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New 2019 Niro Plug In

Discussion in 'Hyundai/Kia/Genesis Hybrids and EVs' started by John321, May 7, 2019.

  1. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    I'll do my best to answer your questions. I bought our Niro in May of 2019. It is a 2019 Niro PHEV EX model. I traded in a 2008 Prius for it.

    I haven't experienced any jerking with our Niro. I do like the dual clutch transmission and prefer it to the Prius CVT. The Niro also allows you to switch to sport mode for a more spirited drive.

    I have put 12,970 miles on our Niro since May 2019. It is our primary driver. Everyone likes to drive it.

    You don't feel like your falling down when you sit in it. You slide in and out of it.

    When you put the 2nd row seats down there is a lot of cargo space.

    EV range was in the mid 30's average 35 miles per charge in the warmer weather. Now that winter is here 26 miles on a charge is doing very well. In the summer and fall it would get around 50 mpg on gas - in the colder weather 46 mpg is doing very well.

    We have had no recalls or problems in our 7 months of ownership.

    I am impressed enough with the Korean vehicles that on Tuesday we traded in our 2004 Sienna on a 2020 Santa Fe from Hyundai. Our trusty 16 year old Sienna with 150,000 miles needed a new catalytic converter system and I wasn't going to put $2000 in a car of that age and mileage. Looking around at all the choices I could not find a better value for the dollar than the Hyundai or KIA for what we wanted. Kind of the same situation that led us to choose the Niro over the other models in the PHEV category. Our experience with the Niro drove us to the KIA and Hyundai brands. We were deciding between the KIA Sorento and the Hyundai Santa Fe

    I would encourage you to compare models of PHEV and see what features for the cost each offer. The NIRO comes with many standard features that you have to upgrade from the competitors at a substantial cost. The laundry list of Safety features and Comfort features that come standard with these brand vehicles is truly impressive.

    I enjoy Toyota cars and had only owned Toyotas since 1975 until 2019 when I recently had to buy two vehicles. I am actually a retired Toyota employee from a Toyota manufacturing plant here in Kentucky. Every Toyota I have owned was reliable and lasted me a long time.

    I used the internet to buy my last two vehicles. I used a car buying service on the internet to list the vehicles I wanted and then let the Dealers fight it out on who would sell me the car at the best price. This worked great on the Niro as none were in stock locally and Dealers from a 250 mile radius were competing to supply me the Niro PHEV at the best price.

    I will try to answer any questions you have honestly about the NIRO PHEV. For example it is not a race car and the performance of the gas engine is a adequate and safe but it is a small inline 4 cylinder and it drives like one.
     
    #61 John321, Jan 3, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 3, 2020
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  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm amazed that prime and niro have more leg/knee room than rav4
     
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  3. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    While the PHEV is yet to arrive, the newest Escape is out for sit testing.
    The fine details of body size, shape, and preferred seating position make the difference.
     
  4. soldierguy

    soldierguy Active Member

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    A lot of it comes down to the shape of the dash, and the distance between the rearward most point of the dash and the hip point on the seat. As I understand it, the legroom measurement that manufacturers publish is the distance from the hip point in the driver's seat to the pedals. This can be different on the passenger side of the car (where the husband typically has problems), and doesn't take into account the shape of the dashboard, which can interfere with knees. Since we're considering various cars for me to drive, we have to take into account the legroom and kneeroom in the front passenger seat.

    As for the RAV4 kneeroom, all I can say is that there's not enough...something about the relationship of the seat, the dash, and the shape of the dash just doesn't work for us.

    Car shopping with tall people can be kind of a pain. I like to research, read, watch videos, compare specs, and narrow down the field of cars that would work. I still do that to inform myself, but in the end it turns into trying on a lot of cars on for size and getting one that fits.
     
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  5. soldierguy

    soldierguy Active Member

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    I really appreciate you taking the time to write your comments! Thanks very much!

    I'm glad that your experience has been positive. The Niro seems to tick all the right boxes for us, so when we get ready to buy, it's definitely one we'll be looking at hard.

    Thanks again!
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    what was the last year rav4 you sat in?
     
  7. soldierguy

    soldierguy Active Member

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    The current generation. We sat in one a few months ago and in the passenger seat, his knees were touching the rear-most point of the dash. In an accident, his knees and femurs would be shattered, and in normal conditions, there wasn't enough room to move around. Also with the RAV4, the seats are mounted pretty high in the vehicle, limiting headroom.
     
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  8. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The measurements are also done based on some 'average' sized and shaped person.

    Wayne Gerdes of CleanMPG.com is a tall bloke, and his reviews aren't limited to fuel efficient vehicle types. He tries the rear left passenger seat with the driver's set for himself, but not the front passenger though.
     
  9. soldierguy

    soldierguy Active Member

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    Thanks for the tip! I've never been to that site, so I'll browse around for a bit.
     
  10. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    If there's a heat pump - why is the engine running for heat? Conversely, why would the car need a heat pump (as standard equipment) if the engine is going to cycle for heat?!? That doesn't make sense.
    .
     
  11. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    amen!
    At 6'-5", and both my self & better ½ having marginal back health at best - we do NOT do well scrunching down into low cars. The only thing with tons of legroom & Headroom as well as being plugin - was the Chrysler minivan. 32/33 blended Highway/City while driving in charge sustain mode, & 33 miles of EV driving. It may look over-priced - but for Cali drivers, state incentives & Fed tax Credit makes it comparable to the poor mileage - 20mpg gas only version. Plus - HOV stickers are a nice benefit.
    HOV.jpg
    EPA rates its EV efficiency at 84MPGe, so if you drive around on EV primarily - your dash readout gets mighty impressive for such a large PHEV;
    20191225_093204-1-1.jpg
    Even when we're driving 50/50 gas/EV - our efficiency still runs higher than our Prius typically did
    50-50mpg.jpg
    We are on our 14th month of ownership, and we are just now ½way through our 2nd tank of gas, & that's after taking one trip out of state, as well as Mountain driving for a few Big Bear vacation weekends.
    Good luck on your car search!
    .
     
    #71 hill, Jan 9, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2020
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  12. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    With a lower power motor than other PHEVs, the Niro/Ioniq is a blended one, and it doesn't make a pretense of being a full EV. The engine will likely fire up under heavy acceleration or high speeds, so why add a heat pump to the price tag.
     
  13. John321

    John321 Senior Member

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    See if this explains the Niro options and Heat Pump availability better.

    1. Niro fully electric vehicle (no gas engine, only battery power) Car has no gas engine so it comes with a heat pump standard.
    Vehicle is similar to a Telsa

    2. Niro Plug in Hybrid vehicle. Runs on electric or gas, engine runs to supply heat (engine will run briefly to heat up coolant to supply heat for the cabin and then shut off until needed again). No heat pump option available for vehicle.
    Vehicle is similar to a Prius Prime

    3. Niro Hybrid Vehicle Runs on gas engine supplemented by battery power when available. No heat pump option available for vehicle. Gas engine supplies heat.
    Vehicle is similar to a regular Prius

    The Niro is a vehicle built on an exclusive platform by KIA. This car platform is designed only for the Niro with the thought that it is their entry into the Hybrid, Plug in and full electric vehicle market with that criteria being the design purpose. This is their Green Eco Car Platform

    For its parent company Hyundai the Ioniq is built on an exclusive platform to be their flagship vehicle in the Hybrid, Plug in, Full electric Vehicle market.

    Both these platforms were designed with their only purpose to support these platforms.

    In post 31 of this thread their is a video of A KIA North American Executive explaining this concept and its advantages much better than I ever could.
     
    #73 John321, Jan 9, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 9, 2020
  14. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    While they are different platforms, they use the same hybrid drive train.
     
  15. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

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    Tesla's don't have heat pumps
     
  16. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Why is that? Lack of availability and clout to get one?
     
  17. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    Because of their size - it's Motors, inverter & traction Battery generate 'enough' heat to do cabin warmth ... which is scavenged for its cabin warmth (besides its electric heater). Would a heat pump be more practical if a traction battery was cold soaked at -20f ? One might think so. But a heat pump works by removing & sequestering heat from the air, & there's little to no heat to scavenge when it gets a lot colder. That's the logic when the cost-benefit analysis was made.
    .
     
    #77 hill, Jan 11, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2020
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  18. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Okay. Perhaps when an automotive heat pump is more closer in cost to an A/C unit, Tesla will start using them, but even then, BEVs will still need a resistance heater for the coldest times.
     
    #78 Trollbait, Jan 11, 2020
    Last edited: Jan 11, 2020
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  19. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    It'll be interesting to see how efficient heating elements / ceramic / etc can get . . . . maybe even refreshing / re-usable chemical heat? For now though, even our latest ride with seat & steering wheel heat go a long way. It's the wind shield defrost energy that REALLY requires the most addressing when vehicles have seat & steering wheel under control.
    .
     
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  20. markabele

    markabele owner of PiP, then Leaf, then Model 3

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    I REALLY wish the Model 3 had a heated steering wheel. Maybe the Model Y? Won't hold my breath.