Mark drives a KIA e-NIRO 4+ 64kWh 2020.
This is Mark’s first electric car, he’s owned the KIA e-Niro from new and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 5,000-10,000 miles and he achieves 250 miles from a full charge.
Why did you choose the KIA e-Niro?
Great reviews for the 2019 model. What Car? rated the e-Niro as their ‘Car of the Year’ (not just ‘Electric car of the Year’) as did Business Motoring.
Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car
- Ease of driving, no gears, clutch etc.
- smooth acceleration
- extras all included as standard
- decent efficiency (over 2 years, average is 4 miles per kWh)
- reasonably accurate range meter
- plenty of physical buttons.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car
- Hard suspension
- awful start up jingle
- trendy gear selector knob
- position of charge port (personal dislike as I wanted to get closer to a wall in front)
- poor sat nav (still tells me to keep left before taking 3rd exit at roundabout – yes, we drive on the left in the UK)
- fairly slow charging on rapids.
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Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
Yes and no.
- Parking brake locked on permanently, took phone calls and 1hr experimenting to release. Needed a new wiring loom (fortunately covered by warranty but took weeks to arrive).
- 12V battery failed after 2 years, charging algorithm still not sorted out. Had to replace.
What are the standout technological features of the car?
Cruise control is great in heavy stop-go traffic not just on fast roads. Follows the car in front, just need to correct the steering and beware of sharp turns in the road!
Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car
None to report.
What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?
KIA Niro EV. Seems to follow in its predecessors footsteps, though a little expensive. Recently, the resale value of the 4+ has crashed.
Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements
myenergi zappi V2 – great flexibility with Fast, Eco and Eco+ modes (latter limiting charging to ‘green’ times if you have solar), incorporates solar panels and will incorporate batteries, if I can afford to add them.
Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements
Intelligent Octopus, the successor of Octopus Go. Allows cheaper charging overnight at 10p/kWh, though Go was 5p/kWh 🙁
What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?
- InstaVolt – expensive but always seems to work
- GRIDSERVE – who have made Electric Highway more reliable.
Insurer – outline both positive & negative elements
Saga Insurance – nothing to add, seems OK for us oldies.
Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a KIA e-Niro
- Cheaper running costs – currently about 3p/mile overall including home and public charging. Roughly 1/6th the cost of previous ICE car.
- road excise duty currently £0 but that will end
- servicing at KIA dealers is still expensive but I’ll switch to an independent garage this year (less than half the cost).
See other owner reviews here
