Up Close With the 2023 Kia Niro EV, PHEV and Hybrid

At first glance, there’s a lot to like about the redesigned 2023 Kia Niro in all three forms — hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric. I’m not sure that includes the Aero Blade on the rear flanks, but I can say it looks better in person than it comes across in photos, somehow. Bear in mind that this functional element can be painted to match the body if you don’t like the contrasting-color look. Whatever you think of the 2023 Niro, you can’t say it doesn’t have a more interesting and SUV-like profile than the 2022.

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Aspects of Kia’s EV6 electric vehicle are evident inside, especially the center console in the EV and PHEV, which has the same rotary “gear” selector. The hybrid has a traditional T-handle shifter. What impressed me immediately is the near lack of touch-sensitive buttons — even less than the EV6. There are plenty of piano-black surfaces, but the center console buttons are good old mechanical — or physical, as we sometimes say — push-buttons. The only exception I saw was another element from the EV6: a panel on the dashboard that is capacitive-touch and can switch its labels and function to control either the ventilation controls or the media system. Rotary volume and tuning knobs are present, though they perform double duty as dual-zone temperature controls.

Because of the different powertrains, there are some interior differences. Kia points out that the cargo area is larger than in the first generation, sold from 2017-22, but it appears that the most volume is in the EV, which has space in its hatch that drops down deeper. Both the hybrid and PHEV have more junk in their trunk.

The EV loses some of its advantage in the backseat, though, where the floor is higher due to the placement of the high-voltage battery pack. In the other versions, I found my knees raised a little bit but was comfortable overall. In the EV, I found the knees-up position less comfortable.

The EV’s DC fast-charging speed of 85 kilowatts is considerably slower than some vehicles, including the EV6 that maxes at 240 kW; but Kia made improvements where it arguably matters most, such as in home-charging speed (11 kW), PHEV electric range (Kia-estimated 33 miles) and hybrid mpg (Kia-estimated 53 mpg combined). For people who don’t want or need all-wheel drive or 300 miles of range, the 2023 Niro is an ever-better alternative than the 2022.

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• 2020 Kia Niro PHEV Review: Old-School Hybrid With Old-School Issues
• 2023 Kia Niro to Debut at the 2022 New York International Auto Show
• Here Are the 11 Cheapest Electric Vehicles You Can Buy
• What Are the Most Fuel-Efficient Cars for 2022?
• D. Power: Tesla Model 3, Kia Niro EV Rank Highest in Electric-Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction
• What’s New for Kia in 2022?

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