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The 2023 Kia Niro EV is incredibly efficient and a great all-around car

We achieved more than 4 miles/kWh without much effort.

Jonathan M. Gitlin - 5/1/2023, 4:21 PM

Last month, we reviewed a great little hybrid, the 2023 Kia Niro. In fact, Kia offers this little hatchback with three different efficient powertrains, and today we're looking at the entirely electric version, the 2023 Kia Niro EV. Ditching the internal combustion engine and replacing it with a slab of lithium-ion cells pushes the price up somewhat—starting at $39,550, the Niro EV is almost $11,000 more expensive than the parallel hybrid version—but on the upside, you get a right-sized electric car that's extremely efficient, particularly on short journeys.

This Kia Niro EV is in fact the second Niro EV we've tested—the first impressed us mightily when we reviewed it back in 2020. The technical specifications of the battery electric powertrain are actually very similar to those in the previous version. There's a 64.8 kWh lithium-ion traction battery between the axles, which powers a 201 hp (150 kW) electric motor that drives the front wheels.

The all-electric powertrain adds a fair bit of mass to the Niro; its curb weight of 3,721–3,803 lbs (1,688–1,725 kg) makes it almost 20 percent heavier than the parallel hybrid version. But in addition to having more power, the Niro EV makes a lot more torque—188 lb-ft (255 Nm), in fact—so it feels much peppier to drive.

The Environmental Protection Agency rates the Niro EV at a combined 3.4 miles/kWh (18.3 kWh/100 km) and a range of 253 miles (407 km) but in practice, it should be possible to exceed that. On short journeys around the city, I regularly saw 4 miles/kWh (15.5 kWh/100 km) or better and averaged 3.8 miles/kWh (16.4 kWh/100 km) throughout the week we tested the Niro EV.

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Recharging isn't quite as fast as some of Kia's other EVs, as this platform runs at 400 V, not 800 V, like the larger, more expensive EV6. Consequently, you can expect to wait about 45 minutes to fast-charge from 10 to 80 percent. It actually took me nearly 42 minutes to charge to 80 percent (from a starting point of 48 percent state of charge), thanks to an Electrify America charger that would not go past 35 kW. There's an onboard 11 kW AC charger that helps the Niro EV get to 100 percent in under seven hours from an AC power source.

Like the regular hybrid version, the Niro EV is an easy car to drive around the city. The throttle mapping is well-judged for urban speed limits, and there are varying levels of lift-off regenerative braking available via the steering wheel paddles, so it's easy to adapt to, whether you're a one-pedal driver or you prefer to lift and coast. A different button on the steering wheel toggles you through Eco, Normal, and Sport drive modes.

Visibility is good from the driver's seat, and there is an entire alphabet soup's worth of advanced driver assistance systems (I'm not joking—the assists include PDW-R, HDA, FCA-JT, NSCC-C, ISLA, ROA, HBA, SEW, DAW, LFA, LDW, LKAS, and RCCA). These systems keep watch on each blind spot to warn you of impending collisions, lane departures, and when it's unsafe to open the door.

Some of these assists were a little overeager, specifically the BCA-R, or blind spot collision avoidance (rear), which freaked out and emergency braked the Niro EV more than once while I was backing out of a parking space, presumably cueing off the curb behind me, since there were no other moving cars in my vicinity.