Steve drives a KIA Niro 2020 Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) car.

This is Steve’s first plug-in hybrid car, he’s owned the KIA Niro from new and drives 10,000-15,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 30,000-40,000 miles and he achieves 30 miles of range from pure electric.

Why did you choose the KIA Niro PHEV?

Best option available for my use. Needed a car that was compatible with forthcoming EU LEZ zones. Full EV not an option for me at moment due to poor network availability in the UK/EU. Low fuel costs too.

Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car

• The fuel economy on long, high speed motorway journeys
• the greater flexibility with charging – more convenient when charging availability is very poor or non-existent
• much less range anxiety than with a full EV.

Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car

• Poor range in EV mode and when in HEV mode – at high speed the power will drop off unless you keep to a lower speed
• the fact that it has AC charge instead of DC which limits the charge rate making it slower
• not being able to stop the engine running in EV mode and not being able set HEV mode instead of EV when switching on the ignition
• I don’t like the lane assist being on by default and find it dangerous on narrower twisting roads and in icy conditions.

Compared to when you first bought the car, does your battery still charge at the same rate & do you still get the same range?

It’s very hard to tell as there can be many variables. The range is improving as I keep learning when and how much re-gen to use as well as the route I take.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

The only fault I’ve found is that they don’t seem to have provided a 12v battery so it doesn’t have the capacity to keep enough charge for more than 2 or 3 days in the colder weather.

What’s the biggest or funniest myth you’ve heard about EVs?

That they have a great range and they’re the best answer to save the planet.

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

I think hydrogen or biofuels will eventually become more viable than electric cars unless battery technology vastly improves in being more environmentally-friendly than they are at present.

Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements

EO Mini – easy to understand and manage.

Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements

Octopus Energy Flexible

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

• Pod Point simple and easy to use in UK
• Plugsurfing for Europe

Public charging can be very confusing on the continent with so many different providers and charging system tariffs. Worst example was being charged 5€ just being plunged in for 2 minutes and not even receiving a charge! If I hadn’t noticed that no charge was going in the cost would have been astronomical!! There weren’t even parking charges on the site it was situated on!

Insurer – outline both positive & negative elements 

Direct Line – never had any issues with them.

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a KIA Niro PHEV

I’m only saving on day-to-day fuel costs as everything else costs more. I most probably save about £30+ a week on fuel. On my last holiday to Europe I saved about £500+ on fuel.

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