Kia e-Niro Review: Which trim should you go for?

• What do you need to know about the Kia e-Niro batteries and motors? 
• Is the Kia e-Niro a good company car? 
• What are the different Kia e-Niro trims on offer and their prices?
• What should you do next? 

Want to switch to electric with the Kia e-Niro, but not sure which battery or trim level to choose? Read this Kia e-Niro review to find out which one will work best for your individual needs. 

Winning multiple awards, such as Best Company Car at the 2021 Business Motoring Awards, Best Small Electric Car for Long Distances and Best Electric Small SUV at WhatCar’s 2021 Awards, Kia has certainly made its mark on the electric vehicle market.

But what does each model feature? Which of the batteries should you go for? And which trim is your best option? This Kia e-Niro review will answer any questions you may have.

What do you need to know about the Kia e-Niro batteries and motors? 

39-Kilowatt-Hour Battery 

We’re going to start by talking about the entry-level version 39-kilowatt-hour battery. It’s paired with a 134-brake-horsepower electric motor, delivering 350 Newton metres of torque.

As for top speed, you’re looking at 96 miles per hour so you won’t be breaking any Nürburgring records in this SUV. It can go from 0 to 60 in 9.5 seconds, so it’s not the quickest off the block, but it’s a little faster than the Citroën ë-C4.

If you want to eke as much performance as possible out of the e-Niro, you will need to consider the higher-level variant, which we’ll talk about in a moment.  

Both of the e-Niro models are one-speed auto and while this doesn’t sound like much, the transmission is fantastic. As soon as you put your foot down on the accelerator, that performance is immediate and it’s very exhilarating.

While Kia claims an official range of 180 miles, realistically, you’ll be able to travel around 140 miles on a single charge.

This does, of course, depend on how you drive on a day-to-day basis. Kia also claims a city driving range of 251 miles, and while this does sound rather impressive, this is more for people who live in a congested city and don’t regularly drive above 30 MPH.

You can squeeze quite a lot of range out of this vehicle but you will need to consider whether you want a vehicle of this size to drive around the city, perhaps a city car or another vehicle such as the Honda e or the Renault ZOE would be more suitable for your needs. 

How fast will this car charge?

The charging cables will plug into your mains, 230-volt unit, and when you do, this e-Niro will top up from 0 to 100 in a whopping 18 hours.

It’s not the quickest in the world but if you’re having a lazy weekend and you just want the car to get up to 100% battery by the time you start work on Monday, this is an absolutely fine solution.

However, if you do need it to charge a bit faster than 18 hours, then you can install a 7.2-kilowatt AC wall box and this will charge the car from 0 to 100 in 6 hours and 10 minutes so perfect for when you come back from work and plug it in – it will be at full battery by the time you set off again the next morning.

If you’re travelling up the country and you get a bit of range anxiety, perhaps it’s dipping below what you expected and you need to pull over and top that battery up, you can do it from a 50-kilowatt DC charger and that will top up the battery from 0 to 80% in just 57 minutes, so enough time to just grab a magazine or grab some lunch and wait for the car to recharge.

Alternatively, you can plug it into a 100-kilowatt DC charger, it’ll do it slightly faster, in 54 minutes. As you can tell, you’ve got quite a few options when it comes to charging the Kia e-Niro and it all depends on how quickly you want to charge it.

64-Kilowatt-Hour Battery 

Next up, is the 64-kilowatt-hour battery variant. It’s paired with a 201-brake-horsepower electric motor, producing 395-Newton-meters of torque and as such, performance is improved: top speed now reaches 104MPH and it can go from 0 to 60 in 7.5 seconds.

That performance is immediately sent to those front wheels, making it feel very rapid for a car of this size. This is absolutely the version to go for if you want to get the most performance possible out of the e-Niro.

Now, this is where things get interesting: Kia claims a maximum electric range of a whopping 282 miles, which is incredibly impressive for an electric car.

It outperforms the Škoda ENYAQ iV 60 and the Renault ZOE. Kia has stated a city range of 382 miles, so if you’re driving this quite sensibly throughout the city, you won’t need to plug it in very often, especially when using the regenerative braking to pump some extra juice back into the battery.

So, if you’re looking for a small electric SUV with one of the best ranges out there in 2022, the Kia e-Niro is simply a fantastic choice.

A larger battery unfortunately does mean slower charging times: using the 230-volt AC socket, you’ll get a 0 to 100 slow charge in 29 hours, hopefully, you won’t need your car for a while because it’s going to be stuck in your garage charging away.

If you do need to charge just a bit faster than that, you can plug it into a 7.2-kilowatt AC charger and it will charge from 0 to 100% in about nine and a half hours so not too bad, just make sure to plug it in as soon as you get home from work.

When you’re travelling up the country, a DC 50-kilowatt charger will achieve a 0 to 80 charging time of around one hour and 15 minutes, so a little bit longer than the 39-kilowatt-hour battery variant but still enough time to grab some lunch and have a bit of a chill out at the motorway service station.

From a 100-kilowatt-hour charger, it will take 54 minutes just like the last model, again, pretty quick for charging an electric car.

Is the Kia e-Niro a good company car? 

It has no exhaust as it’s fully electric, so it emits zero grams per kilometre of CO2.

That puts it firmly in the 1% benefit-in-kind tax bracket for 2021-2022, so you’re already taking advantage of some significant savings in terms of company car tax.

This is a very cheap car to run: you’ll already be taking advantage of the fact that recharging is cheaper than refuelling, and if you charge at night, you can take advantage of discounted rates as well.

You’ll also be exempt from congestion charges in London, as well as Clean Air Zones in other cities across the UK and you won’t have to pay any road tax.

All these benefits add up to what is quite a significant saving over time – although the initial outlay may be higher than a petrol or diesel car, you do reap the rewards quite early on.

If you’d like to find out a bit more about the benefits of switching to electric, check out OSV’s Electric Vehicle Hub, as it has all the information you need, plus offers on the latest electric cars.

Alternatively, you can check out our article on the (plug-) ins and outs of electric cars. If you’d like to explore your options further with one of our vehicle specialists, we’ll be happy to tell you a little bit more about each of those power trims to help you find the one that best meets your particular needs.

Perhaps, you want to find the best balance between performance and range. We can help you do that, so do get in touch on 01903 538835 or just click the banner below to book your free consultation today.

What are the different Kia e-Niro trims on offer and their prices? 

Kia e-Niro 2 Trim 

As for trim levels, it starts with the entry-level “2” variant. That starts from around £32,895.

Highlights of this trim include the eight-inch touchscreen display in the centre console, a seven-inch digital instrument cluster behind the steering wheel, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and smart cruise control comes as standard.

You get a wealth of equipment as standard with this entry-level trim. 

Kia e-Niro 3 Trim 

The next trim is the “3” variant and it starts from £37,400. With this, you get the larger 10.25-inch central display, a wireless phone charger, and black leather upholstery on the now-heated seats.

You will need to weigh up if these extra little bits and bobs are worth the significant premium over the previous variant. 

Kia e-Niro 4+ Trim 

Lastly, we’ve got the “4+” variant which starts from £39,695. This is the model we chose for our car review, meaning if you watch our video and you love pretty much everything you see, it’s the one to go for.

Highlights include an eight-speaker JBL sound system, the rear parking sensors are now complemented by front parking sensors, an 11-kilowatt 3-phase charger, and ventilated seats which are well-suited for those hot summer days. 

 

What should you do next? 

Whether you’re looking to use a Kia e-Niro as a company car or for personal use, one of these models will surely cater to your needs.

Hopefully, with the help of this Kia e-Niro review, you’re ready to make an informed decision on which model will be your new EV.

But if you’d like to find out more about what this car offers, check out our full Kia e-Niro review article. Alternatively, you can also check out our detailed Kia e-Niro review video on our YouTube channel. 

However, if you would like to discuss your options, make sure to call us at 01903 538 835 or click the banner below to arrange a free consultation with one of our Vehicle Specialists.