Since its debut last year, the Kia Niro EV has gained nothing but praise and high marks for
possessing unique style, minus the stiffiness and boxy pretexts that the
competition displays. It is a vehicle that has proven to be cost-efficient
while also thoroughly environmentally conscious, providing ample cargo space
and convenient features for trips in the few-hundred -mile range. This year Popular
Mechanics named the Niro EV as their “Car of the Year”, beating out
other electric competitors from prominent brands such as Toyota and Tesla.
Editor Ezra Dyer claimed that “We picked the Niro
EV for Car of the year because it's an electric car that would be appealing
even if it weren't electric”. But all of us here on staff at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis
know that it still delivers the usual EV benefits without much in the way of
feeling anything is sacrificed. It is highly affordable, smooth, fast, and
quiet. She went on to state that the car really does feel like a preview of the
very near future, when cars such as this become the daily norm. But for right
now, it's the fun-to-drive and feature-rich exception.
One of the features that we are noticing making
customers so drawn to the Niro is that it never “crossed over to the other
side” and conformed to the very boxy shape of the Toyota Prius or the Nissan
Leaf. Even though the future had arrived quite quickly in the form of vehicles
with decent range and high daily drivability factor, many who were wanting to
purchase a sensible and eco-friendly car were just slightly pickier about its
appearance. The Niro EV can still pack a reasonable punch when it comes to the
rapid journey off the line, providing up to 201 horsepower by means of the
electric motor.
The Niro EV was also commended for having a very
quiet cabin, in spite of the various motors and other mechanisms situated under
the hood. Featuring available paddle shifters and Sport mode, one could now
have a bit of an aggressive driving stance and enjoy true pep in a car that is
a front-line contender in the quest to ramp down dependence on oil. The driving
assessment for the feature was a 345-mile journey from Washington, D.C. To
North Carolina, and afterward editor Dyer simply claimed, “That was so easy”. This article from Car and Driver proclaimed
that “big range, practicality, and sophistication” makes the Niro EV an amazing
engineering effort, and we're sure you will agree after taking a spin in this
world-class and planet-saving ride!
