Kia e-Niro (2018 – 2022) Review

Kia was quicker to market with its fully electric Kia e-Niro than many rival companies were with their EVs. And it stacks up well, with a decent driving range, comfort and practicality. Balanced against that are nondescript looks and strong used prices. However, it’s good to drive and practical when compared to a Hyundai Kona Electric or another of its Korean stablemate’s offerings, the Hyundai Ioniq Electric. Read on for our full Kia e-Niro review.

Just like the closely-related Hyundai Kona Electric, the Kia e-Niro caused plenty of ripples in the electric car world. It’s bigger than the Hyundai Kona Electric – it’s more of a rival to the Nissan Qashqai or the SEAT Ateca – but shared its 59kWh electric motor and can cover a claimed 282 miles between charges.

Unlike the Hyundai Kona Electric, a lower-powered version of the Kia e-Niro wasn’t offered in the UK. As a result, it was a fair bit more expensive than the Hyundai, as well as other electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Volkswagen ID.3.

However, its interior feels distinctly premium – more convincingly so than the Hyundai Kona Electric. It’s also well-equipped, with standard equipment including adaptive cruise control, a premium sound system and leather upholstery.

The Kia e-Niro’s boxy dimensions means there’s plenty of space for four adults, with lots of head, leg and shoulder room. The boot is usefully big and square in shape, with easier access than the Hyundai Kona Electric.

On the road, the Kia e-Niro’s acceleration from low speed is impressive. As soon as you hit the accelerator pedal, it surges forward with no hesitancy. 

That’s a welcome trait of electric cars – you don’t need to wait for the automatic gearbox to select the right gear or for the revs to build. It will just go, running from 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds. You do have to be careful not to spin the front wheels, however, even in the dry. 

The Kia e-Niro is a heavy SUV, and as such, it’s not the nimblest of handlers – but it’s eager enough to change direction and it doesn’t lean too much under cornering.

It’s at its best in town, where good visibility (aided by standard parking sensors and a reversing camera) makes it easy to squeeze in and out of spaces.

What’s most impressive about the Kia e-Niro is that the company beat many more mainstream manufacturers to producing a genuinely useable electric car.

It’s practical enough for day-to-day family use, doesn’t feel like a compromise to drive (it’s actually quite fun) and represents reasonable value for money. Its closest competitor is the Hyundai Kona Electric, but both are subtly different enough to cater for different markets.

Want the latest model? You'll need our Kia Niro EV 2022 Review.

With the batteries positioned under the floor, the Kia e-Niro doesn’t roll about as much on twisty roads as you might expect for a heavy SUV.

It’s not as enjoyable to drive out of town as a Volkswagen e-Golf, but it’s fun in urban areas and easy to position thanks to its superb visibility. Standard parking sensors and a reversing camera are useful, too.

Wind and road noise is quite noticeable at higher speeds, but it’s still a very relaxing car to drive day-to-day. There’s lots of technology to make life more comfortable on the motorway, such as adaptive cruise control – which slows down and speeds up with traffic – and lane keep assist, which will nudge you back into your lane if you stray without indicating.

There are also paddles located behind the steering wheel, which allow you to increase or decrease the regenerative braking depending on your requirements. With this cranked up to the max, the Kia e-Niro can be slowed down quite dramatically without having to touch the brakes.

It’s great around town, as you can almost resort to one-pedal driving (although it’s not quite as severe as the system used in the Nissan Leaf). Turn it down a few notches and it will coast like a petrol or diesel car.

With a generous 204PS and 395Nm of torque, the Kia e-Niro will surprise anyone who’s not driven an electric car before.

As soon as you press the accelerator, it surges forwards without delay. There’s no hesitation as the automatic gearbox kicks down, or any waiting for the revs to build like you’ll find in a petrol or diesel car.

Of course, this isn’t always ideal. If you’re clumsy with the accelerator the wheels will spin, even in the dry, but you soon learn to drive around that.

Performance peters out once you’re above 40mph, but it’s eager enough to join the motorway or overtake when required.

Drivers can select from three different drive modes: Eco, Comfort and Sport. The latter’s a bit out of character for the car, making the steering heavier and the throttle even more responsive. It’s best left in Comfort.

You won’t want for much in the Kia e-Niro when it comes to safety kit. Every model has six airbags, anti-lock brakes and traction control, autonomous emergency braking and a semi-autonomous driving mode.

All of this is backed up by reverse parking sensors, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist and driver fatigue warning.

There were no towing capacity figures for this first generation of Kia e-Niro, so it cannot tow an unbraked or braked trailer.

There’s loads of room up front in the Kia e-Niro, with plenty of adjustment in the driver’s seat to make finding a comfortable driving position easy. You don’t sit as high as in some SUVs, but access is painless and you feel elevated compared to rival EVs such as the Nissan Leaf.

Three adults can fit in the back without it feeling too snug, although the middle passenger might not be so happy after a long journey – not helped by a bump in the floor. There are two Isofix points for fitting child seats and good visibility should help prevent travel sickness.

The boot is surprisingly big at 415 litres, which is larger than the hybrid Kia Niro’s 324 litres, and loading bulky objects is relatively easy.

The rear seats can, of course, be dropped should you need more room.

While some electric cars appear very futuristic inside, the Kia e-Niro’s interior just feels like any other car – albeit one that’s rather premium and well-equipped.

There are lots of soft-touch materials and everything feels logically laid out. It’s not quite at the standard of a Volkswagen Group product, but it’s not far off.

An eight-inch media display in the centre of the dash is standard, and features navigation with European mapping, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

It’s a really good system, reacting quickly to commands with menus that are easy to navigate. Models with the long-range battery come with a 10.25-inch touchscreen as standard.

You should reckon on spending from around £21,000 for a Kia e-Niro that is five years old with average mileage and fitted with the 64kWh battery.

If you are happy with the shorter driving range of the 39kWh battery version, it will be around £1000 cheaper.

A two-year-old Kia e-Niro needn’t be that much more expensive, as examples with 20,000 miles can be had from £22,000, making them great value.

As an electric car, there are no road tax costs to consider. Charging the Kia e-Niro will depend on where you plug in, which will be cheap at home, but take longer than rapid chargers, which are more expensive.

Charging is simple enough, via a flap located in the Kia e-Niro’s grille. You can plug it into any domestic socket using a three-pin plug (provided with the car), but it takes nearly 30 hours to fully top it up this way.

You’d be much better to have a 7.2kW charger installed at home, which will take around nine hours to charge the battery fully.

When plugged into a 100kW fast charger, the Kia e-Niro can be topped up from 20 to 80 per cent in just 42 minutes. Finding such powerful chargers in the UK is difficult, but a rapid charge at the motorway services should be able to take the e-Niro up to 80 per cent in just over an hour.

Servicing a Kia e-Niro won’t be damaging to your bank balance, as Kia dealer prices are competitive and the car is due a service every 10,000 miles or 12 months.

You will also have the peace of mind of Kia’s seven-year warranty.

After the initial Kia e-Niro Launch Edition, which came with JBL stereo, black leather upholstery and a seven-inch digital instrument panel, the trims followed the South Korean firm’s usual path.

The range starts with the Kia e-Niro 2, which has reverse parking sensors, heated and electrically folding door mirrors, climate control and adjustable lumbar support for the driver’s seat. It also has part-leather upholstery, climate control, rear privacy glass and keyless entry.

Choose the Kia e-Niro 3 and you get the larger 64kWh battery for a longer driving range, uprated infotainment, electric driver’s seat adjustment and full leather upholstery.

With the Kia e-Niro 4+, you have ventilated front seats, heated outer rear seats and a sunroof.