in 7.8 seconds versus the old car’s claimed 7.0 seconds. Neither car is a fireball but this figure matches the entry-level Model Y and Polestar 2 figures pretty closely.

The first impression you get of the Niro is that it’s very quiet. The new car is packed full of sound deadening and it has worked. Only really coarse surfaces send much noise into the cabin; the rest of the time you’re riding along in serene silence.

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All this is even more impressive when you remember that this isn’t a dedicated EV platform and noise sources and pathways are different in ICE cars.

It feels a bit heavy, though. In Normal and Eco modes, that’s compounded by a gentle throttle response that makes the car feel a little doughy. Obviously, those brisk but not ballistic acceleration stats mean it’s never going to trouble your neck muscles, but flicking the wheel-mounted drive mode switch to Sport livens things up immensely.

That’s a good thing, though, as the other modes keep energy consumption in check and are perfect for the likely commuter-and-school-run grind this kind of car will be consigned to. Sport is just for a spot of fun.

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And it is good in traffic. You can use the paddles to choose between three levels of brake regeneration to suit your driving style and context. The strongest is good for traffic and delivers a pretty good one-pedal driving experience. You’ll want to dial it back as speeds rise, though, because lifting off at speed in the strongest setting is a little unsettling, mostly of the stomach kind.

The feeling of weight may also be something to do with a near 1700kg kerb mass, but that’s to be expected in an EV. Again, that’s good going for an ICE-based platform carrying EV gear.

Kia’s Australian chassis team tweaked the suspension to deliver a mostly impressive ride. The Niro can get a little bouncy on irregular surfaces but for the most part, handles most things you can throw at it.

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It’s very good over speed bumps and potholes, though, which may be part of the reason the EV GT-Line doesn’t get the HEV’s 18-inch rollers that upset the ride a little.

The weighty steering is chatty enough and is just the right speed for around town. The car does roll a bit in enthusiastic cornering but is well controlled and there are absolutely no surprises to be had. Clean, tidy, secure and confident. And an almost absurdly tight turning circle of 10.6 metres.

Annoyingly, the adaptive cruise control is a bit of a pill. You know those terrible drivers who are on-off-on-off the throttle and make even the hardiest of passengers feel ill? Yeah, that’s what this one does. It’s a shame that it’s a bit dense because I found myself going without when there were other cars around. It brakes too enthusiastically – and that might have been related to the highest energy recovery setting but you’d have thought the software could account for that – making progress a little lurchy.

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Ownership

Kia’s standard new car warranty of seven years and unlimited kilometres applies to the Niro EV, while the battery and “high voltage parts” are covered for 150,000km. The battery warranty is about the same as its rivals.

Servicing can be pre-paid or PAYG and it won’t matter because both figures work out to a pretty decent $1754 over seven years or $250 per visit. You need to return to Kia every 12 months or 15,000km. It’s way cheaper than the hybrid Niro’s $4010 over the same period.

As ever, Teslarati will jeer at the servicing regime but we say it’s always worth having cars checked over every year. Polestar only wants to see you every two years or 30,000km and its servicing is free for five years.

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VERDICT

The GT-Line is the one to have if you can stretch from the S because the spec is so much better and its in-cabin tech is more befitting of a futuristic EV.

The second-generation Niro is a huge improvement on the first, which was worthy but dull. It didn’t look very modern inside or out, even though it had the future of cars in mind with its electric motivation. This new one, though, is a whole new ball game.

It looks fantastic and belongs in Kia’s family of expressively designed SUVs. It drives really nicely, has a solid range figure that you can actually hit and is quiet and comfortable. That it does all of this on a compromised platform is even more impressive. 

Does it really matter in the real world that it doesn’t have 350kW charging or neck-snapping acceleration? Not really. What will matter is the price – over seventy large for a small SUV is a lot of money. Not even Audi is game to charge that kind of cash for its lunatic SQ2 performance SUV.

But the GT-Line is the one to have if you can stretch from the S because the spec is so much better and its in-cabin tech is more befitting of a futuristic EV. That, or join the queue for an EV6 Air.

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2023 Kia Niro EV GT-Line specifications