Production Kia Niro EV Lands With 64 KWh Battery, 236 Mile Range
The production-spec Kia Niro EV has made its official debut in it domestic market of South Korea this week.
The Niro EV was previewed by a concept of the same name, which was first shown at CES 2018 in January. The production vehicle looks a bit more like the regular Niro and Niro Plug-In, but gets its own aerodynamically optimized front fascia.
SEE ALSO: New 2019 Kia Soul Spied With Sporty Center Exit Exhaust
Powering the Niro EV in the North American-spec models will be a 64 kWh battery pack and single electric motor. Range is estimated to be around 236 miles, but seeing as these early manufacturer estimates are often a bit ambitious, a real-world range of just over 200 miles is probably more realistic. The Hyundai Kona EV, which has the same EV powertrain, has an estimated range of 250 miles, but that’s because it’s a little bit smaller than the Niro.
In Korea, a smaller 39.2 kWh battery will be offered with the Niro EV, which provides a driving range of 149 miles.
The Niro Plug-In Hybrid will arrive at Kia dealers ahead of the pure EV later this year. The hybrid uses a 1.6-liter engine and 8.9 kWh battery, providing an estimated pure electric driving range of 36 miles. Its interior previews what to expect from the EV, featuring a typically Kia interior with a new TFT driver’s display and an eight-inch color touchscreen.
More information on the US-spec Kia Niro EV will become available closer to its arrival late this year or in early 2019.
Discuss this story on our Kia Niro Forum.
Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
More by Sam McEachern
Comments
Join the conversation
236 mile range is just about the same as the Chevy Bolt. One of the magazines just completed an 820 mile road trip in 20 hours using a Chevy Bolt. At the end of it; they were sold on the advantage of just going to gas stations for fuel over searching for time consuming (and expensive) charging.