MPG for a Kia Niro PHEV on a Long Road Trip

I tracked and graphed the miles per gallon of my 2020 Kia Niro PHEV on a long road trip to Southern California. Most of the miles driven were on I-5 at 70 MPH. The round trip was 903 miles with an average of 50 miles per gallon.

[@RK-rc8lt]

I just picked up a 2022 Niro PHEV strongly influenced by your videos. I put on around 25 miles a day of town driving and the regenerative braking leaves me room to spare. Very much enjoy your approach which leaves viewers smarter and entertained.

[@KevinKnauss]

Thank you. I’m not a professional car reviewer. I approach a car more from the perspective of function for the owner and less on form. I’m glad my little videos add some pertinent information.

[@computergardener]

Outstanding breakdown of MPG on a Niro PHEV. Helped me pull the trigger on a 2018 PHEV for myself... Really appreciate the effort you put into this...

[@KevinKnauss]

Thank you.

[@MrAjo1978]

Once again.. Great video... 😊

[@KevinKnauss]

Thank you. Glad it provided useful information.

[@jerryharrison4101]

I really appreciate the feedback information of your videos!

[@KevinKnauss]

You are welcome!

[@SkaBob]

That is still really good. Some people say hybrid and phev's are no good on the freeway or if you drive a lot but this proves otherwise. Like a mazda cx7 non-turbo gets 31mpg freeway, a Hyundai Kona gets 33mpg highway, the Niro beats them by almost 20mpg. I have been doing great with our Niro driving 100 miles a day.

[@KevinKnauss]

I also should have mentioned that I never felt the car was under powered. Oh sure, it was no speed demon when passing a truck or blasting up a hill. But I don't need that sort of power. With gasoline at $6 per gallon, I'd rather have the money in my pocket.

[@SkaBob]

@@KevinKnauss I've used sport mode a few times to pass trucks and had an acceptable amount of power. We over 1200 miles on ours now and only bought gas 1 time.

[@KevinKnauss]

@@SkaBob I completely forgot about Sport Mode, D’ho. Of course, this old man is not very sporty. Notice I’m wearing crocs in the video. #fashionfailure

[@SkaBob]

@@KevinKnauss There are a few places I like sport mode. There is a long freeway hill (2 mile anyway) going to my work and in Eco it can never pick the right gear. Goes to from 6/5 slows down, drops to 4th, runs to up 3500rpm, shifts back to 5 or 6, slows down and drop to 4th again. I just use sport and manual to hold it in a gear. My subaru did the same thing on that hill as well, not just a Niro problem.

[@mikmey1166]

I have the same NIRO PHEV 2019 EX PREM. I have taken the same trips to LA from Sacramento. The error in the calc is that the big mpg numbers ( over 50) do NOT account for "miles per kW " of electric... you are using NO gallons then. So it is not a true MPG calculation! TRUE "Miles per gal" is just that: Miles of driving on just gallons of gas = "miles / gallons of gas " MPG - no electric - (but hybrid is still shutting off engine and regenerating electricity back to battery) - which is what you did coming back to home -mostly gas. ... The car display is "total miles driven (including on electric) divided by total gallons you put in tank -which you mostly did coming home) .... So the car is telling you a FALSE MPG number, it is because you don't use any gallons on electric! The car is calculating: "total miles of gas +electric + including regen divided by gallons of gas put in tank = gas used. = Mi/Gas+e You get extra miles / kW electric energy, without using gas energy. It's like a calculation of mpg driving downhill 100 miles with engine off, using NO gas. You would have "100 miles per zero gallons used" - because engine off does not use gas.... Also, I gain 15 miles of electric (about half of total battery capacity) back into battery going down from 4,000' Tejon pass to Pasadena, because I let regen breaking and engine braking - + engine electric generation, generate and charge battery on the downhill run (by manually put in lower gear). Watch the energy flow diagram on the car's display, while driving down to LA, and you can see how engine and wheels (momentum) put energy back into battery! This is the advantage of HYBRID-ELECTRIC - stretching the effective MPG by recovering energy used instead of dissipating it in heat from breaks, or engine idling at stop (using gas but getting nowhere = ZERO miles per gallon!) or coasting. Therefore your TRUE MPG is closer to what you measured on mostly gas only -- with battery used up (on trip back home) Try it next time. - but the hybrid still gives advantage of zero gas used at stoplights, coasting or when breaking - that's whyy it's called eMPG or MPGe, because it "miles per GAS+ELECTRIC - with regeneration torecover energy used when accelerating or going uphill.... The best calculation is "miles per dollar". Total miles divided by total $ spent for gas + charging cost - (both at home and at hotel). so 1.000 miles roundtrip / (total cost of gas + total cost to charge battery).... = Mi / $ spent. Then you see the real savings over standard, gas-only car. Thene

[@KevinKnauss]

I agree with you. The Niro displayed MPG is not wholly accurate. To add another dimension of uncertainty, part of the engine energy under gasoline power is going to recharge the battery. There were times on I-5 when the ICE stopped and the battery took over, albeit for a short period of time. Consequently, the fuel consumption used in a pure MPG is too low, it should be higher. But as you point out, it is MPGe, an imperfect measurement at best. Plus, we don’t know what other errors lie in the calculation between different makes and models of cars. It makes it hard for a direct comparison.

[@EPeltzer]

I think a Tesla driver would have had to stop for a charge to 80% about five times total on this exact round trip. Possibly only four times but it would be uncomfortable looking at your state of charge. I mean I personally would love a Tesla, but my brother has a Model y and my very good friends next door have a Model x and a Model s, and I have been on trips with them in the same part of the country from Pasadena halfway up the state of California. Meanwhile a Niro like this has well over 500 miles of range meaning only one fuel stop. I just finished a trip from Pasadena through Utah and Arizona at just under 1500 miles. In our old Prius we stopped for fuel four times, 49mpg. In the Niro you could have stopped only twice! For the right person and driving the distances we have in the Western US, a phev is just very very hard to beat.

[@KevinKnauss]

Until they build more fast charging stations along those long open stretches of highway in the west, I agree that a PHEV is the way to go. All EV is great in urban areas or commuting when you can charge at home. Long drives into the desert would make me a little anxious.

[@teban6560]

Exactly the same reason why I'm still hanging on to my Prius. My family of 4 enjoy taking long road trips. It may lack cargo space for camping gears, it's fuel efficiency makes up for it. We did a 10 day trip part of the southwest and visited Zion NP, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, Mesa Verde NP and back to the Sacramento area via hwy 50 and it was fun . I've never driven a long stretch of highway as isolated. I had to get gas twice before reaching Reno since I wasn't familiar with the area. Driving an EV would be quite an experience.

[@KevinKnauss]

@@teban6560 The west is still in need of a comprehensive and strategic set of EV charging stations. This is where a hybrid or plug-in hybrid is the best alternative.

[@teban6560]

@@KevinKnauss Indeed. I've seen an increase of charging stations specifically here in California the last few years, and it's encouraging. For our active lifestyle, I know a plug-in hybrid as opposed to an EV would be ideal. My young kids would be too impatient to wait for a 30 minute quick charge while in route. Btw, I saw a review you did on your Honda CR-V. I still have mine. It's 20 yrs old, but still runs great. Keeping it till the wheels fall off 😂

[@baref1959]

any guess on the cost for charging? i dont drive freeway and suspect if i could buy an ev i would never need gas.

[@KevinKnauss]

PG&E has a special tiered rate for EV and PHEVs. I believe SMUD also has a special rate. Currently, off-peak (12 am - 3 pm) I pay $0.24 KWh. My car has an 8.9 KWh battery that is programmed not to drop below 15% capacity, at which point the petrol engine starts. That 85% or 7.5 KWh is equivalent to 26 miles all electric range. To recharge the battery from 15% to full (7.5 KWh x .24) is $1.82 That is a good deal if you have a car that gets 25 MPG with gas at $5+ per gallon. There are weeks that my car’s engine never runs if all trips are short and I plug in when I get home. During the winter the engine will run to heat the engine coolant that warms the cabin. But the engine is essentially idling while the care is propelled by the electric motor. It seems like the engine shuts down after about 5 miles of driving and the cabin is at 75 degrees.