Just drove through a Colorado snowstorm in the Colorado mountains with the stock tires. No issues at all. I didn't really keep track of the energy usage but did not spin out or slip around at all. In addition, the car had sat idle for a month. Again, started right up (in the middle of the storm). I'm also very pleased with my purchase.
Got my Niro Ex PHEV three weeks ago and it performs just as advertised. Have not heard the ICE yet, cannot detect any transmission shifting, charge @120v each night for my 30km round trip commute, still have a full tank of gas after 800km and it performs brilliantly. If anything, way too many safety features, too much tech and it will take me eons to get through the Owner’s Manual and the Quick Reference Guide. Overall impression…almost too good to be true! Perfect car for the person who 1) has a short commute, 2) has access to a home charger and 3) doesn’t do frequent long trips.
My sentiments as well concerning this car. The tech is a bit much, but it has the best looking drivers space and experience in any car I have driven or owned yet.
Like your channel. I’m situated in Canada, Southern Ontario, close to Toronto. Will be interested in your experience with the winter tires you are going to review. Do you have severe weather, snowy, cold temperatures in your neck of the woods?
10/4 on the too much tech.........I don't know how to operate half on My 24' Forester Touring......Owners manual is wrapped in plastic and will remain so when My new one comes in.........Paul
I like the looks of the dash......SOO much better than halving a laptop bolted to the dash.......Only real complaint is that I insist on 65 series tires for softer ride......No low pros for Me...........Paul
How is the higher profile tires working for you? Just curious i see this comment is 7 mos old now, I was contemplating the exact same thing. Just a little smoother would be nice. Also, if you did, would you let me know which brand tire you selected and if you are happy with the choice of tire? Thanks!
I have the hybrid version so watching. Interested in how the winter tires work. Noise and MPG. 3000 miles on mine and really enjoy driving it. 50 mpg when warmer, 43 mpg now in bitter cold.
The nokian hakkapeliitta 9 tires have been great. I recorded 46mpg at highway use (80mph) with an uncharged batter (14% i.e. equal to the hybrid model) and they are just plane stickier on the road then the factory tires, I will leave them on the car year round given the ruff terrane at my work project sites. I have been turning off the traction control on the car in the snow as it seems much to tentative when excelerating. I have not noticed any additional road noise, though I should mention that I did not 'stud' these 'studable tires' and I believe they would have much better biting grip for hills. I have had more then one occasion at work where I had to climb a hill at slow speeds and it was very challenging. I have been very happy over all, but they are not magic tires in challenging conditions. I'd give them a solid 8/10.
I have Michelin CrossClimate 2 on my Sorento and they stay on all year round. I like them a lot and they ride smoothly and I am not hearing sounds coming from the tires. I will eventually get something like that for my Niro.
@@davidpaisley9949 ppl change winter tires and summer tires here in Finland by the law. The rubber composition and surface pattern are the biggest differences in frost resistance and tire friction. All-season tires are prohibited.
Just bought the same car and subscribed to your channel. 👍 Interesting to see how these vehicles manage and age. What is the tool you bought to get more data out of the system?
Since you live in Vermont, it's worth doing an undercoating every year or two with something like fluid film or surface shield by PB Blaster to extend the life of the frame. Every car in Vermont rusts because of the salt on the road from November through May.
Hi, I have the EX and love it. I think less Sportage has 1" more ground clearance. I have two kids and work tools in it often and has been a great family car at this size.
I see at 4:42 the trunk cargo liner has kind of a weird thing going up the sides. I got one from Weather Tech that seems to be a better fit. But mine partially covers up some vents low on the wheel wells. I think these are for cabin air outflow (so the HVAC can blow in treated air), and not super important. At first I was worried they were vents for the battery, but that appears to not be the case. At any rate, I'd be a little worried if your cargo liner completely covers those vents.
I m planning to do uber in this and atleast will be putting 70 thousand miles per year..wish me luck I hope it can last me atleast 5 years.Fingers Crossed
I do you wish you luck and am fascinated by the prospect of putting so many miles on the car so quickly. Keep an on your engine clutch actuator fluid. With the amount of cycles clutching the engine and motor together and apart, that DOT3-4 fluid will get a work out. Really nice car to spend time commuting in
Keeping the oil change intervals at 5k max is key, like he said clutch actuator fluid (Its just a DOT 4 synthetic brake fluid at typical auto parts store) I am on a 10k swap out interval, its really easy to DIY and cheap. Get a big bottle of fluid, when done using it place plastic wrap inside the twist top to keep moisture out, and store in a temp controlled room. I also run a fuel tank treatment every 10k I like the Liqui moly branded "fuel system treatment" keeps your injectors clean. I think its possible, but you are definitely on the "extreme" intervals in the owners manual section. Best of luck to you!!!
Yes, I was thinking of spraying the bottom of the door panels were the sheet metal is folded. There are a couple muffler mount brackets and a spot or two in the wheel wells, but not a whole lot to protect.
My 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek is having engine trouble and uses 1/2 gallon to go 17 miles to the post office and back, wondering about a used Niro PHEV if one comes available....
Hmmm, good question, I haven't looked into this yet. I put a roof rack on so I could move a ping pong table and the occasional bit of lumber. It is a sporty hatchback, not much of an SUV
@@KiaNiroPluginHybrid Can you give more information about the roof rack? I've got Thule Wingbarz at the moment (clamp style), but I'm told that you can only use a screw-in system (with a Thule adapter)?
The only thing in my opinion are the 16” wheel, in my opinion looks too small for a car of this size; I would go for the sx trim with 18” wheels but unfortunately in Canada only ex model is available. Also how’s the sound system since is not the premium HK?
Ground clearance does not change with wheel size.....Only tire profile......Meaning lower tires to accomodating bigger wheels....IE/harsher ride/more expensive rubber...........Paul
18" tires come with non-aerodynamic alloy wheels, meaning a significant drop in efficiency. Most Niro owners buy a Niro for the great fuel efficiency, so 16" tires make sense. On the HEV, you can get 18" tires on EX touring. Not sure if that option is available in Canada on the PHEV.
I just tried it. Turns out, you can't even turn the car on while it is charging. The radio and displays as well as the cabin fans will all operate, but the heated seats won't heat up and the temperature sure controls don't appear to be working. Thanks for asking about this.
"I still use a flip phone." Bro, you have a TH-cam channel, but no smart phone? I have a 2018 Hyundai Ioniq HEV and I had a similar phenomenon where the gas evap system sensor was faulty, and would periodically cycle on and off the check engine light. Over the first 50K I brought it in 3 times for the same issue. Replaced under warranty and it never happened again. The Niro shares the same basic hybrid system. If it keeps happening check that. Also easy way to try and fix it is to check your gas cap is screwed on correctly.
Thanks for the input, very interesting idea / possibility with the 'evap system sensor'. How many miles do you have on your Ioniq? Just got a smart phone 2 weeks ago :) (after a 7 year break)
Not really sure...I haven't pushed it hard enough to activate the engine. I have however been using the gas engine in hybrid mode to pass someone and the electric motor will kick on around 70mph to give the engine a speed boost
As I understand it, the electric motor is before the transmission, so basically you should be able to go any speed on electric only. It just depends on how much power you need (eg. if you're accelerating hard).
I purchased this car 2 week ago. Do you have any rattles in the car. I seem to have a minor on the passenger side rear. I'm debating about taking it to dealer to see if they can fix it.
The short of it is, I don't truly know yet. As 'Winter is coming' here in Vermont, I'm curious about tracking the temperature of the 96 battery cells and how power will be handled at lower temps. Each sub pack of 24 cells has a Cell Monitoring Unit with temp sensor. The DL700 can produce 'time stamped' performance data from cell voltage and temp to motor wattage load and temp and many other sensors throughout the cooling system. I think layering some data from different modulars in the car from season to season over the first two years should result in some useful data...I hope.
@@KiaNiroPluginHybrid I don't know about the Niro PHEV but I know that for the Nissan Leaf, the customary way to measure battery health is based on the spread of battery voltages among all the cells. When a battery is brand new, the battery control module is able to keep the voltages almost identical between all the cells, but as the battery ages, the cells don't respond as well to the rebalancing so the variance between different cells in the battery starts to widen. So when buying a used Leaf one is told to check how spread apart the highest voltage and lowest voltage cells in the battery are. I'm not sure if the same principle can be applied to other types of batteries like the one in the Niro PHEV though.
That’s a little disappointing to here you guys are already on track to be at 70% ev efficiency after 5 years. Especially putting 35K into this car, I would want this to go the distance. Then to think how will degrade after 10 years and so on. Maybe I missed it, are you keeping the battery between 80-20% or just maxing it out?
yeah, good point, I have no control over the peak charge for each cycle and cycle every single day. I also don't know what percentage of batteries don't pass the 70% test at 100K ...just don't know. So far this car has been wonderful and it can get remarkable efficiency out of its little 60,000 watt PM synchronous motor...this car weighs almost 4500lbs... I agree though, totally, I really need this car to go the distance... time tells
Not "on track" for 70% ... from what he said the warranty says it will be at least 70% ... so the average car will be well above 70% because they don't want to be replacing a bunch of batteries on the company's dime.
Just drove through a Colorado snowstorm in the Colorado mountains with the stock tires. No issues at all. I didn't really keep track of the energy usage but did not spin out or slip around at all. In addition, the car had sat idle for a month. Again, started right up (in the middle of the storm). I'm also very pleased with my purchase.
Great feedback on the car. Thanks!
Just bought a 2023phev - I'll be picking it up next week. I subscribed to your channel
Got my Niro Ex PHEV three weeks ago and it performs just as advertised. Have not heard the ICE yet, cannot detect any transmission shifting, charge @120v each night for my 30km round trip commute, still have a full tank of gas after 800km and it performs brilliantly. If anything, way too many safety features, too much tech and it will take me eons to get through the Owner’s Manual and the Quick Reference Guide. Overall impression…almost too good to be true! Perfect car for the person who 1) has a short commute, 2) has access to a home charger and 3) doesn’t do frequent long trips.
My sentiments as well concerning this car. The tech is a bit much, but it has the best looking drivers space and experience in any car I have driven or owned yet.
Like your channel. I’m situated in Canada, Southern Ontario, close to Toronto. Will be interested in your experience with the winter tires you are going to review. Do you have severe weather, snowy, cold temperatures in your neck of the woods?
10/4 on the too much tech.........I don't know how to operate half on My 24' Forester Touring......Owners manual is wrapped in plastic and will remain so when My new one comes in.........Paul
I like the looks of the dash......SOO much better than halving a laptop bolted to the dash.......Only real complaint is that I insist on 65 series tires for softer ride......No low pros for Me...........Paul
How is the higher profile tires working for you? Just curious i see this comment is 7 mos old now, I was contemplating the exact same thing. Just a little smoother would be nice. Also, if you did, would you let me know which brand tire you selected and if you are happy with the choice of tire? Thanks!
Congratulations on your brilliant choice. We have a 2024 Niro HEV and we love this SX trim in Steele gray.
yup, sure do love this car... doing a 20k review soon. I'm at 21,111 after exactly one year of driving
One more thing to keep an eye on is the battery cooling intake, make sure it doesn't get dust bunnies all clogged up in there
I have the hybrid version so watching. Interested in how the winter tires work. Noise and MPG. 3000 miles on mine and really enjoy driving it. 50 mpg when warmer, 43 mpg now in bitter cold.
The nokian hakkapeliitta 9 tires have been great. I recorded 46mpg at highway use (80mph) with an uncharged batter (14% i.e. equal to the hybrid model) and they are just plane stickier on the road then the factory tires, I will leave them on the car year round given the ruff terrane at my work project sites. I have been turning off the traction control on the car in the snow as it seems much to tentative when excelerating. I have not noticed any additional road noise, though I should mention that I did not 'stud' these 'studable tires' and I believe they would have much better biting grip for hills. I have had more then one occasion at work where I had to climb a hill at slow speeds and it was very challenging. I have been very happy over all, but they are not magic tires in challenging conditions. I'd give them a solid 8/10.
I have Michelin CrossClimate 2 on my Sorento and they stay on all year round. I like them a lot and they ride smoothly and I am not hearing sounds coming from the tires. I will eventually get something like that for my Niro.
@@KiaNiroPluginHybridi would also go with Finnish Nokia tires for winter. They know that for good.
@@davidpaisley9949 ppl change winter tires and summer tires here in Finland by the law. The rubber composition and surface pattern are the biggest differences in frost resistance and tire friction. All-season tires are prohibited.
Just bought the same car and subscribed to your channel. 👍 Interesting to see how these vehicles manage and age. What is the tool you bought to get more data out of the system?
Since you live in Vermont, it's worth doing an undercoating every year or two with something like fluid film or surface shield by PB Blaster to extend the life of the frame. Every car in Vermont rusts because of the salt on the road from November through May.
I have the same car and am loving it. Subscribed.
Heck yeah, go KIA, really have enjoyed learning about this car...great commuter vehicle
Is the car play wireless or wired?
I m getting my nero phev next week really excited about that..really liked ur videos very informative
What a cool car, thanks for checking the vids out. Wishing you well
Great video, what trim level is your Niro ? Thanks I’m debating between that and the Sportage thanks
Hi, I have the EX and love it. I think less Sportage has 1" more ground clearance. I have two kids and work tools in it often and has been a great family car at this size.
Really enjoy your videos, I’ve had mine for about 2 months and absolutely love mine.
I see at 4:42 the trunk cargo liner has kind of a weird thing going up the sides. I got one from Weather Tech that seems to be a better fit. But mine partially covers up some vents low on the wheel wells. I think these are for cabin air outflow (so the HVAC can blow in treated air), and not super important. At first I was worried they were vents for the battery, but that appears to not be the case. At any rate, I'd be a little worried if your cargo liner completely covers those vents.
I m planning to do uber in this and atleast will be putting 70 thousand miles per year..wish me luck I hope it can last me atleast 5 years.Fingers Crossed
I do you wish you luck and am fascinated by the prospect of putting so many miles on the car so quickly. Keep an on your engine clutch actuator fluid. With the amount of cycles clutching the engine and motor together and apart, that DOT3-4 fluid will get a work out. Really nice car to spend time commuting in
@@KiaNiroPluginHybrid Thanks for the advice.i really appreciate your feedback on the comments
5 X 70......350k.???............Good luck..........Paul
Keeping the oil change intervals at 5k max is key, like he said clutch actuator fluid (Its just a DOT 4 synthetic brake fluid at typical auto parts store) I am on a 10k swap out interval, its really easy to DIY and cheap. Get a big bottle of fluid, when done using it place plastic wrap inside the twist top to keep moisture out, and store in a temp controlled room. I also run a fuel tank treatment every 10k I like the Liqui moly branded "fuel system treatment" keeps your injectors clean. I think its possible, but you are definitely on the "extreme" intervals in the owners manual section. Best of luck to you!!!
Are you going to fluid film it to prevent corrosion?
Yes, I was thinking of spraying the bottom of the door panels were the sheet metal is folded. There are a couple muffler mount brackets and a spot or two in the wheel wells, but not a whole lot to protect.
My 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek is having engine trouble and uses 1/2 gallon to go 17 miles to the post office and back, wondering about a used Niro PHEV if one comes available....
Awesome information!
Does Edward Norton drive KIa?
Any issues with the 12v battery? I've seen postings about the battery going dead overnight.
No, no issues at all. Others have asked in the past too and I followed a thread online about this. What is the prevailing belief on why this happens?
I just would like to know how you switch to motor going up the hills. We just bought one and I don't know much about the ev button. Tks in advance
How do I reset the tp on the 2023 phev niro
Curious is you found a hitch for hauling bikes for your 2023 Phev niro? Is there a reason this model does not have a hitch ?
Hmmm, good question, I haven't looked into this yet. I put a roof rack on so I could move a ping pong table and the occasional bit of lumber. It is a sporty hatchback, not much of an SUV
@@KiaNiroPluginHybrid Can you give more information about the roof rack? I've got Thule Wingbarz at the moment (clamp style), but I'm told that you can only use a screw-in system (with a Thule adapter)?
Just put a rack on my Nire Hybrid, not plug in. Curt from UHaul. No electricals. $370
The only thing in my opinion are the 16” wheel, in my opinion looks too small for a car of this size; I would go for the sx trim with 18” wheels but unfortunately in Canada only ex model is available.
Also how’s the sound system since is not the premium HK?
I'm happy with the 16" wheels, but I know there will be a snowy day or two where an extra inch of ground clearance would be great!
Ground clearance does not change with wheel size.....Only tire profile......Meaning lower tires to accomodating bigger wheels....IE/harsher ride/more expensive rubber...........Paul
Sounds great to me. Nice bass.
I have a 2021 SX with 16” wheels. Better ride, cheaper to replace. Bigger is not always better.
18" tires come with non-aerodynamic alloy wheels, meaning a significant drop in efficiency. Most Niro owners buy a Niro for the great fuel efficiency, so 16" tires make sense. On the HEV, you can get 18" tires on EX touring. Not sure if that option is available in Canada on the PHEV.
Is the car play wireless or wired?
Did u try turning on the heat in the car while charging does the engine comes on?
No I haven't. I'll try to report back to you on this. Good question...
I just tried it. Turns out, you can't even turn the car on while it is charging. The radio and displays as well as the cabin fans will all operate, but the heated seats won't heat up and the temperature sure controls don't appear to be working. Thanks for asking about this.
"I still use a flip phone." Bro, you have a TH-cam channel, but no smart phone? I have a 2018 Hyundai Ioniq HEV and I had a similar phenomenon where the gas evap system sensor was faulty, and would periodically cycle on and off the check engine light. Over the first 50K I brought it in 3 times for the same issue. Replaced under warranty and it never happened again. The Niro shares the same basic hybrid system. If it keeps happening check that. Also easy way to try and fix it is to check your gas cap is screwed on correctly.
Thanks for the input, very interesting idea / possibility with the 'evap system sensor'. How many miles do you have on your Ioniq? Just got a smart phone 2 weeks ago :) (after a 7 year break)
@@KiaNiroPluginHybrid congrats on the phone. The ioniq has 71k and has been solid except for the faulty sensor.
How fast can you go on the battery alone before the engine kicks in? Thanks
Not really sure...I haven't pushed it hard enough to activate the engine. I have however been using the gas engine in hybrid mode to pass someone and the electric motor will kick on around 70mph to give the engine a speed boost
As I understand it, the electric motor is before the transmission, so basically you should be able to go any speed on electric only. It just depends on how much power you need (eg. if you're accelerating hard).
I purchased this car 2 week ago. Do you have any rattles in the car. I seem to have a minor on the passenger side rear. I'm debating about taking it to dealer to see if they can fix it.
Non so far. I will post back if I detect any sounds. I would explore the root of that sound. Not sure what it could be.
Tighten up the spoiler with 10 mm socket
your batteries are rated to accept 14 thousand recharge cycles
Can you test for the ev battery degradation? Like how do we know it's caoacity over time?
The short of it is, I don't truly know yet. As 'Winter is coming' here in Vermont, I'm curious about tracking the temperature of the 96 battery cells and how power will be handled at lower temps. Each sub pack of 24 cells has a Cell Monitoring Unit with temp sensor. The DL700 can produce 'time stamped' performance data from cell voltage and temp to motor wattage load and temp and many other sensors throughout the cooling system. I think layering some data from different modulars in the car from season to season over the first two years should result in some useful data...I hope.
@@KiaNiroPluginHybrid I don't know about the Niro PHEV but I know that for the Nissan Leaf, the customary way to measure battery health is based on the spread of battery voltages among all the cells. When a battery is brand new, the battery control module is able to keep the voltages almost identical between all the cells, but as the battery ages, the cells don't respond as well to the rebalancing so the variance between different cells in the battery starts to widen. So when buying a used Leaf one is told to check how spread apart the highest voltage and lowest voltage cells in the battery are. I'm not sure if the same principle can be applied to other types of batteries like the one in the Niro PHEV though.
Great comment, I will definitely learn more about this. Appreciate the insights :) @@flamingspinach
That’s a little disappointing to here you guys are already on track to be at 70% ev efficiency after 5 years. Especially putting 35K into this car, I would want this to go the distance. Then to think how will degrade after 10 years and so on. Maybe I missed it, are you keeping the battery between 80-20% or just maxing it out?
yeah, good point, I have no control over the peak charge for each cycle and cycle every single day. I also don't know what percentage of batteries don't pass the 70% test at 100K ...just don't know. So far this car has been wonderful and it can get remarkable efficiency out of its little 60,000 watt PM synchronous motor...this car weighs almost 4500lbs... I agree though, totally, I really need this car to go the distance... time tells
Not "on track" for 70% ... from what he said the warranty says it will be at least 70% ... so the average car will be well above 70% because they don't want to be replacing a bunch of batteries on the company's dime.