Kia’s interesting Niro compact crossover has finally got an electric version. The vehicle made its debut a few days ago at the 2018 Busan Motor Show. It’s important to say that the production version shares certain elements with its concept version which has been unveiled earlier this year at January’s 2018 Consumer Electronics Show, but it doesn’t look as gorgeous as the concept. Still, it’s still good enough to compete with the biggest rivals from the segment thanks to the latest technologies which are implemented under the hood.
Judging by the information that the car manufacturer was willing to reveal, the 2019 Kia Niro EV will have two battery arrangements. The base model will use a 39.2-kWh battery which should be able to provide around 150 miles of drive range. The more potent version of the all-electric compact crossover will use a much better 64-kWh unit that’s will reportedly enable the range of 280 miles. We say reportedly because the car has not been tested in EPA so far, so let’s wait to see what they have to say about it. If everything goes normally, the SUV will get more realistic results of about 240 miles. Both options will get the same electric motor which will be mated to the front axle and will be able to deliver slightly over 200 horsepower. Kia will offer a 100-kWh fast charger which will get the battery to 80 percent capacity in 54 minutes, which is pretty fast. Speaking of speed, the 2019 Kia Niro EV won’t be the fastest model available in its class, but it won’t be bad at all either. Moreover, the crossover will be able to speed up from 0 to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds.
The exterior brings a quite sleek design with lots of interesting details. Still, we are more impressed with the cabin design, because the EV offers more from the hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. It’s thanks to a better-looking dashboard with blue accents and due to a 7-inch screen. In addition, the carmaker made changes to the center console which accommodates a rotary controller design for the drive selector. The 2019 Niro EV will be loaded with useful features and driving aids like collision warning and avoidance assist, as well as a lane the following assist. The last one is very special because it detects road markings in order to keep the crossover in its lane on the highway and controls acceleration, braking, and steering depending on surrounding cards. It does everything at speeds from 0 to 80 mph which is quite remarkable.
The crossover will go on sale this later this year home, while the rest of the world should see the 2019 Kia Niro EV early next year. The price is unknown at the moment, but we think it’s going to cost around $38K.