Used Kia Niro 2016-2022 review

Just because a car takes a modernist approach, it doesn’t have to look like something out of science fiction. The Kia Niro is proof of that.

Unlike the contemporary Toyota Prius and Hyundai Ioniq, the 2016-2022 Kia Niro looks rather conventional. As a result, it’ll appeal to buyers who want to drive a hybrid or electric car but don’t want something that stands out from the crowd.

As with the Ioniq (with which the Niro shares its underpinnings), you get three engines to choose from.

Firstly, there’s a traditional hybrid version, which came out in 2016 and doesn't need to be plugged into a socket to recharge the battery; instead, it charges itself while you drive along. The disadvantage is that you can’t use this model on purely electric power; it’ll always find the best balance of electric assistance to use with the main, petrol engine.

You get the choice of four versions of this model, although the cheapest 1 trim was phased out soon after the car’s introduction due to poor sales. The 2 gets sat-nav, dual-zone climate control and a reversing camera; 3 adds leather upholstery, heated seats and a heated steering wheel, while 4 adds xenon headlights, adaptive cruise control and an electrically adjustable driver’s seat.

Then there’s the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model, which came out in 2017; this version charges itself too, but not as efficiently. Instead, to get the best out of it, you need to plug it in to charge it up – although, if you do this, you can run it on electric power only for, Kia claims, 38 miles before the petrol motor kicks in, saving yourself petrol money in the meantime. There’s only one version of this model, which gives you leather upholstery, adaptive cruise control, heated front seats and sat-nav as standard.

A fully electric version arrived in 2018, called the Kia e-Niro, and it's fair to say it came as a bit of a breakthrough. It shares all the good features of the regular Niro, in that it's handily sized outside and roomy inside, but it comes with a range that will embarrass many more expensive electric cars. In our Real Range test, it achieved 253 miles in real-world use – a great figure for a family-sized electric car and one rivalled only by its slightly smaller cousin, the Hyundai Kona Electric. We awarded the Kia e-Niro our overall What Car? Car of the Year Award that year.

The PHEV is near-silent when running only on batteries and still quiet in petrol-electric mode, as is the regular hybrid, with engine noise only becoming strident when you really press on.

Neither of those versions handles in a particularly exciting way, but body lean is well controlled and steering is reasonably crisp and responsive. And while the ride is a little stiff around town – you’ll want to avoid versions with bigger wheels, which exacerbate the problem – it smooths out nicely on the motorway to deliver plenty of long-distance comfort. If anything, the all-electric e-Niro handles more confidently and rides better, due to its weight being concentrated further down.

Inside, you’ll find there’s loads of space in both the front and rear seats. The plug-in version has to make do with a shallower boot, because space below the floor is taken up with the battery, but this at least gives it a load lip that’s flush with the boot floor, making it very easy to load heavy boxes.

While the dashboard isn’t exactly the most stylish in the world, it all feels reasonably classy, with slick, easy-to-use controls and one of the most intuitive touchscreen infotainment systems out there.

In 2019 the Niro range received a facelift, with a new front and rear design including daytime LED running lights, tweaked bumpers and updated wheel trims. The interior is updated, too, with a new dashboard design and larger infotainment screens.

Also new on this revised Niro is Kia’s UVO Connect Services. Mimicking many premium manufacturers’ take on ‘live’ connected services, the Niro can now provide real-time information on the traffic and the weather. There’s a downloadable smartphone app, too.

If you're interested in buying a used Kia Niro, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to our used car classifieds here.

Look to spend around £11,000 on an early hybrid version with average mileage. That’s about the same price as a hybrid Toyota C-HR, which is the Niro’s closest rival, as well as the Toyota Prius. However, a Hyundai Ioniq will still cost you slightly less.

If you want a Niro PHEV, you’ll have to pay a little more, partly because it came out more recently, but also because it was more expensive to buy new. Even then, an early example is around £17,000 – considerably less than you’d pay for the plug-in Mini Countryman Cooper S E Hybrid. Spend between £18,000 and £20,000 on a 2018 or 2019 Niro, and £20,000 to £22,000 on a 2020 or 2021 version. Expect to pay a large premium for the all-electric version, the e-Niro, as supply couldn't keep up with demand when the car was launched, and you'll need around £23,000 to put one on your driveway.

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MPG

The normal hybrid version offers up an official average fuel consumption figure of 58.9mpg, under the newer, tougher WLTP tests, which is rather bettered by its chief rivals, notably the Toyota C-HR. In our experience, you’ll struggle to see even that.

However, things improve if you go for the PHEV version, which manages an incredible-sounding combined figure of 201.8mpg under the WLTP tests.

Again, you probably won’t achieve that out on the road, especially if you don’t bother to plug it in overnight – although even if you don’t, you’ll find it can still get around 50-60mpg. That said, in our experience, the long electric range of the plug-in Niro means if you do plug it in, you’ll use very little fuel – even if you use it on a long-distance motorway trip.

Servicing

Kia’s servicing costs are very reasonable, too, and you can save further with one of Kia’s service plans, which allow you pre-pay for a batch of annual services in one go, but at discounted prices.

Road tax

No Niro will have cost more than £40,000 when it was new, so you can be sure you won’t pay more than the standard yearly flat road tax rate for hybrid cars of £155, which was brought in on 1 April 2017.

Of course, if you can find one of the handful of Niros registered before that date, they’ll be taxed under the old regime, based on CO2 emissions, which means you’ll pay nothing at all to tax them – so it’s worth snapping one of these up, if you can. Find out more about road tax costs here.

Our favourite used Kia Niro is the plug-in hybrid version, because it offers the opportunity for considerably better fuel efficiency if you can plug it in regularly.

That said, if you haven’t got access to a plug socket where you park your car, you might find a standard hybrid version is more up your street – in which case, we’d go for 2 trim, because although it’s the cheapest version, it’s still very well equipped.

Our favourite used Kia Niro: Kia Niro 1.6 PHEV

The Toyota C-HR is the most obvious rival to the Niro Hybrid, and while it’s pricier to buy, it’s also more interesting to look at and more stylish inside. The rear seats are a little claustrophobic, though.

If it’s a plug-in hybrid you’re after, the Mini Countryman Cooper S E Hybrid is about the closest thing you’ll find. It’s much more expensive to buy and can’t go as far on electric power alone, but comes with a smarter interior and funky styling.

If owning an SUV isn’t a priority, the Hyundai Ioniq should also be on your list. You get the same choice of engines as the Niro, and the same basic characteristics, but it’s slightly cheaper to buy and, as it’s more aerodynamic, more efficient too.

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If you're interested in buying a used Kia Niro, or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to our used car classifieds here.