Late last year, the second generation Kia Niro made its debut in the US. Recall that the Niro has been updated with a new design that significantly differs from that of the previous model. The only available electric motor for the car is a front-mounted, 150 kW (204 horsepower), unit that is powered by a 64.8 kWh battery pack.
Although this vehicle was revealed in Europe just a little bit sooner, the EPA ratings for the US version were just revised. Any range discrepancies would be due to different wheel-tyre combinations and, if available, different aero parts since the 2023 Niro only has the larger battery.
Any questions may be quickly answered by looking at the EPA ratings. All 2023 Niro models have the same EPA rating of 253 miles in a mixed usage scenario, which is comparable to 113 MPGe. 126 MPGe is the city mileage, while 101 MPGe is the highway mileage. Although the improvement over the previous model is just about 5%, it does result in a few more miles between charges.
The 2023 Kia Niro has an integrated 11 kW AC charger and can accommodate up to 85 kW of DC charging. While charging at home will take up the majority of the night, Kia estimates that Niro can be charged from 10% to 80% in roughly 43 minutes using the public DC charger.
The Price
All 2023 Kia Niro consumers will receive a free 500 kWh charging from Electrify America. The charge may be used over a three-year period and should provide roughly 2,000 miles of driving time.
The new EV tax credit is a problem, even though the 2023 Kia Niro’s starting price of $39,950 plus the $1,325 destination charge looks fantastic on paper. The Kia Niro from last year cost more, at $41,165 (total), but it was still eligible for the $7,500 rebate, lowering its actual price to $33,665. However, the present model is not eligible for the EV tax credit, therefore its final price is $40,875.
Tough competition in US
The introduction of sales incentives and dealer-based rebates by Kia is yet to be seen, but for the time being, many purchasers will perceive the 2017 Niro as pricey. The Tesla Model 3 starts at $42,990 excluding destination charge or taxes despite being a considerably larger EV; yet, because of the EV tax credit, it ends up being less expensive than the recently released Kia Niro. Kia will find it difficult to compete with that.
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