Kia News
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Those just transitioning to an electric car, like the 2019 Kia Niro EV, face some potentially daunting decisions well beyond the vehicle itself—not just how they’re going to charge up the vehicle in their own garage or driveway, but how they’re going to charge it quickly enough. The 2019 Niro EV starts arriving to dealerships next month while the 2020 Soul EV is expected a couple of months later. Both of these models will offer a big 64-kwh pack that Kia says in the Niro EV can charge to full in about 9.5 hours—if you use a Level 2 charger like you might find at a...
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Plug-in cars and concepts at Geneva, Tesla Model Y and Superchargers: The Week in ReverseWhich new electric car may be able to recharge 240 miles in less than five minutes? What is the bestselling electric car in the world, and what milestone did it pass this week? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending March 8...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tesla Model Y, VW Buggy, Kia Imagine, Pininfarina Battista: Today's Car NewsWith the announcement that the Tesla Model Y will debut next week, we run down everything we know. Now that Tesla has released the whole Model 3 lineup, our Twitter poll asks which one readers would buy. At the Geneva auto show, VW reveals its electric ID Buggy, Pininfarina finally unveils its new...
Eric C. Evarts -
Kia EV concept showcases brand’s future, more electrified design directionWith its "Imagine by Kia" concept car revealed today at the Geneva Motor Show, Kia aims to show that electric cars don’t have to look boring—that, actually, they can look exciting and emotional. The concept is, as Kia puts it, “a visual embodiment of Kia’s desire to move...
Bengt Halvorson -
2020 Kia Soul EV rated for 243 miles, improved efficiencyIn just one model year, Kia has more than doubled the rated driving range for the Soul EV. The 2020 Kia Soul EV, which is expected to reach dealerships this spring, will go 243 miles on a charge—four more miles than the Kia Niro EV—according to the EPA, in ratings that were released...
Bengt Halvorson -
Tesla batteries, EPA comments, Hyundai and Kia plug-in availability: Today's Car NewsActing EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said electric cars are "not grounds for concern" at the EPA—yet highway safety and car prices are. Tesla buys a company that builds ultracapacitors. Hyundai and Kia aim to avoid the dreaded "compliance car" label with their EV sales—barely. We...
Eric C. Evarts -
The Kia Niro EV that we drove earlier this week is one of the year’s best new green vehicles, and a great long-range electric car. However, unless you happen to live in one of several specific states and regions, the chances that you’ll see one are quite low. Based on conversations with officials at both Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America over the past several months, we project that U.S. sales for all four of these brand’s fully electric small-car models combined—the Hyundai Kona Electric, Hyundai Ioniq Electric, Kia Niro EV, and Kia Soul EV—will total...
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2019 Kia Niro EV: first drive of 239-mile electric crossoverJust before reaching a tight series of esses on the Monterey Peninsula’s famous 17 Mile Drive, I clicked the left steering-wheel paddle to bump the Niro EV up a regeneration level—a motion that mimics downshifting in a gasoline vehicle—then clicked the right paddle to ease things...
Bengt Halvorson -
Here’s why Kia Soul EV and Kia Niro EV both get big 64-kwh battery packsOne key specification in the 2020 Kia Soul EV that was revealed at the LA Auto Show this week was a bit unexpected: its inclusion of a large, 64-kwh battery pack. That leaves two vehicles—the Soul EV and the 2019 Kia Niro EV—with the same big battery. And both will be arriving at U.S...
Bengt Halvorson -
2020 Kia Soul EV has more punch, faster charging, and a lot more batteryAt the LA Auto Show, Kia revealed a completely new generation of its Soul—including, once again, an all-electric Kia Soul EV that makes overtures to urbanites who need box-on-wheels utility, affordability, parking ease, and some design flair but also want an electric car. The Soul EV is, once...
Bengt Halvorson -
2019 Kia Niro EV rated at 239 miles, on sale soonAt the LA Auto Show, Kia has provided some long-awaited U.S. market details for the Niro EV. Among the most important ones: With a large 64-kwh battery pack, it will offer an EPA-rated range of 239 miles. The Niro, which Kia describes as a “multi-function crossover format,” is built on...
Bengt Halvorson -
Solar from Hyundai, Kia; GM plan trouble, VW-Ford electrics, getting warmer: Today's Car NewsHyundai and Kia plan to put solar panels on cars. VW won't rule out sharing electric cars with Ford. A prominent electric-car advocate takes issue with GM's plan for a national mandate. And a new report from the journal Nature shows global warming may already be much worse than expected. All this...
Eric C. Evarts -
Drive a 2017 Kia Niro (or a 2018) and find your back seat becoming a hot seat? It might be a good idea to stop driving it and call your dealership. In 2017 and some 2018 Kia Niro models, a main relay, within what’s called the power relay assembly, may not have adequate contact connections. The result could be increased electrical resistance—with excess heat, and potentially fire. Warning signs could include an HEV warning light while driving, and/or an inability to start the car. READ THIS: 2018 Kia Niro PHEV gas mileage review: outrunning expectations In documents filed for the...
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One size won't fit all for future Kia EVsFor an automaker that’s pitching itself toward the fun side of the Hyundai Motor Group, the tone for the automaker’s sizable electric push soon sounds altogether like pants. “It’s all about what fits,” said Michael Winkler, director of powertrains for Kia in Europe. By...
Aaron Cole -
Kia smothers plans to bring Sorento diesel to AmericaThe Kia Sorento may not get a diesel version for the U.S. after all. On the eve of the Paris Motor Show and the introduction of the production-spec Kia Niro EV, company officials have confirmed that it’s shelved plans to bring any diesel model Stateside for now. The hold is officially...
Bengt Halvorson -
2019 Kia Soul EV drops most affordable trimThe effective price of a Kia Soul EV has gone up dramatically for 2019, in what is likely to be the model's last year of production. The company dropped the bottom Soul EVe trim from the lineup. The EVe listed for $1,700 less than the version officially called "base," according to our partners at...
Eric C. Evarts -
2020 Kia Soul EV captured in spy photosKia has announced it will build an all-electric version of its Niro hatchback for 2019, but that apparently isn't stopping the company from planning an update for the Soul EV the following year. A spy photographer has captured images of an electric version of the redesigned 2020 Soul testing in...
Eric C. Evarts -
2018 Kia Niro PHEV gas mileage review: outrunning expectationsCompetition improves the breed. And that’s exactly what the Kia Niro brings to hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Prius Prime. Compared with the Prius, the Niro is taller and roomier. Likely to its benefit, it looks like a small crossover SUV, though with only front-wheel drive, it's no kind...
Eric C. Evarts -
Tick all the right boxes and the 2018 Kia Niro earns a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS, the crash-testing agency said last week. To get to the highest-rated Niro, buyers need to opt for LED headlights and automatic emergency braking, features that can be paired together only on the Niro EX trim level with the optional Premium Package or the range-topping Niro Touring. Automatic emergency braking comes standard on the Niro Plug-In Hybrid, but LED headlights are relegated only to the EX with the Premium package. Kia does not offer a 2018 Niro Plug-In Hybrid in Touring trim. MORE: Kia Niro...
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Kia to build electric cars in India by late 2019Kia will spend $1 billion on a new assembly plant in southern India to build an electric car for that market by late 2019. The move comes just over a decade before India intends to ban the sale of fossil-fuel vehicles. Just what form an Indian-market electric Kia will take remains unknown...
Andrew Ganz -
Kia Niro electric car debuts in KoreaBased on the Niro hybrid and plug in hybrid already sold stateside, the Niro EV takes the concept one step further by dispensing with the gas engine altogether.
Eric C. Evarts -
2018 Kia Niro previewMost highly fuel-efficient dedicated hybrids are compact five-door hatchbacks, the most popular vehicle segment globally. When Korean maker Kia was drawing up plans for its first dedicated hybrid vehicle, it took a different path. The wagon it came up with—it calls the Kia Niro a crossover...
John Voelcker -
2018 Kia Soul EV gets bigger battery, range boost from 93 to 111 milesUpdates to conventional cars come in a predictable pattern. Once a new model is launched, it gets only minor tweaks to features, prices, and paint colors for two or three years. Then in the third or fourth year, it gets what the industry calls a "mid-cycle refresh": some updated sheetmetal, perhaps...
John Voelcker -
Kia Niro EV concept at CES: 238 miles of range from 64-kwh batteryIt's well known that a battery-electric version of the Kia Niro will join the lineup soon, completing a range that now comprises the Niro Hybrid and the recently launched plug-in hybrid. Most observers had assumed the Niro EV would use the same underpinnings as its corporate sibling the Hyundai...
John Voelcker