Video: 2023 Kia Niro: Up Close

But it wasn't just an electric, they also had a plug-in hybrid and a regular hybrid. And I'm talking like it's past tense, but the reality is, they were sold from 2017 till today as 2022s, and they still are, but Kia has gone ahead and redesigned all three versions. We're here at the New York Auto Show where we can show you all three and what has changed. Now, for one thing, a very different look inspired by the HabaNiro concept car from 2019, it's bound to be a little controversial for at least one reason. And that is, the side blade here, that in this case, is a contrasting color. You don't have to get the contrast in color, just so you know, you could get a body color so it won't stick out quite as much. This, it's called an arrow blade. Air actually goes in here and comes out the back, so it is functional. We've seen something like this in the past in the Audi R8, they seem to think that it is an important part of the car. It does increase the range of the electric vehicle, so there's something to be said for that. Apart from that, it is much more of an crossover SUV look, higher profile. Like I said, if you don't like the contrast look, you can go body color on that arrow blade for a more conventional look. If you've ever been in an EV6 by Kia, you're gonna see some familiar items here in the Niro as well. This is the EV version. Especially at the center console here. Similar, I'm not gonna call it a gear selector, let's just call it a drive selector. Reverse, drive, neutral is a rotary knob on this and the plugin hybrid, but the regular hybrid has a conventional T shifter. And it even has the switchable cap touch, or touch sensitive ventilation controls, or media controls where you have both a volume and a tuning knob that trade rolls with temperature controls for the driver and passenger. But those are the only capacitive, or touch sensitive buttons in the vehicle, and I think that's terrific. We don't like that kind of control. And there are actually fewer in this than there are in the EV6. All of these, even though they're that shiny piano black finish, are real buttons, which we prefer. So, good news there. Kia says that there's an emphasis on sustainability and recycled materials in the vehicle. They call it vegan, no animal materials are used in here for whatever it's worth. Some animal materials like leather are very expensive. So that might be one reason they're not in here. Let's talk a little bit about the improvements. One thing is, for the electric, you've got more range. It used to be 239 miles of range, now it's up to 253. The power trains are pretty much the same in all of these vehicles. If you get the hybrid it's still a 1.6 liter, 4 cylinder engine with a 32 kilowatt motor, and a battery pack and 139 horsepower. You go to the plug-in hybrid and the electric motor almost doubles to a 62 kilowatt, and you get 180 horsepower. In this vehicle, one electric motor, 201 horsepower. But they made some other really important changes here. Obviously you got more range, which is good, but they also increased the capacity to charge at home from 7.2 kilowatts to 11. What does that mean in real terms? Instead of taking nine and a half hours to charge the battery from empty, it's now under seven hours and that's good. DC fast charging, not quite as good. It caps out to 85 kilowatts if you go to a public DC fast charger, and that means you're adding, you're going from 10% full to 80% full on your battery charge in around 45 minutes. That's not that fast, especially compared with something like the EV6, but we still think home charging is way more important. And with this faster charging comes the generator feature that the EV6 has that allows you to power household appliances and such using the car. More things that are familiar from the EV6 or possibly other Kia's, there's 10 1/4" touch screen in the center that kind of melds with the instrument panel. So you get this panoramic stitched approach. Now the instrument panel of the same size, 10 1/4", is an option, so you don't necessarily get that panoramic thing. but that is an option. So is a Harman Kardon premium audio system. And in this vehicle, you get standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Take that EV6, with your wired CarPlay and Android Auto. As an option, the front seats can be heated, ventilated and memory is also the option. Now be aware of a couple differences that come with the different power trains. For example, the location of the battery pack in this electric one, makes the floor higher in the backseat. So I'm sitting with my knees raised a little bit more, it's a little less comfortable, but there is an upside as well for the EV. You got more cargo room. It is deeper right here, than in the others. The others, there's, how do you put it? There's more junk in those trunks. It comes up to about so high, here you got more cargo. Overall the vehicle has a slightly longer wheel base than the 2022 and more cargo room overall, but a difference between this and the others. And it also has a very modest front trunk, or frunk. You know, there's a lot to like here in the 2023 Kia Niro, and not just the electric version. There are upgrades for the plugin hybrid. It now goes, instead of 26 miles on a charge before the gas engine takes over, it can go up to 33 miles, Kia says, if you're on the 16" wheels, 'cause wheel size matters. And the regular hybrid they say, will get 53 miles per gallon, which is up from 50 miles per gallon on the highest rated 2022 Niro hybrid. So, lots of little improvements all over the place. So the redesign of the Kia Niro looks like a pretty compelling option if you don't need all-wheel drive or 300 miles of range, or really quick acceleration like you've get from the EV6. Well done. Kia says all three versions will be on sale this summer. For more news from the New York International Auto Show, go to cars.com.