And if I hadn’t mentioned it, you might never notice the headliner or know it’s backstory. The color is a demure flat beige-gray reflects light as well as soak up sound, glare and heat. The headliner was the most notable despite being made from recycled wallpaper, which left me immediately curious, the texture is soft but firm it lacks the ‘squish’ that foam and fabric headliners have, and instead has an almost organic, micro-porous look and feel, more like the packaging you might get with a luxury candle. These sustainable materials are not just a lure to earth-aware consumers who find these choices are a good complement to the fuel efficiency of the Niro they also deliver a very delightful look and feel. And, Kia has eschewed ordinary automotive paint for one that is free of benzene, toluene and xylene isomers, petrochemicals that are a danger to exposed workers as well as to the earth. A ceiling headliner made from recycled wallpaper. Plastic materials made from reclaimed ocean plastics. Photo: Scotty Reiss New Interior to Spoil You Along The Drive Yes, these leatherette seats are made from eucalyptus. Related: 2018 Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid: Space, Comfort and Tech for Plenty of Plug-n-Play However, both are slightly more efficient: the hybrid is now estimated to get 53 MPG, though it clearly can do better, and the EV is estimated to get 253 electric miles on a charge, up from about 239 on the last model year (we were were not truly able to put this to the test, but I’m pretty sure you can do better than that with good electric driving technique).Īnd then, it adds some noteworthy features and design to bring it into the modern lineage of Kia. For 2023, Kia offers more features and benefits, better battery range and more space and comfort in this compact SUV.Īnd, it keeps a few original few details: It’s only available in front wheel drive and it generates 139 horsepower in the hybrid model and 201 in the electric – as it did in its original incarnation. These models simply take a spot alongside Niro instead.īut while the Niro is the first and led the way for its siblings, it still strives to be distinct and offer a lot for the money.

For that, we’re glad that the Niro wasn’t retired to make room for Kia’s other electrics, including the hybrid and PHEV versions of Sportage and Sorento, and the all electric EV6 and EV9 3-row SUV, which we should see soon. Think of the Niro as Kia’s R&D lab on wheels for electric driving everything they learn from this car (and its drivers) works to help the company build more and better cars and SUVs for the future. Kia’s Niro nameplate isn’t new to electric driving in fact, it’s one of the old timers it made its debut in 2016 and has been sold in hybrid, PHEV and electric versions.

Photo: Scotty Reiss A Better Kia Niro For The Electric Age

Hybrid electric vehicle