Got my new E-Niro today, so far so good!
Discussion
This is my new company car, delivered this morning, and if nothing else promising to save me a fair lump of BIK tax every month compared with the Ioniq hybrid that it replaces.
It's a Kia E-Niro, in 4+ trim with the 64kWh battery. And this morning was the first time I've driven either a Niro or any kind of fully electric car (we weren't able to have the usual extended test drive before ordering, thanks to COVID).
Driven about 40 miles today, and first impressions are that it's comfy and quiet, the interior is a very pleasant place to sit, and it accelerates remarkably well for 1800kg of slightly gawky looking crossover/SUV type thing. Having had a couple of hybrids previously, I keep expecting an engine to cut in at any moment and shatter the silence! The JBL stereo is really rather good too. And it's got a sunroof! Haven't had a proper sunroof on anything newer than my Capri. My Galaxy has a panoramic roof, as did my old Auris, but this Niro has a proper tilt-and-slide sunroof, which I'm inordinately pleased with.
I do like the higher driving position, both for visibility and because my knackered knee seems to prefer it. Although the trade-off is of course in body roll. The low slung battery helps in that regard, but this is not in any way a sharp-handling car. But then that's not the purpose of the Niro.
The car seems pretty efficient, too. Despite using the A/C and hoofing it several times for overtakes and, er, research purposes, it's averaged 4.1 miles per kWh so far. Various reviews suggest that more careful driving will push that figure up to 5, time will tell, although there won't be many occasions where I need to eke out every last mile of range. We're fortunate enough to have the Alfa (which my fiance drives daily) and my scruffy-but-useful Galaxy for any longer runs that wouldn't be practical in the EV.
Only real downside is the boot; Kia claim 451 litres, but a great deal of that must be accounted for by the under-boot-floor storage, as the actual load area is significantly smaller than the Ioniq (which was 440-odd litres). So I'll have to go through my various boxes and bags of work gear and thin out the amount of
Can't say I'm sold on the looks, but then I've never been a great fan of the crossover or SUV aesthetic. Would have been nice if it was available in red; this inoffensive but bland silver was the only "free" colour, and the optional colours were deeply uninspiring (several shades of grey and a dark blue). At least it's an inoffensive looking car unlike some of the bizarrely styled EVs on offer at the moment.
A couple of colleagues have also got new EVs this week. One has a Niro, same as mine, the other has the entry level Model 3. Will be interesting to see how we all get on with our first forays into EV driving over the next few weeks/months...
Edited by Jonny_ on Sunday 13th June 09:07
I thought it was just me who was too tight to pay extra for another colour!
Had mine since last September and basically chose it down to the BIK, but the car has grown on me, plus my wife loves it.
Wait until you try setting the timer to charge at a specific time for cheaper electricity - fun and games, and don't use the app, just set it in the car.
The efficiency is great in summer but drops away in winter to the low 3's but still cheap compared to ICE.
Had mine since last September and basically chose it down to the BIK, but the car has grown on me, plus my wife loves it.
Wait until you try setting the timer to charge at a specific time for cheaper electricity - fun and games, and don't use the app, just set it in the car.
The efficiency is great in summer but drops away in winter to the low 3's but still cheap compared to ICE.
Yep, I am expecting a drop in efficiency once the weather turns miserable again. Or indeed when I have to go anywhere using the motorway.
The weather made a big difference in the Ioniq as well; a journey that showed MPG figures in the low to mid 60s during winter would result in high 70s and even into the very low 80s during this recent warm spell.
The weather made a big difference in the Ioniq as well; a journey that showed MPG figures in the low to mid 60s during winter would result in high 70s and even into the very low 80s during this recent warm spell.
My sister has had an e-Niro for 12 months through work (BIK reasons too!). I've used it a bit, it is indeed nice to drive, but I have a couple of observations.
There is no spare and you can't jack it using 'normal' equipment from what I could see. Due to the bottom of the car being mostly batteries, they don't want any spanner to damage it. So it's low loader recovery if you get a blowout, it can't be towed of course.
IC engines are more efficient at cruising speeds, but due to the "laws of physics, cap'n," the maximum torque of an e-Niro is at zero revs and round-town driving with regeneration braking helps the range. She went to Salisbury and back (210 mile round trip) on a very rainy day and had to stop to recharge for 2 hours on the return journey, despite the journey being only 70% of its supposed range, and leaving home with 100% charge. 
This is probably the case with all pure electric cars. The ranges is worse at motorway speeds, in her experience anyway.
There is no spare and you can't jack it using 'normal' equipment from what I could see. Due to the bottom of the car being mostly batteries, they don't want any spanner to damage it. So it's low loader recovery if you get a blowout, it can't be towed of course.
IC engines are more efficient at cruising speeds, but due to the "laws of physics, cap'n,"
the maximum torque of an e-Niro is at zero revs and round-town driving with regeneration braking helps the range. She went to Salisbury and back (210 mile round trip) on a very rainy day and had to stop to recharge for 2 hours on the return journey, despite the journey being only 70% of its supposed range, and leaving home with 100% charge. This is probably the case with all pure electric cars. The ranges is worse at motorway speeds, in her experience anyway.sixor8 said:
The ranges is worse at motorway speeds, in her experience anyway.
This is simply physics, when you go over a certain speed air resistance becomes by far the biggest force to over come, the increase in energy needed is also not linear. Ask any cyclist the difference in effort needed to maintain 18mph versus 20mph, it seems like a tiny increase in speed, but the effort required is the difference been amateurs and pros. 
The Internal combustion engine is so inefficient at pretty much any speed in comparison you simply don't notice as much, and in winter the waste product of combustion - heat is actually useful.
If you look at the energy density and ease of use petrol/diesel fuels offer its actually pretty amazing, the fact we are all so happy wasting such a precious fuel source for pretty mundane jobs like going shopping or dropping the kids off at school really is mad.
Jonny_ said:
Only real downside is the boot; Kia claim 451 litres, but a great deal of that must be accounted for by the under-boot-floor storage, as the actual load area is significantly smaller than the Ioniq (which was 440-odd litres). So I'll have to go through my various boxes and bags of work gear and thin out the amount of crap essential work equipment I cart around with me. Or at least relegate as much of it as I can under the boot floor.
Remove the cover and you can take the first layer of polystyrene out, and a couple of plastic screws remove the remaining bits at the side easily. Then you can put the existing cover back on and you've gained a surprising amount of space - albeit by dropping the boot floor bit and creating a high lip. There's a further layer below which I think can also come out until you're practically on the tarmac, but I've not tried that...sixor8 said:
My sister has had an e-Niro for 12 months through work (BIK reasons too!). I've used it a bit, it is indeed nice to drive, but I have a couple of observations.
There is no spare and you can't jack it using 'normal' equipment from what I could see. Due to the bottom of the car being mostly batteries, they don't want any spanner to damage it. So it's low loader recovery if you get a blowout, it can't be towed of course.
No spare is a thing on many cars now as I'm sure you know.There is no spare and you can't jack it using 'normal' equipment from what I could see. Due to the bottom of the car being mostly batteries, they don't want any spanner to damage it. So it's low loader recovery if you get a blowout, it can't be towed of course.
You absolutely can jack it using normal methods and Jacks.
I think part of the reason for no spare/jacking is the extra weight of the car. Using a normal single leg widow maker car jack would be asking for the car the topple off the jack. I've use a normal trolley jack on mine just fine.
Knock_knock said:
Remove the cover and you can take the first layer of polystyrene out, and a couple of plastic screws remove the remaining bits at the side easily. Then you can put the existing cover back on and you've gained a surprising amount of space - albeit by dropping the boot floor bit and creating a high lip. There's a further layer below which I think can also come out until you're practically on the tarmac, but I've not tried that...
Cheers, will have a look into doing this. Not overly fussed about having a lip at the boot entry, have lived with that in the Ioniq for the past 3 years!Good write up and pretty much echos what a couple of people at work have said regarding them - all company cars for BiK reasons. Very nice cars, practical, well equipped, so easy to drive compared with ICE/Hybrid and not slow!
We have been EV-ing it for a good few months, including over winter - in a new Zoe - and we saw the range drop from a real 210 miles probably to 160 miles on the days when temps dipped to -4 and rarely got much above 3-4 in the positive. Thats with mainly motorway miles too. The worst we saw was 140 on a couple of -8 days, but those are quite rare in the South Midlands.
So yeah, 30% drop in range in the worst of winter - some of which is recoverable by driving a bit slower and letting cruise control do its thing if you can.
I've just gone EV for my company car - a Polestar 2, so convinced am I that this is the way to go for daily drivers and the current tax situation makes it a no-brainer unless your doing mega daily miles (I do 200 a day, 3 days a week).
Good luck if you can hit 5 miles / kwh though for any kind of sustainable period, we are currently running 4.1 in the Zoe and 3.7 in the PS2 at 20-25 degrees. But that is mainly motorway at 70mph.
My eleccy bill is up by £50 a month, my diesel bill down by £500 a month across the two cars...... and neither are slow, even the Zoe.
Enjoy!
We have been EV-ing it for a good few months, including over winter - in a new Zoe - and we saw the range drop from a real 210 miles probably to 160 miles on the days when temps dipped to -4 and rarely got much above 3-4 in the positive. Thats with mainly motorway miles too. The worst we saw was 140 on a couple of -8 days, but those are quite rare in the South Midlands.
So yeah, 30% drop in range in the worst of winter - some of which is recoverable by driving a bit slower and letting cruise control do its thing if you can.
I've just gone EV for my company car - a Polestar 2, so convinced am I that this is the way to go for daily drivers and the current tax situation makes it a no-brainer unless your doing mega daily miles (I do 200 a day, 3 days a week).
Good luck if you can hit 5 miles / kwh though for any kind of sustainable period, we are currently running 4.1 in the Zoe and 3.7 in the PS2 at 20-25 degrees. But that is mainly motorway at 70mph.
My eleccy bill is up by £50 a month, my diesel bill down by £500 a month across the two cars...... and neither are slow, even the Zoe.
Enjoy!
Nice efficient run to work this morning! 5.1 miles per kWh on a journey of just under 28 miles.
This was in pretty much ideal conditions, though. Certainly won't be able to maintain this as a long term average; I'm fully expecting cold weather and motorway runs to significantly increase energy consumption.
(The route to this particular site is made up of about 9 or 10 miles at 60mph along A roads, the remainder being a mixture of 30/40/50mph limits, and this was on a very pleasant June morning with no need for either AC or heating. The same run on a similarly nice morning in the Ioniq used to result in just over 80mpg on the dash readout.)
Also, I'm absolutely bloody loving the sunroof!
This was in pretty much ideal conditions, though. Certainly won't be able to maintain this as a long term average; I'm fully expecting cold weather and motorway runs to significantly increase energy consumption.
(The route to this particular site is made up of about 9 or 10 miles at 60mph along A roads, the remainder being a mixture of 30/40/50mph limits, and this was on a very pleasant June morning with no need for either AC or heating. The same run on a similarly nice morning in the Ioniq used to result in just over 80mpg on the dash readout.)
Also, I'm absolutely bloody loving the sunroof!
Jonny_ said:
Nice efficient run to work this morning! 5.1 miles per kWh on a journey of just under 28 miles.
Just got back from 90 miles round trip. 4.7m/kWh, with about 30% being motorway.Jonny_ said:
Also, I'm absolutely bloody loving the sunroof!
Sunroof was firmly shuttered off today - 30'C so the aircon was working hard enough without adding to it's thermal load (and cooking the top of my head!) 
Gassing Station | EV and Alternative Fuels | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff