I'm back in a hybrid: a 2024 Kia Niro

I used to have a 2016 Prius when I was living in California and commuting 225 miles round trip every day for work. Through some changes in life and a move to the East Coast, I found myself working from home and wanting another hybrid. I thought about an EV, but charging at home isn't possible. I sat in the current generation Prius and decided that while it's nice, it's not for me...too low to the ground, feels pretty cramped inside, and there's no way my 6'6" husband would fit inside. Then I remembered that Kia & Hyundai vehicles tend to have more leg and headroom than their competition, so I did a little investigating, and sure enough, the Kia Niro had substantially more usable interior space than the current Prius. I drove it, along with test driving a Toyota Crown and a Honda CRV hybrid. I liked the Kia best out of all of them, so that's what I took home...a 2024 Kia Niro hybrid in the SX trim level, so I basically got every option besides LED headlights and the 18" wheels. The LED headlights would be nice, but I definitely prefer the 16" wheels for ride quality and fuel economy.

I've only had it a couple weeks, but so far I'm sitting at 54.1 mpg hand calculated, in mostly suburban driving. My driving style is this: I try to be reasonably economical without being a rolling road block, so I basically drive with traffic. I definitely use the AC and cooled seats...I don't like the heat & humidity of Maryland, so I'm not shy about using climate controls.

So far so good! I'm happy with it.