Niro PHEV One Year Later

[@claytonroot806]

5:55 The Hyundai Sonata is NOT basically the sedan version of the Kia Niro. The Hyundai Ioniq IS a sedan version and is actually based on the same platform as the Niro. The Sonata is at a whole different price category and therefore level of equipment. That being said, my 2018 Kia Niro hybrid has a couple features that my 2021 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Ultimate does not enjoy. The Niro has Power Folding Side Mirrors (which is convenient when passing through narrow garage doors) and those side mirrors can also be set to tilt down when in reverse, which is helpful in avoiding "Curb Rash" of those nice alloy wheels. The Niro also has a 115 Volt outlet located at the rear of center console which is great for powering a laptop computer. Other differences between the two vehicles: The Niro is much easier to get in and out of. The Niro actually rides significantly more smoothly than the Sonata, in spite of it's shorter wheelbase. Yes the Sonata CAN handle better than the Niro if you enjoy cornering on the sidewalls of the tires but I personally would gladly trade off 2 notches of handling prowess for 2 notches of ride quality improvement in the Sonata. These are BOTH family vehicles, not sportscars. I have no issues if Hyundai wants to "Crank Up The Suspension" on the Sonata N-Line, but I would wager that Hybrid buyers are not focused on driving like maniacs around corners. One more thing. I'm a fuel economy junkie. The onboard "Guess-O-Meters" for Average Fuel Economy are optimistic in both vehicles (as they shamefully are on ALL vehicles on the road). However, in spite of this I have averaged better than the EPA rating for the Niro over 2.5 years of combined city/highway and summer/winter driving with snow tires, so I can't complain too loudly. On the 2021 Sonata Hybrid however, NOT EVEN CLOSE. The Guess-O-Meter has ALWAYS been between 9% and 14% optimistic on every fill-up with respect to "Real World Fuel Economy" and I have yet to achieve either the City or Highway EPA rating for this vehicle, even though I drive it in the same manner as the Niro. The government needs to crack down on this deceitful practice on the part of all automotive manufacturers. I keep track of all fuel receipts in a spreadsheet so I KNOW exactly what my vehicle's fuel economy truly is and would gladly bring the evidence to a court of law should the manufacturer choose to challenge my claims.

[@gerradwalker6222]

Wow ok this is great that you keep track!

[@PamenterDoug]

I have a 2021 Niro PHEV and love it. Top line SX Touring is awesome.

[@Peter-ww6vo]

Completely agree about the dove grey seats being a standard option. Here in Denmark, I ended up getting a lighter shade of black for my Kia Niro’s interior, but would have loved the dove grey. Would have taken six months to get it and just couldn’t wait that long.

[@mynirophev3121]

I know that they hide dirt better, but they get so hot, and leather-like surfaces are hard to sit on when the car has been in the sun all day. Parts of the southeastern USA reliably gets above 40°C in the summer and I’d hate to have a black interior if I lived there.

[@kgallman5365]

Good video. I hate sunroofs too !

[@jackfishcampbell6745]

Why do so many people hate sunroofs , I wouldn't buy a car without one . My Niro has one and My previous Focus had one .

[@mynirophev3121]

For me, it is because I had a bad experience with one on my first car and I never use them. After about three years, the adhesive that holds the weather seal in place failed and the dealership could never fix it. Another issue is that rust tends to happen there.

[@kgallman5365]

@@jackfishcampbell6745 1- the added expense. 2- the added weight. 3- the loss of headroom. 4- they wear out, break, leak over time. 5- potential disastrous results if you accidentally leave it open and it rains. 5- the sun beating down on my head is annoying. 6- no one actually really uses them. and when they rarely do its just to make themselves feel cool for having paid for it. So.. Other than that I can think of no reason why not have a hole in the roof so you can look up and see nothing while driving.

[@kenk8215]

NIce review. Thanks for posting it!

[@mynirophev3121]

Thank you. I started this because the Niro, and PHEVs in general, aren’t sexy enough to have much information about them available to people interested in them.

[@russellkasen1920]

i know I am kinda randomly asking but do anyone know of a good place to watch new tv shows online ?

[@nicolastorin1490]

@Russell Kasen i use flixzone. You can find it by googling =)

[@carterandy7202]

@Nicolas Torin Yup, been watching on flixzone for since april myself :D

[@cashlachlan2798]

@Nicolas Torin thank you, I went there and it seems to work :D I appreciate it!

[@ffnovice7]

Very detailed! Perhaps your thoughts on the trim options you've experienced with the Niro might be a fun video

[@mynirophev3121]

When I ordered mine, my wife gave me a requirement that the car had to have ventilated seats, so that pushed me into the top trim level. The local dealership still doesn’t have many in inventory, so they get the top end trim. I think people who would want the lower trim prefer to get a higher end standard Niro. Since the trim should be very similar between the HEV and PHEV Niros, I could compare those, but my work hasn’t let up much. When I reviewed the 2020, I took a week of vacation.

[@CumBrianFries]

@@mynirophev3121 Can you post a link or the parts number of the splash guards please kind sir?

[@jackfishcampbell6745]

Niro hybrid owner here, the sonata is not a sedan version of the niro , the Niro is designed to be a hybrid . The Sonata is considerably larger vehicle otherwise that's a good video . Yeah I agree that although I like my sunroof not everybody does . When we bought our 2019 Touring Hev we found out that the only colour for the interior in Canada was black which wasn't my first choice.

[@mynirophev3121]

I have been able to drive the Sonata hybrid and my only issues were that the EX trim in the Sonata is a lower level that is is for the Niro and the third row is really only usable by small children. Unfortunately, it sold before I was able to finish my review. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what the PHEV version of the Sonata is like and where they put the battery pack.

[@OZZl3]

My 2020 (2019) Niro Phev shows me on the instrument panel display where I am getting close at the front at least, haven't paid attention if it does it in reverse though (since u usually see the obtsticle in the rear view display)

[@mynirophev3121]

I think I’ve had the backup alert go off when I was backing up towards tall grass. It may have thought that I was backing into a parking stop.

[@mannylumbres520]

Can you charge outside overnight while it's snowing?

[@mynirophev3121]

As long as your EVSE is rated for outdoor use, there shouldn’t be any problem charging in the rain or snow. I use the provided level 1 adapter, so I can only charge inside.

[@emberos]

Did you have to do anything to the 110/120v socket you use with your charger? I'm wondering if it needs to be a dedicated outlet on your panel or if there are any issues with the outlet, cord, or EVSE getting hot from the sustained 6-8 hour trickle charging. With such a small battery, I agree bringing an electrician out to install a level 2 dedicated charger would be a bit overkill. That said, I'm a bit concerned about safety as the car will be charging for hours at a time unattended.

[@mynirophev3121]

I use the 120 volt EVSE that came with the car to charge it. Since the battery is only 8.9 kWh, it is always charged when I need the car in the morning. The Niro has three charge speeds 6, 8 and 12 amps, so you can reduce the load on the wiring if you need to. I didn’t think that it was worth the cost of installing a 240 volt circuit and associated EVSE since the onboard charger is only 3.3 kW. It would be more attractive if the battery was larger and charged at a higher speed. If you do decide to install a 240 volt circuit, some power companies have programs that will offset the cost of the EVSE.

[@AsadKhan-yz9be]

Hi mate Can u charge it with rapid 100kw rapid charger?? And how low it take?

[@mynirophev3121]

The Niro PHEV tops out at 3.3 kW AC. The Niro EV, being a second generation EV, only charged at 77 kW. The EV6, being a third generation EV, can charge at 233 kW, if you can find an 800 volt charger.

[@dans.channel.]

Hi, Does this have a 1.6 petrol engine? What is the MPG on petrol only?

[@mynirophev3121]

I don’t run the Niro in non-EV mode very often, so I can’t give very precise numbers. When the battery is drained to the point that I can’t be in EV mode, I get about 44 mpg (5.35 l/km) city. In the review that I did if the 2020 PHEV (kzbin.info/www/bejne/foCVaGaKrLt8las), I have a city and highway efficiency for petrol, but these are single-run numbers.

[@be236]

Nice..why didnt you get a Kia Niro EV? I just picked up one the other day, and it should be a lot better than my Nissan LEAF 2017.

[@mynirophev3121]

The Niro EV is only available in select states right now, probably due to limitations on the availability of batteries. It is even hard to find PHEVs. When I ordered my Niro, it took five months to arrive instead of the two I was promised. It looked like Kia had stopped shipping them so there would be enough batteries for the EV version.

[@be236]

@@mynirophev3121 Ok, I see... I guess I'm lucky to live in one of those twelve states that Kia sells this EV version to... Though I bought one of the last Niro EV 2019 models, there's plenty of Niro EV 2020 models in my area for sale...

[@mynirophev3121]

When I was looking, I was surprised to see that the Niro EV was the only one that had ventilated seats. Even now, they are the only reasonably priced EV with them.

[@be236]

@@mynirophev3121 Niro EV top-level trim has ventilated seats, but this top-level trim MSRP is about $4k higher... $43k vs $39k for lower-trim, which I got... I dont see the big deal with ventilated seats or heating steering wheel... I grew up with gas car with no such features and have been fine since.. also, I prefer the lower trim, since I do NOT want "leather seats" and the sunroof... the one thing I am missing with a higher trim is the Navigation / map system.. though I know I can use CarPlay with my phone to get maps on the display, but still it's a pain to plug in and use.. oh well...

[@mynirophev3121]

Ventilated seats are one thing that I probably wouldn’t miss, but I’m glad that I have. I’m hoping for wireless CarPlay sometime in the future. Then I might use the Qi charging mat.