In addition to the battery-electric version we tested, the Kia Niro is also available as a plug-in hybrid and a regular hybrid. The Niro, which has an official range of 407 kilometres, does resemble an SUV, but it drives more like an agile small car.Since my first short test drive of a Nissan Leaf 14 years ago, dozens of electric vehicles have passed through my hands.
The Chevrolet Bolt once looked good on paper, but that big battery-fire recall was cause for pause, and now the Bolt is on hiatus. That leaves the Fiat 500e as Canada’s most affordable EV, but $39,995 seems overpriced for a tiny run-about-town grocery-getter with a range of 227 kilometres.The Equinox EV looks quite sleek, almost more wagon than SUV, but it’s taller than it seems and almost 20 centimetres longer than the established gas-powered Equinox.
The Niro’s official range is 407 kilometres, but when we picked up a test car in late June, it was actually projecting 470 kilometres. With plans for a couple of longer trips, we had high hopes. Officially, the Niro’s energy consumption is rated at 16.8 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres in the city and 20.5 on the highway. We saw as little as 11 in city driving, and even on Highway 401 the display stayed below 17. During our full 1,100 kilometres in early July, using air conditioning most of the time, it reported 15.1 over all. If it was priced a little lower the Niro would be a contender.
More typically, along Highway 401 and elsewhere, we’ve encountered DC fast chargers that didn’t work at all, or kept cutting out after just a couple of minutes, or delivered much less power than they should have. On the plus side, we’ve never been delayed long – if at all – by other EVs using the chargers.