Kia Niro: 2018 Motor Trend Car of the Year Contender

We Like: Impressive fuel efficiency, useful interior room, value price

We Don’t Like: Lack of torque, sharp ride

Although Toyota’s egregiously weird Prius Prime shrieks “Hybrid!” Kia’s vanilla Niro whispers “small, practical family wagon.” The Niro’s design is utterly conventional and oddly nondescript for a Peter Schreyer–era Kia. The badges are the only clue it rolls on a dedicated hybrid platform shared with the Hyundai Ioniq hatchback.

Interior room is the Niro’s strong suit. The tall roofline really helps the interior package, allowing plenty of rear-seat leg- and headroom. As with the exterior, the interior execution is pragmatic, especially in the entry-level EX model. “Lots of relentless hard-grain plastic almost everywhere I touch,” Frank Markus said. The load space is wide but shallow.

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The drive experience falls short of that of the Ioniq. “It’s adequately powered, but passing power just isn’t there,” Christian Seabaugh said. Mark Rechtin noted the suspension transmitted a lot of sharp upward impacts into the cabin. But Markus said the Niro deserves plaudits for making a six-speed dual-clutch transmission work well with a hybrid powertrain and a usefully configured family wagon that delivers an impressive 51 mpg on the EPA city cycle, all for less than $30,000.

Kia is betting there is white space in the market for a family-friendly, high-efficiency vehicle without the wacky futurist styling of a Prius and that there are buyers who will appreciate the low-key Niro’s unique combination of fuel economy and interior room at an affordable price. “It just feels so normal,” Ed Loh said. “Like a regular car but with amazing efficiency.”

	2017 Kia Niro EX EcoHybrid	2017 Kia Niro Touring EcoHybrid
BASE PRICE	$26,595	$30,545
PRICE AS TESTED	$28,895	$32,445
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door hatchback	Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door hatchback
ENGINE	1.6L/104-hp/109-lb-ft plus 43-hp/125-lb-ft front electric motor; 139-hp/195-lb-ft combined	1.6L/104-hp/109-lb-ft plus 43-hp/125-lb-ft front electric motor; 139-hp/195-lb-ft combined
TRANSMISSION	6-speed twin-clutch auto	6-speed twin-clutch auto
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3,200 lb (60/40%)	3,271 lb (60/40%)
WHEELBASE	106.3 in	106.3 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	171.5 x 71.1 x 60.8 in	171.5 x 71.1 x 60.8 in
0-60 MPH	8.9 sec	9.9 sec
QUARTER MILE	16.8 sec @ 83.0 mph	17.4 sec @ 80.3 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	138 ft	122 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.78 g (avg)	0.82 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	28.6 sec @ 0.58 g (avg)	28.3 sec @ 0.58 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	51/46/49 mpg	46/40/43 mpg
ENERGY CONS, CITY/HWY	66/73 kW-hrs/100 miles	73/84 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.40 lb/mile	0.45 lb/mile

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