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kia Niro vs Prius v test drive

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by ems2158, Apr 21, 2017.

  1. ems2158

    ems2158 Active Member

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    I was out with my wife doing some grocery shopping today. On the way home I noticed the local Kia dealership had 7 new Niros on the lot. Since the Niro was introduced, I considered it a reasonable alternative to the Prius v. I stopped at the Kia dealer which was totally deserted with the exception of about 8 lonely sales persons.

    One of the salespersons eagerly greeted us at the door and brought a new Niro to the parking slots in front of the showroom for us to examine. He parked the Niro next to our 2013 Prius v. The first thing I noticed was the Niro was about a foot shorter than the Prius v. The Niro had much less street presence. It looked like a typical low end hatchback.

    We checked out the interior and found it to be nearly the same size (for passengers) as our Prius. The trunk space was significantly smaller. There was no spare tire but there is a space for a compact spare that could be purchased from the dealer. The quality of the interior was not bad but nothing particularly outstanding. It was a pretty generic looking econobox interior.

    I was impressed by the ride, engine response and lack of noise on our 20 minute road test. The Niro was significantly quieter inside than our Prius. It had less road and engine noise and the ride was less harsh.

    The engine and transmission combination felt more powerful. Hard to tell if the performance was actually better without instrumented testing. I liked the feel of the six speed auto transmission compared to the Prius CVT.

    The Niro has all the new safety features in a tech package and Android Auto that were not available when we purchased our Prius.

    All things considered, I could be satisfied with a Niro. Better ride and less noise, equivalent passenger space, better safety features and warranty. Also, the Nero comes standard with roof rails that add a lot of utility to make up for the smaller trunk. Who knows about the real world fuel economy and reliability?

    With only 40,000 miles, I'm not ready to trade the Prius at this point.
     
    #1 ems2158, Apr 21, 2017
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2017
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  2. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Be sure and take some luggage for a test drive if you are expecting utility. Yes the Niro and similar will do fine for a run to the store. But will they take 4 people and luggage on a trip? Just think of the hit to economy that strapping luggage on that roof rack would bring. I think it all depends on what you are expecting a car/wagon to do. I'm wanting a Rav4h but the utility even in that size is lacking.

    I agree the v is noisy.
     
    #2 mikefocke, Apr 21, 2017
  3. Sevreth

    Sevreth New Member

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    Long time lurker....now proud V owner!

    My wife and I test drove the Niro as we were looking for our new car. It is based on the same platform as the hyundai Ioniq (pronounced ionic) which we also test drove. Aside from the crappy sales person who kept trashing our prius it did impress us for what it can do and what it offered.

    We loved that it sat higher and they was plenty of passenger volume. The power was definitely there and the dual clutch transmission felt like a regular car to us. The sport mode was fun and 50 mpg is pretty amazing for a car that size that was comfortable. The roof rails also caught our eye as we will eventually need a roof box for big trips in our V.

    Down sides to us was the reliability and longevity unknowns. My wife's 07 prius has 180k and still going strong averaging 50-53 mpg. We know how dependable these cars are. The Niro, not so much.

    It really came down to cargo space behind the rear seats and price. The Niro was not quite what we wanted and not necessarily a cheaper car. Their goal was to have a hybrid but a normal looking car that would feel like what people are used to driving. Almost a stepping stone into the hybrid world.

    -Sev
     
    #3 Sevreth, Apr 25, 2017
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  4. tpenny67

    tpenny67 Active Member

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    Hyundai / Kia may have a better warranty, but that only counts if they actually honor it. I do know one very unhappy Kia owner who had an oil cooler fail which allowed oil and antifreeze to mix. They accused her of putting antifreeze in the oil filler and denied warranty coverage.

    Also, the Niro has a belt driven starter/alternator that requires regular belt replacement (60k?) and still has an accessory drive belt as well. And finally the 12V battery is integrated into the HV battery so if that ever fails it's big $$$ to replace.

    If you're planning to the keep the car for a decade, the Prius will likely have a much better ownership experience.
     
    #4 tpenny67, Jan 16, 2018
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  5. paprius4030

    paprius4030 My first Prius

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    Interesting points! I didn't know about the belt and the 12v. and hybrid battery being together. That alone seems like a DUMB move.
     
    #5 paprius4030, Jan 16, 2018
  6. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    I find the Ioniq and Niro interesting. However, the potential reliability unknowns keep me away. Their hybrid system is more complex and as mentioned above, requires much more maintenance than Toyota's HSD system.
     
    #6 farmecologist, Jan 16, 2018
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  7. jm98

    jm98 Member

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    #7 jm98, Feb 28, 2018
  8. stephensprius

    stephensprius Active Member

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    The niro is interesting and Consumer Reports rated it very highly. But it is super new and doesn't have the history that Toyota does.
     
    #8 stephensprius, Mar 1, 2018
  9. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Exactly...I'll let others be the guinea pig on their hybrid tech. :whistle:
     
    #9 farmecologist, Mar 1, 2018
  10. stephensprius

    stephensprius Active Member

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    Indeed! Hey, where in Minnesota are you?
     
    #10 stephensprius, Mar 1, 2018
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