Martin Roberts drives a KIA e-Niro 64kWh 2020.
This is Martin’s second electric car, he’s owned the KIA e-Niro from new and drives 20,000-30,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 70,000-80,000 miles and he achieves 215 miles from a full charge.
Why did you choose the KIA e-Niro?
In upgrading from my 24kW LEAF, I wanted a car with good range and fast CCS charging. After reviewing several car videos on YouTube and taking a test drive I placed my deposit.
Positives
- Cheap to maintain
- relaxing to drive
- home charging means first 215 miles only cost £4.80!
Negatives
- Rear seat belts rattle if not placed in their home grip
- having to turn on the auto hold on every start up
- heater can be all or nothing.
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 does
Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
Drive battery coolant level dropped but the dealer dealt with the issue as soon as I took it to them.
What are the standout technological features of the car?
- Rear view camera
- adaptive cruise control
- lane keep assist.
Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about your KIA e-Niro
I love the way that KIA used the ‘spare tyre space’ to hold tools. Took me 6 months of ownership to find it!
What’s the biggest or funniest myth you’ve heard about EVs?
Drive battery needs replacing after a few years.
Even after 103,000 miles in the Nissan Leaf I’ve only lost one health bar. Checking on the DVLA website, the car is still being used 10 years after I purchased it.
What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?
BYD – for the tech in-car and a bigger range. I won’t look to buy until I have driven at least 200,000 miles in my current car.
Home charging unit
Ohme Pro – I love the way I can configure my Octopus tariff and configure max. charge cost.
Electricity supplier & tariff
Intelligent Octopus Go – where I get 5 hours of electricity overnight for 7.5p kW. Octopus are brilliant, I’ve previously been on a tariff where I’ve been paid to charge the car!
What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?
- InstaVolt
- Osprey
- MER
- GRIDSERVE.
Insurer
LV= have a specific EV policy where you can get towed to a charge point if you run out of drive battery power and insures the charging cable along with car.
Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a KIA e-Niro
No road tax for the last 10 years though this will change very soon. My weekly commute ‘fuel’ costs dropped from £50 to roughly £12 a week. Servicing is cheap, a major one is around £250. No breakdowns and no expensive replacement parts either.
See other KIA e-Niro Owner Reviews here
