Kia e-Niro Gets Upgraded To “e-Niro 2” & Holds A New Market Record
The Kia e-Niro has been one of the most popular electric cars in Europe in recent years, being the 9th best selling electric vehicle there in 2020 and the 5th best selling electric vehicle in 8 top European countries in the beginning of 2021. Kia also proudly notes that the e-Niro was the best selling electric vehicle in the UK in the first two months of 2021, accounting for nearly 20% of EV sales in the country. There’s now a longer range version hitting the market in the UK, and it comes with one big claim to fame:
At £34,945 OTR, not including government grants, and 282 miles from a single charge (WLTP combined), it has more range than any other electric car priced under £35,000.
Customers who want this model can now order it for delivery in July.
This model includes a 64 kWh battery pack and 150 kW motor that was previously only available in higher-trim versions of the e-Niro. In the city, the powertrain is expected to deliver 382 miles of driving range on a single charge.
The standard trim also includes “wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, 17-inch aluminium alloy wheels, reversing camera system and rear parking sensors, Smart Cruise Control with Stop & Go, and Smart Key & Button Start” as well as an 8.0-inch touchscreen display. It can seat 5 and provides 451 litres of cargo capacity.
As we’ve reported recently, new Kia EV buyers also get access to the new KiaCharge EV charging network. “More than 15,000 charge points across the UK are accessible from a single account, including those from several major charging networks, including bp pulse, Pod Point, IONITY, Source London, Chargepoint, NewMotion, Char-gy, and ESB. Certain national and regional charging networks are also accessible via KiaCharge.”
The Kia e-Niro appears to be getting more and more love, indicated not only in its rising sales, but also in industry awards. The Fleet World Great British Fleet Awards recently gave the e-Niro the award of “Best EV Small SUV.” Naturally, if we’re being sensible, the award should just be “Best Small SUV,” since it would make no sense to put a non-EV above an EV in 2021. But some of these awards systems still like to separate out powertrains, either because of inertia with the judging body or out of fear of offending laggards.
Overall, the e-Niro is clearly one of the most compelling offerings in the UK right now in the £30,000–40,000 price range. It’s hard for me to imagine skipping Tesla’s “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) suite just because of the possibility of true autonomous driving in the coming few years, but with no other extra features added, a Model 3 with FSD starts at £50,290 at the moment. Also, who knows how long the tech will take to master or how long regulators will take to approve it for actual 100% autonomous driving? A much lower cost £34,945 Kia e-Niro certainly has a lot of appeal at the moment.
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Latest CleanTechnica.TV Video
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.
