Kia Niro (2016-2022) review - MPG, CO2 and running costs
The Niro family offers excellent economy and low emissions across the range, with decent residual values, too
With prices starting from around £25,000, the Kia Niro is priced to compete against the Toyota Prius. Buyers have the choice of the Niro self-charging hybrid, plug-in hybrid or e-Niro all-electric models, with each offering a different proposition in terms of cost of ownership.
Kia claims the hybrid model will deliver up to 58.9mpg on the combined cycle and 110g/km of CO2, which is probably decent enough efficiency to suit most families. Business users, or those with means to charge a vehicle from home, may be drawn to the plug-in hybrid version.
The PHEV model is able to run solely on electric power for up to 30 miles (on a single charge), so if you're able to keep the battery regularly topped up you should see overall economy of around 200mpg. CO2 emissions of just 31g/km mean that company car users will incur an 11% Benefit-in Kind rate for 2021/22, rising to 12% for the following financial year.
Although more expensive to buy, the battery-powered e-Niro should give you lower day-to-day running costs.The 39kWh version is good for around 180 miles before you'll need to plug-in and recharge. Using a 7.2kW home charger will take just over six hours to return the battery to 100% from empty. The 64kWh variant offers a more practical 282-mile range, but takes a little longer to replenish itself - just over nine-and-a-half hours, using a 7.2kW charger.
Insurance groups
Insurance premiums for the self-charging hybrid model shouldn't prove to be too expensive as entry-level cars are in group 11, with the top-spec '4' versions in group 13. Moving up to the plug-in hybrid means a higher rating - groups 14 and 15, while insurance payments will be quite a bit pricier if you opt for the e-Niro as these variants are in group 20 to 27.
Depreciation
Our experts predict the Niro will hold onto around 54% of its original list price after three years and 36,000-miles of ownership. While this is a pretty decent figure in isolation, it lags behind the average residual value of 62% for the Toyota Prius over the same period.
