After what seemed like round after round of spyshots, the Kia Niro is finally nearing its unveiling – the South Korean carmaker has released teaser renderings of its first global B-segment crossover ahead of its official debut slated sometime in the first half of 2016. The Niro is expected to arrive with a normal hybrid powertrain first, but may add a plug-in hybrid version later. Fuel economy for the reconfigured Hybrid has risen 10 percent to 5.6 l /100 km combined. The Optima Plug-In Hybrid’s plus-size power pack might eat up a bit more room than its more affordable sibling, but the upshot is genuine electric-only driving (that can be maximized by the car’s capability to charge the battery by using its gas engine as a generator).
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As for prices, a spokesman told us there is an understanding within Kia to make the vehicle as popular as possible, hinting that the PHEV could cost around the same price as the diesel models (from around £27,000) or even the same just like Mitsubishi’s pricing structure with its Outlander PHEV.
The Niro, which it has labelled a hybrid utility vehicle, has been engineered from ground up as a dedicated hybrid, and is meant to combine the practicality of a compact SUV with the fuel-efficiency of a hybrid. The powertrain’s combined power output and torque will be applied to the road through a highly-efficient six-speed double-clutch transmission.
Backing up the engine, transmission and motor is an upgraded lithium-polymer battery pack, with a capacity of 1.62 kWh – an increase of 13%.
The Optima PHEV and HEV will offer their own distinct styling features to differentiate them from other models in the all-new Optima range.
Kia will launch a hybrid-only crossover late next year, targeting Carbon dioxide emissions of under 90g/km as part of an ongoing plan to improve range-average efficiency by 25% by 2020.
Kia has announced plans to introduce a purpose-built low-emission vehicle. While the Niro is an all-new model, with no direct predecessors, it is still immediately recognisable as a Kia, carrying forward the company’s signature “tiger-nose” grille and a series of other design cues from the latest Kia products.
Based upon a bespoke new platform, the Kia Niro’s body is made of more than 50% ultra-high strength steel, contributing to the class-leading fuel economy and high safety ratings that development teams are targeting.
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It’s a one-two punch that was missing from the Kia line-up until now, and while each of these vehicles may be more about crossing all the t’s and dotting all the lowercase j’s on the corporate average fuel economy paperwork than they are about meeting a pressing consumer need, they demonstrate just how serious Kia is about reducing the amount of fuel consumed by its entire fleet of automobiles by 25% over the course of the next four years.
