Not driven a Niro, but a mate has a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which starts off (fully charged) on battery only, for about 30 miles. Naturally no engine sound, but makes the tyre and wind noise more audible. When the engine kicks in, to produce electrical power for driving, it is still quiet, but when you slam your foot down for raw power, the engine, joining in with the electric motor, is a bit loud. Otherwise, the drive train seems very quiet, and surprisingly takes pot holes in its stride.

 

<div abp="946">
<div abp="947">I am road testing a Niro this week - but a road test is rarely long enough to be sure of some factors - especially cabin noise over a range of road surfaces.

I got my Niro this week, have driven it for 300 km and must say that it is quite noisy - at least with winter tires with spikes I just put on and on the Swedish notoriously roughtarmac. Much more so than my lastest BMWs......

 

The Niro is just as easy to get into as the Venga - in fact, it requires no thought and comes naturally. Can't tell about the noise, though, as I haven't driven a Niro, yet. What did you think after your test drive? I must say the new Venga sounds a lot noisier than my old Venga and this has put me off going for the same car. I think redesign should make a car better in every aspect. The salesman says it was noisy because of the new tyres.

 

We are trying a Niro 3 tomorrow and will be comparing it to our Venga 4 Auto

 

I am looking forward to reading your report. Have a safe and enjoyable test drive!

 

In
October, I took a Niro 3 out for a test drive of about 20 minutes which
included some side roads, main roads and a blast down the M42 motorway from J5
to J6. I am looking at the possibility of swapping my 2015 Venga for a Niro 2
with ADAP but the local dealers all have Niro 3 models as demonstrators.




The Niro uses the same drive train and underpinnings as the new Hyundai Ioniq.
The Ioniq being a small hatchback - low and sleek whereas the Niro is styled as
an SUV/Crossover. It is a taller car more suited to us older ones who can no
longer bend easily. Even though the Niro is shaped more like a brick - it has a
CD of only 0.29.




My comments are all based on a comparison with my current car - the KIA Venga
(Which is KIA's verson of the Hyundai ix20)




First the pluses.




I took a decibel meter with me to measure the cabin noise and compare it with
the Venga. The salesman was gobsmacked ""“ for a customer to do that was a first.
On the way back home in the Venga I drove part of the same route and took sound
readings to compare the Niro with the Venga. On average the Niro was 5 dB
quieter than the Venga especially on rough tarmac.




Various magazine road tests claim that the Niro 2 is quieter than the 3 because
of the 16""� wheels rather than the 18""� wheels fitted to the Niro 3 so that
augers well.




It definitely rode bumps and potholes much better than the Venga and felt
better planted on the road




The front passenger seat has height adjustment ""“ my wife would like that
because none of our previous cars have had that feature.




Visibility is quite good all round ""“ the A pillar is less intrusive than the
Venga.




The seats are comfortable and the cabin is roomy. I was able to
manipulate the steering reach/height and the seat position to get really
comfortable.




The back seats are easy to fold down and are not heavy to put back up (my wife
can't do this in the Venga) and lie almost flat. You don't need to collapse the
rear head rests to clear the front seats.




Contrary to the complaints in some of the magazine road tests ""“ low speed acceleration
is very spirited (at the price of putting the economy gauge well into the red).
The car is plenty lively enough for me.




The steering is not as light as the Venga ""“ but is possibly more direct and is
well weighted. I believe it firms up a lot when you put the car in ""Sport""� mode
""“ which I didn't try.




I know this sounds daft ""“ but the direction indicator sound is much louder than
the Venga and I could hear it clearly. This might be due to the cabin being
quieter though. At present my wife is forever having to tell me ""You've left
your indicators on""� because of my deafness.




I have driven a Toyota Prius and Hybrid Auris which have CVT auto boxes. The
Niro DCT gives the car a much more normal sound and feel than the Toyotas where
the engine seems to thrash a lot on acceleration.




There are more bells and whistles than the Venga for me to play with




I reckon the Niro, with my driving habits, would use 28% less petrol and would
save me £140 per year car tax. Also ""“ with ADAP - insurance should be less.





Now the negatives




Theoretically the boot is as big as the Venga ""“ but the wheel arches intrude
more and the available space is slightly less usable. With the Venga we can
create more boot space because the rear seat backrests have a vertical position
and the whole seat is mounted on rails to allow it to be moved forward or back.




There is no power socket in the boot or rear cabin. I would need to run a cable
from the front of the cabin to power my rear car cam.




It has a foot operated parking brake. However ""“ it was easy to use and I feel
it is something you would soon get used to. My wife will hate it ""“ but might
grow to prefer it because she has problems with her shoulders and upper arm
strength




Braking feels odd ""“ it lacks the initial bite and solid feel of the Venga and
feels less direct. You need to press harder on the pedal than the Venga to get
the same result. After 10 minutes driving I got used to it (and nearly stood
the Venga on its nose when I first braked on the way back home).




It lacks a spare wheel ""“ there is a well that will take one - but you just get
a tyre sealing/pump kit.

Edited by: AlanHo

 

Continued from above post which was maximum length allowed by forum.

A
couple of weeks later I took my wife to the KIA dealers for her to road test
the new Niro.



At first she was a bit daunted by its size - thinking it was huge compared to
the Venga. I had predicted this and took a measuring tape with me to make
direct comparisons and her fear was allayed. It is a bit longer than the Venga
but not by enough to make a fuss over. It is actually 280mm longer and 40 mm
wider over the mirrors (cabin same width) and 55mm lower than the Venga.
However the more butch styling makes it look much bigger.



I
can't say I'm impressed by the styling of the Niro - but neither am I offended
- how they got the CD down to 0.29 I will never know.



The bottom line is we ordered a Niro 2 ADAP in white on 24th October and as mentioned in another thread I still have no idea when it will arrive.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;">
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;">

Edited by: AlanHo

 

Thaks for the appraisal Alan. Thorough and to your usual excellent standard!

 

Great report.

There is no power socket in the boot or rear cabin. I would need to run a cable
from the front of the cabin to power my rear car cam.

The battery is in the boot though

. If you use a battery discharge protector, your rear dash cam will turn off before the main battery is flat.



Edited by: TerryB58

 

I had thought about using the boot battery but I don't entirely trust these discharge protectors. I recently suffered a flat battery with the Venga and have no desire to invite a repeat.
On the subject of the battery - I saw a very thorough road test video of the Niro which stated that it does not have a starter motor or alternator. I wonder if that it true. Perhaps the hybrid electric motor/generator is used instead.

 

I wonder if that it true. Perhaps the hybrid electric motor/generator is used instead.

That is my understanding.
Have you read the online owners manual in preparation to getting your car?

 

Yes and no. I downloaded it to my computer and have a browse occasionally. The problem with generic manuals is that they are stuffed with all the features on the various models. It is not easy, until you get the car, to know which applies to what. By which time you have the printed book anyway.

Also - when looking at the section on the instrumentation, head unit etc - being printed in black and white rather than colour is a drawback.

 

being printed in black and white rather than colour is a drawback.

The Manual is black and white, its exactly the same.

I find it easier on the pc as I can blow it up instead of reading from a little but thickbook. and the pages want to close.
Its not hard to work out what is relevant to your spec.

 

Well we took the Venga in for its first service yesterday and while there we had a look at the Niro. It wasn't what it came across to us as from the website. Pictures we have seen made it look like a crossover. It is lower than the Venga and the Sportage and looked more like an estate car. Getting in isn't as easy as the Venga but we didn't have the struggle we had getting in and out of the Sportage.It was immediately apparent that this car is no good for my wife to drive because she has a slightly stiff left knee and cannot use the parking brake pedal as when it is off it is far too high.
The car was a Niro 2 and it was OK to drive as far as I was concerned. Better visibility through the front side windows but rear visibility not as good as the Venga. The ride seemed very slightly better but not by much.
Quality of interior was not much different to the Venga, the rear leg room looked the same but the Niro also has a raised 'tunnel' in way of the middle rear seat footwell which would be a nuisance. We returned to pick up our Venga 4 Auto and what a pleasure it was to get back in it and drive it. We also much preferred having a glass roof which lightens up the interior.
Having spent many hours reading about the Niro and looking at numerous videos and reviews we both felt quite disappointed. I had gone there thinking we would be discussing trading in for a Niro 3 but we ended up more than happy with our lovely Venga.
Oddly the Venga fuel consumption was considerably improved going home for some reason, maybe it was because of the servicing but they also did a software update but I don't know what that was for. I might add that the Kia Dealer was Stoneacre at Durham and they were excellent on both the test drive and the servicing.
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Edited by: BADGER777

 

The Niro isn't an SUV, it's marketed as a crossover. Everything is relative and we will all come at any vehicle from a different perspective. Neither me nor her have any physical problems, we moved up in size from a C'eed. I am 5' 7" and can stand up and have a dance in the Niro. Downside is, I can't reach the roof to wash and dry it.

 

Sorry I did mean Crossover and not SUV.

 

Miro seems to be built even better...
A bit like a Kia soul.. they feel great inside