Kia e-Niro (2017-2022) review - MPG, CO2 and running costs
Few moving parts and an efficient electric powertrain make for very low running costs
Like any EV, the Kia e-Niro should cost very little to run when compared with conventionally powered rivals. It should only cost around £8 to fully charge the e-Niro from a domestic power supply (based on an average unit price of 12.5p per kWh of electricity on an off-peak tariff), which undercuts every combustion-engined rival available by a considerable margin.
Similarly, the Kia e-Niro’s lack of traditional engine, gearbox and other associated moving parts should mean that costs of spares and repairs will be far lower than in a conventional car. Kia’s excellent warranty applies as normal to the e-Niro too, so you’ll have peace of mind during ownership.
Electric range, battery life and charge time
The e-Niro is available with either 39kWh or 64kWh batteries, providing claimed WLTP-measured ranges of 180 and 282 miles, respectively. These figure that should be achievable if you drive with a light touch. During our test of the 64kWh model, we calculated that a more accurate range in mixed driving is around 250 miles – still more than enough to fend off even the worst case of range anxiety.
It should take around six hours and 10 minutes to fully charge the e-Niro via a wallbox installed at home, while a 50kW fast charger will get the car to 80% capacity in around one hour; find a 100kW charger and that time will drop to around 54 minutes.
The e-Niro comes as standard with a Type 2 cable for public chargers and a three-pin plug for connecting to a mains supply. Charging via a domestic supply will take a long time, though – somewhere around 18 hours for a full charge.
Insurance groups
The e-Niro occupies insurance groups 20-27, which is similar to its Hyundai Kona Electric relative in group 22 to 27 (depending on trim and battery size). You should find the BMW i3 in the same ballpark to insure, as it sits in group 21 to 29, depending on specification.
Depreciation
The Kia e-Niro is forecast to hold onto a decent chunk of its value come resale time. According to our expert data, after a typical three-year/36,000-mile ownership period, the all-electric family SUV should retain around 60-61 per cent of its original list price.