Ford Inside News banner

Chicago: Kia Niro "Hybrid Utility Vehicle"

4K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  2b2 
#1 ·
Kia Niro crossover is the company's first dedicated hybrid


Kia arrives in Chicago this week with the Niro, an all-new hybrid crossover joining the company's growing electrified lineup. It's not Kia's first hybrid, but it is the first dedicated hybrid, designed from the ground up with gasoline-electric power.

Following the Niro concept from the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and the teaser images that followed, the production Niro joins the Soul EV and Optima Hybrid in the automaker's EcoDynamics line. Though full specifications and dimensions have yet to be revealed, the Niro rides on a 106-inch wheelbase to slot it size-wise in between the smaller Sportage and larger Sorento.

The parallel hybrid powertrain mirrors that of the Ioniq – which is, in turn, parent company Hyundai's first dedicated hybrid and which we're not expecting to see in person until next month. The system pairs a 1.6-liter four with an electric motor, a lithium-ion battery, and a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. The sum total is 146 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, and a projected fuel-consumption rating of 50 miles per gallon.

MORE HERE: http://www.autoblog.com/2016/02/11/kia-niro-crossover-chicago-2016/

Kia Niro shares Hyundai Ioniq parts, could become an EV

It's time for the Chicago Auto Show, so it's no surprise that Kia has warmed up the chilly February air here with a green vehicle debut. This year it was the Niro, the brand's first dedicated hybrid, and it follows past Chicago debuts like the Soul EV and the Optima Hybrid. Like those vehicles, the Niro is not going to take long to get from the concept stage to showroom.

Steve Kosowski, Kia Niro project manager, told AutoblogGreen that the first Niro hybrids will arrive in all 50 US states in about 11 months. The Niro will only be offered as a hybrid – both with a plug and without – but Kosowski could not say when the PHEV will arrive, other than, "a little later in the lifecycle." The standard hybrid will be certified as a 2017 model-year vehicle, but the PHEV might become a 2018, or even later.

MORE HERE: http://www.autoblog.com/2016/02/11/kia-niro-hyundai-ioniq-electric-vehicle/

PHOTOS





 
See less See more
3
#5 ·
Not bad looking!
 
  • Like
Reactions: SP1966
#6 ·
That was my first thought also! Anytime I hear about a new Hybrid or electric I cringe, they're always so alien looking as though poor futuristic design is all that will sell.

Regarding the crossover aspect, it looks about as crossover as the Fiesta Active, which I think is actually a good idea as both look good.

I also see a lot of Mini in that design, which again is not a bad thing.
 
#7 · (Edited)
since the previous post^ I saw the Niro (& Ioniq)... something about the Niro's interior I liked in person, even tho not as premium as I'd prefer; & overall doesn't look as DRAB as these pix
&
now, with only HALF-a-Battery (for a plug-in) imho:


Kia Niro PHEV Presented, Goes On Sale In Europe This Year
CarScooops

Mar 7, 2017 | By Cristian Gnaticov

...It pairs a 1.6-liter GDI direct-injected petrol engine with an 8.9 kWh lithium-polymer battery pack, which has a higher capacity compared to the 1.56 kWh battery pack found on the Niro Hybrid. It provides juice to a more powerful 44.5 kW (61 PS/60 HP) electric motor, contributing to a total output of 141 PS (139 HP) and 265 Nm (195 lb-ft) of torque.

Power is sent to the wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, and in this flavor, the vehicle needs 10.8 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph), a 0.7sec improvement over the standard Niro, while emitting below 30 g/km of CO2, in the NEDC. Moreover, its pure-electric driving range is said to stand at more than 55 km (34 miles)...

...Then there's Predictive Energy Control (PEC), which works with the navigation and cruise control, and collects data to determine when to recharge the battery pack, or when to store energy to the wheels.

Adopting a plug-in hybrid powertrain is said to have minimal effect on packaging and versatility, as the higher-capacity battery pack is located beneath the floor boot and rear seat bench...

...Inside, the vehicle features single-tone black leather upholstery, or two-tone light grey and black leather, blue stitching, blue surround for the air vents on the dashboard, a new 7.0-inch full-TFT driver instrument cluster, and the latest 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment. Other equipment includes navigation, smartphone integration, smartphone wireless charger, weather forecasts, and a JBL premium sound system.

Safety-wise, the Niro PHEV comes with vehicle stability management, electronic stability control, autonomous emergency braking with forward collision-avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, driver attention warning, smart cruise control, blind spot warning, and rear cross-traffic collision warning.

.
 
#8 ·
Re: Kia Niro "Hybrid CUTEtility Vehicle"

The Kia Niro Is A Hit, Thanks Be Unto TTAC (And The Crossover-Hungry Universe)
TTAC

By Timothy Cain on May 8, 2017

It’s a hybrid. It’s attractive. It’s affordable. It’s the Kia Niro. Launched at the beginning of 2017, the Kia Niro is already proving to be a surprisingly successful hit for Kia Motors America.

As competitors quickly fade into the background, Niro volume is rising steadily each month, with the Kia attracting buyers for a wide variety of reasons, not just fuel efficiency.

In fact, the Kia Niro isn’t that fuel efficient compared with other dedicated hybrids on the market today.

But the Kia Niro is a crossover. (Allegedly.) And Niro’s amalgam of characteristics — hybrid, design, affordability, crossover image — has returned a degree of sales success simply not enjoyed by most dedicated greenmobiles.

Granted, the Kia Niro can’t yet compete with the venerable Toyota Prius, even in what will likely turn out to be the Prius’s worst year since 2004. In April 2017, the Prius outsold the the fledgling Kia Niro by nearly two to one.

Likewise, the Kia Niro doesn’t measure up to an abnormally strong start to the year from the Ford Fusion Hybrid, according to HybridCars.com. The Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, a hit for one of the most popular utility vehicle nameplates in America, outsold the Kia Niro by a five to four margin in April, as well. (Both the Fusion and RAV4 are, quite obviously, not dedicated hybrid models but rather variants of mainstream vehicles.)

But the Kia Niro — in only its third full month, with limited inventory, battling a platform-sharing partner launching at Hyundai, and while operating in a showroom where Kia’s other vehicles tumbled 11 percent — sold half again more often than the Cadenza, K900, and Rio combined. In other words, Kia’s most recent niche-market car is filling a much larger niche than its other niche fillers.

Back to the more direct green car rivalries, the Niro’s unique proposition is obviously paying off early on in its tenure.

• The Niro outsold the Toyota Prius V and Ford C-Max, combined, by a 544-unit margin in April 2017.
• The Niro was more than twice as popular as the Hyundai Ioniq with which it shares underpinnings.
• Combined sales of the Chevrolet Volt and Bolt were only barely more numerous than the Niro’s 2,939-unit April tally.
• The all-electric Nissan Leaf, while reporting an eighth consecutive year-over-year improvement, generated 1,063 sales, little more than one-third of the Niro’s total.

While cars such as the nearly seven-year-old Leaf and longer-range Bolt are more likely to generate headlines, only four times in the Leaf’s 77-month U.S. history has it sold more copies than the new Kia Niro did in April. The Bolt, which launched around the same time as the Niro, has produced 2,865 fewer sales to date.

And why wouldn’t the Kia Niro generate higher volume in the U.S. market? It’s priced from only $23,785, or $1,855 less expensive than the Toyota Prius. In a hybrid market that earns little more than 2 percent of the U.S. auto industry’s volume, the Kia Niro is one of only two utility vehicle (allegedly) hybrids with a base price under $30,000. It lacks the all-wheel-drive option and tall roof that should be requirements for labelling something a crossover, but it’s a handsome little wagon, regardless.

And why is it selling so well, relatively speaking? “We credit Mark Stevenson’s fine review earlier this year,” Kia’s director of communications, James Bell, told TTAC, tongue firmly ensconced in cheek.

More seriously, Bell says, “It offers a real alternative in the hybrid segment.” Indeed, though the Niro lacks even the SUV flavor of the admittedly not-an-FJ RAV4 Hybrid, consumers perceive the Niro differently.

It’s definitely not a Prius.

As for the Niro’s ability to achieve even greater success in the near future, Kia is clearly beginning to see the potential.

“Demand is outpacing production at the moment,” Bell tells TTAC. Only months into its run, the Kia Niro is an overachiever in the hybrid market as the fourth-best-selling hybrid in America with nearly 10-percent hybrid market share in April 2017.

Note to Kia’s rivals: add wheelarch cladding to your hybrids. Tomorrow. Better yet, today.

.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top