[AlanHo]

I have posted this here because a lot of the information will apply to the Hyundai Ioniq. They both share the same platform.

In case you wonder why I have been able to produce such a long report in such a short time - I have a confession.

The first part, under the heading 'Facts Figures and Technical Stuff' has taken me a couple of months on and off to research and compile. It is only the section headed 'My First Impressions' and the 'Photo Gallery' that were compiled this evening. Its a bit rough and ready but I'm sure you will battle your way through it.

I have rushed it into print because we are off on holiday on Sunday for almost two weeks - and I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer. Tomorrow (Saturday) management has a full day planned for us - so it's my last chance. Sunday morning packing and Sunday afternoon flying.

We made the mistake of booking Thomsons flights and because I have long legs I need the seats with more room. The only ones free were in row 32 which is right next to the toilets - management is pissed off about it.

My diatribe is too long to post all the text and pictures - hence you will need to download the pdf file if you would like to read it.



Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

[Doggie 1]

It's a rather brief synopsis but we know you'll do better next time.   

[John B]

Excellent report Alan, I  found it very interesting and educational. Looking forward to reading more reports after further testing.

[CraigB]

It was a good read while I was waiting in line at the polling booth

[Dazzler]

Thanks very much for that report Alan. As you know I am a big Hybrid fan and have one of these on my short list for my next car. The behaviour of the hybrid drivetrain seems to mirror that of my previous two Toyota Hybrids (as expected)

I have pencilled in an increase in my broadband download limit for when you do your full report. 

Not sure if it is the colour or your excellent photography skills, but the shape is growing on me! 

[Shambles]

I reckon Oliver Mann would love to get his hands on Alan's Ho

[Dazzler]

I reckon Oliver Mann would love to get his hands on Alan's Ho

Yeah. I thought the same thing...

[AlanHo]

I have brimmed the tank of my Niro 2 after travelling 584 miles after the initial fill when I bought it.
During this period the car has done a couple of relatively long motorway/main road trips – the remaining 260 miles being urban.

This is the result



 I deliberately ran the car as low in petrol as I dared.
At a DTE of 75 miles the fuel gauge changed from 4 blocks (1/4) to 3 (3/16)
At a DTE of 60 miles it changed to 2 blocks (1/8)
At a DTE of 45 miles it changed to 1 block (1/16) and the low fuel warning came on
5 miles later at a DTE of 42 miles a bell sounded and the head unit screen displayed a message which said “Fuel is low. Do you wish to see a list of the nearest service stations YES  NO”

I pressed Yes as a test and it listed about a dozen service stations in distance order. I pressed in the nearest one and the satnav set up the route.

You will note that the trip computer for this tank declared an economy of 67.2 (4.2 L/100km)  mpg but the calculated figure (allowing for the odometer reading 1.05% pessimistic having been carefully checked over a long distance against the motorway kilometre distance boards)) was 63.7 mpg (4.43 L/100 km). An error of 5.3%.

I am quite pleased with the economy but there is a caveat. During the first two days of ownership I must have spent at least two hours, in instalments, sitting in the car with the petrol engine ticking over whilst I fiddled with the various settings, familiarised myself with the controls and features, made several abortive attempts to upload into the address book some waypoints I saved to a memory stick stored in .kmz and .kml format etc. This will have distorted the calculations because some petrol was not used to propel the car.

Hence the true mpg result is likely to be a little better and the trip computer display error a little less.

The Hyundai ioniq which has identical running gear will perform even better - being a smaller car with a lower CD

It's not bad for a petrol auto is it?  I reckon it may be possible to get 1000 kilometres on a tank

[eye30]

Who do you know 1000 k's away and will they be glad to see you.

[Dazzler]

A pleasing result Alan,  thanks for sharing.  1000 km range is a good psychological figure. I was always happy when I achieved that in my FD diesel and my hybrids. Which I did most of the time. I can do 800 on long trips in my Calais but it has a large (70 litre) tank.

[Dazzler]

Ah, great minds think alike! I came to this thread to see if you had any more updates for us Alan and I can see you are already here! 

[AlanHo]

We had a trip out on Tuesday to visit friends who live in Witney. The M40 and A40 regularly suffers traffic delays near to Oxford so we usually go across country and through the Cotswolds. Those who know the area will be aware of how hilly it is. When possible I tend to come home by a different route than the outbound journey to see some different countryside. Today was no exception. 

On the motorway I cruised at 56 mph (90 kph) and on the A roads drive between 45 and 55 mph.(72-88 kph) The B roads 25 to 35 mph (40-56 kph) especially through the villages. It is not unusual for me to have a long queue of cars following me and trying to keep up.

There were two of us in the car with nothing in the boot going but about 50 kg of cargo for the return trip.

Journey there:-
Home to M42 on A41            3   (5 km)
M42 and M40 to Banbury     34  (54 km)
A361 to Chipping Norton      15  (25 km)
B4026 to Charlbury              7  (11 km)
B4437 to Witney                  8  (13 km)
Total                                  67  (108 km)

Trip mpg reading upon arrival in Witney 69.7 mpg (4.05 l/100 km)

      


Journey back home
Through Witney town to A40  3  (5 km)
A40 to Burford                      7  (11 km)
A424 to Stowe on the Wold    9  (14 km)
A429 to Wellesbourne           19  (31 km)
A429 to A46 at Longbridge     6  (10 km)
A46 to A4177                       2  (3 km)
A4177 to A4141                    4  (6 km)
A4141 and A41 to Home       10  (17 km)
Total                                   60  (97 km)   

Trip mpg reading upon return home 68.4 mpg (4.13 l/100 km) [this covers both journeys totalling 127 miles (205 km)]

[mickd]

Excellent report,  like the style and not too high off the deck, maybe a model for the future.

As you like word games I must say :
50kg of ""cargo " , do you think that it helped  ? 

[Dazzler]

Good stuff Alan. I'm guessing you are happy with that? I would be.

Pretty good for an upright access friendly vehicle. 

[AlanHo]

We have completed another round trip this morning – this time one of 89 miles of which 53 miles were by motorway and the rest on suburban roads.

I then brimmed the car with the following results.

You will see that the trip mpg recorder is again about 4 mpg optimistic.

Even so – it’s a great result with an economy over the first 1200 miles being better that my 5 previous cars. ie:-

2010 Hyundai i30 1.6 diesel manual  49.01 mpg over 13770 miles             (5.76 l/100 km – 22162 km)
2012 Hyundai i30 1.6 diesel manual  53.68 mpg over 11711 miles            (5.26 l/100 km – 18447 km)
2013 i30 diesel Tourer manual           52.20 mpg over 6777 miles             (5.41 l/100 kh – 10906 km)
2013 Venga 1.6 petrol manual            48.12 mpg over 22508 miles           (5.87 l/100 km – 36223 km)
2015 Venga 1.6 petrol 6 speed auto   38.85 mpg over 11098 miles           (7.27 l/100 km – 17860 km)
2017 Niro Hybrid Auto                         63.96 mpg over first 1208 miles     4.42 l/100 km – 1944 km)(

[Dazzler]

That is truly excellent Alan! Would it be possible to do a similar exercise with a table subjectively comparing it with these same vehicles in other key areas?  Would be an interesting exercise. 

Performance, braking, ride, comfort, storage etc.. ?

[Dazzler]

Something like this Alan (even if just with your Venga and i30 Tourer + Niro maybe?) pretty please..

You are so good at these things... 

[AlanHo]

Dazz

I suppose I could produce something like that but I fear it would be somewhat distorted.

I will give you an example.

When I bought my first i30 - an FD - I thought the styling rather anonymous but not untypical of that car sector. If you had asked me then to score styling out of 10 - I would probably have given it a 6.

When the GD i30 was launched I was totally impressed with the styling and would then have given it a 9 for styling.

However - fast forward a few years and if asked to score both Hyundai cars today - the FD would get an 8 and the GD a 5. Perhaps Toyota and Lexus are the culprits here because they started a trend for origami styling with outlandish folds and creases that I find awful. The GD leans in that direction and Hyundai have put that right with the latest model which scores an 8 with me.

So - any tabulation similar to the one you have posted would be tainted by a mix of how one felt at the time and one's present opinion. I doubt that my memory would be up to the challenge to produce meaningful comparisons.

When I first saw the Niro I was not impressed at all with the styling and my opinion has not changed. It is another anonymous car that stands no chance in a beauty contest. The Hyundai Ioniq is quite another matter - that is a lovely looking car and would have been my choice if higher seated.

Each of the cars I have bought were then what suited our lifestyle at the time. The FD was perfect and as good a car as the Audi A3 it replaced. The GD seemed so much better at the time but looking back I don't think it really was, except for some extra toys and slightly lower cabin noise. My heart ruled and my head lost.

The Niro is a car that was chosen after far more research and road testing than any car that went before it. I realised 4 years ago that diesels in our crowded island would eventually be recognised as a pollution hazard - and that was before the VW saga. I also had to accept that as Libby and I get older our old bones (especially Libby's) don't fold into a low sporty car easily any more. So I changed to the petrol Venga. Petrol for environmental reasons and Venga because it is a tall and competent car. Two years later Libby's arthritis made changing gear a pain for her so we swapped to an automatic. As you are aware - my reason for changing cars again was driven by the legacy from my old friend. Otherwise we would still be happy with the auto petrol Venga.

The advantage with the Niro is much lower ownership cost and cabin noise. It is no more roomy than the Venga, it has similar luggage capacity, creature comforts and some extra toys like adaptive cruise.

7 years ago we each had our own cars - so my choice of vehicle was not influenced by Libby. In 2013 we moved house to one with a single garage, thus owning two cars was an inconvenience and the parameters for the choice of  "our car" changed. Low cars were ruled out and the Venga suited our needs admirably - it still does in auto form.

[Dazzler]

Thanks Alan (fair call)

I wasn't so much concerned with the appearance as obviously we might differ in our tastes with regard to that anyway.

I guess where I was coming from was aside from the economy how does the Niro perform in other key areas compared to the best of your last few cars.

I guess I am better off just waiting to see when/if it is released here and then driving it myself.

I certainly like the look and sound of the economy and quietness (and accessibility) 

[AlanHo]

I am typing this sitting by a log fire (unlit) in a beautiful little country cottage in Lincolnshire - 188 km from home.

The drive over here today was more revealing about the Niro's qualities because we travelled some roads pock marked with lumps. bumps, potholes and undulations. Without a shadow of doubt the Niro rode through that lot with far more composure than any of my i30's. Ok - you could feel the bumps but not as harshly and the steering was not unduly affected.

The steering of the car is nicely weighted and positive at the central position. It tightens up as cornering speeds increase and gives you a confident feel. Libby reckons it is heavier than the Venga which she thought was lighter than the i30's. Perhaps it resembles the i30 mid setting but I cannot be sure.

Seating is firm but comfortable and Libby gives the car top marks for having a height adjustable passenger seat.

I decided today to give the car a bit of a thrashing to measure its effect on economy and cruised the motorways and all other roads at or well above the speed limits using Google Auto via my smartphone to warn of speed cameras. This car is such a nice cruiser that you find yourself going at much higher speeds than you realise. I had no idea that I was well over the motorway speed limit (112 kph) until my speed head up display gadget gonged to tell me I was doing more than 130 kph. The car trip recorder read 60.4 mpg (4.7 l/100 km) when we arrived here which I consider remarkable considering the high speed drive for the whole journey.

The friends we were visiting have a 10 month old Ford Focus with a 1.2 turbo petrol that I have been in a few times and it is quite lively. My friend Norris is a retired Ford development engineer and he was keen to see what the Niro was made of. He was astonished when I floored it away from some traffic lights - so was I. I  swear that it gets off the line quicker than any of my recent cars, but the rate of acceleration falls away to normality after in reaches about 70 kph.  I know that this is due to the electric motor having maximum torque from stationary and the motor is before the gearbox so is effectively geared down when the double clutch box is in the lower 3 ratios.

The windscreen is not quite as raked back as the i30 or Venga - hence the dashboard top is not as deep. This results in 2 benefits. Less reflections in the screen and you don't need to be a double jointed ape to clean the bottom half.

Luggage capacity is not quite the maximum volume as the Venga because the Niro lacks the Venga's sliding rear seat and the vertical position for the rear seats backrest. My friend tried his golf clubs in the boot and they would not lie flat across the width of the boot because of the intrusion of the wheels. You could get them in - but only at an angle.

I love the adaptive cruise - it's the first car I have driven with one. I am still trying to get used to the Lane Keep Assist facility which steers the car if you wander from the centre of the lane. It feels strange to find the steering wheel gently move when the car considers you are not on the centre line. I have moved from hating it, through disliking it and am now starting to like it.

Having had a SEAT Ibiza on hire in Lanzarote recently which had a DSG gearbox I am quite convinced that the KIA unit is far better. You could feel the Seat box change gears and it hesitated before pulling away from a standing start. The Niro has the advantage of having the electric motor to pull the car away from stationary and once under way the gear changes are virtually imperceptible. Someone new to the car would think it was a conventional torque converter auto but with a stronger pull from a standing start. Libby was worried that the lack of a handbrake would be a problem on a hill start. She needn't have because it has hill start assist and the electric motor provides forward creep like a conventional auto.

I cannot comment on the performance of the radio or playing music because I never do either. Nor do I use a phone in the car to make calls. However - with my phone connected to the head unit by Bluetooth WiFi I can and do reluctantly receive calls with ease. The sat-nav is excellent and uses Tom Tom innards with excellent traffic and camera warnings via the smartphone link. The guys on the Niro forum speak highly about the connectivity and phone sync they enjoy.

I have still not sussed how the 12 volt battery gets charged. I have plugged a small - but calibration checked - digital voltmeter into one of the cabin power sockets to try and determine under which conditions it is charged.

On the trip today first thing in the morning when I started the car the petrol engine started and the energy flow picture showed it was charging the hybrid battery. The line voltage read 14.76 volts.

After 2 miles on engine power I stopped at traffic lights and the engine stopped. I expected to see the line voltage drop to between 12 and 13 volts but it was reading 14.71 volts. 

Upon pulling away from the lights the electric motor did all the work and the line voltage alternated between 14.70 and 14.76 volts.

After about 30 miles on the motorway during which there was a mix of engine and electric power the line voltage dropped to 13.14 volts - even when the petrol engine was running. After a further 10 miles the voltage was 12.6 volts when I stopped at a junction. For most of the rest of the journey the line voltage was above 14 volts both when the engine was running and when it was not.

I cannot be sure about this but it looks as though the 12 volt battery is charged via the Li Ion one. Can anyone offer any other explanation for the line voltage being at 14.7 volts when the car is stationary and the petrol engine is off.

[Dazzler]

Excellent Alan (thanks) I think I better start saving my pennies! Sounds like my sort of car ( and I haven't played golf for a long time...)

The height adjustable passenger seat would win brownie points with Trish too!

[AlanHo]

Todays trip to see friends near the Humber Bridge was on fairly busy A and B roads some of which had numerous sharp bends and littered with traffic cameras plus a long average speed monitored zone.  It was a 142 mile (230 km) round trip

The KIA connected services and Google Auto performed perfectly and the potential traffic hold-ups were accurately portrayed on the map. As were all the damned speed cameras. There is no doubt that this system is a step above those in my previous cars and my Garmin Nuvi will now only be used when we are on holiday abroad. My car goes into the dealers on May 2 for a software and map update that has just been released. The main change is the provision of Apple Car Play connection - something which will not be of interest to me but will be to iPhone owners. My interest is the updated maps.

I continue to use the Lane Keep Assist mode and have decided I quite like it.  It would be foolish to trust it completely but it proves to be accurate when the lane and kerb markings are clear.  Today it had a wobble when I went over a humped back bridge which was on a bend - the cameras were looking at sky - so I intuitively took over.

Today's route unavoidably took us through the city of Lincoln twice - the sat nav trying to avoid traffic snarl ups on the way through. I can't be sure about this - but it seemed to do a good job by weaving through some side-roads.

The trip computer now shows an average of 59.7 mpg (4.82 l/100 km) since I brimmed the tank 261 miles (420 km)ago.

Now to the foot brake - to my surprise I find I quite like it and no longer reach for the absent handbrake any more.

Our friends took us out for lunch in their 2 year old diesel Ford C Max which has a 6 speed auto. Judging by the slight jolt at each gear change I'm guessing it's a dual clutch box. if not, there is trouble brewing. It is not a bad looking car both outside and interior and is quite comfortable - but the road noise would put me off one.

We return home tomorrow - a distance of 108 miles predicted by the satnav - but madam has a habit of asking me to divert to see some place of interest on the way.


                                                     

[Dazzler]

I have a feeling the local Tassie Kia salesman may be obliged to slip you a few $ commission at some stage Alan! 

[AlanHo]

Dazz

Just because I am impressed, enthusiastic, delighted, satisfied40,000 km a year for 5 years to  and very happy with the Niro is no reason for you to buy one.  The promised Hyundai version may be a better fit.

Your lifestyle, age and wealth are all so much better than mine that it would be foolish in the extreme to trust an old, coffin dodging, codger like me.

The plug-in Niro is due soon which promises even better economy - but at a much higher purchase cost. I rather doubt that the numbers would work for me - I would possibly need to do to 40,000 km a  year for 5 years to save enough on fuel to cover the extra purchase cost. Your numbers would be different.

[Dazzler]

Thanks Alan, but I don't think our circumstances are actually that different. You holiday in the Costa Del Sol and I holiday in the Not Costa Lot. You are 80 and according to Trish (due to various ailments) I now move like an 80 y/o...

I doubt I would want to fork out the suspected extra 5K for the plug in model or bother with the extra rigmarole of plugging and unplugging the thing... I would probably rather pay that extra amount to add the options I wanted to the Hybrid model. Like you I would probably go the middle model for the better fuel economy and more compliant ride.

To be honest, I would probably be a fool to part with my current car which still has 2.5 years warranty left and is hard to fault in any way. Unfortunately, I still have that lust for a new car which is hard to shake when you are used to changing every two years or so.

Thanks again for all your info on the Niro. It certainly at this stage ticks more boxes than any alternative. Only a Diesel Qashqui comes close. Better looking but a much shorter warranty and the Kia Dealer is likely to offer a better trade than the NIssan Dealer who usually tries to steal your car rather than trade it! 

[AlanHo]

The economy of the Niro is creeping up - I brimmed it yesterday and found that I had managed to get the magic 1000 kilometres on the tank. Not bad for a petrol mid sized brick with reasonable performance is it?.

I had two long trips to Wales and back during the last few days which accounts for 460 of the 624 miles - the rest being urban stuff.

[Dazzler]

  I want one.. Although it is not looking that likely that Kia Australia will bring it in now. 

Despite the early availability of an Aussie owner's manual I can't find any recent news about an impending release. Most articles suggest it is unlikely. 

[AlanHo]

A guy on the UK Niro forum is castigating his car because he gets soaking wet when it rains.

He is a smoker and has to have the drivers window open whilst driving. When it rains it pours in and drenches both him and the inner door panel. He now wishes he had never bought the car.

[Dazzler]

A guy on the UK Niro forum is castigating his car because he gets soaking wet when it rains.

He is a smoker and has to have the drivers window open whilst driving. When it rains it pours in and drenches both him and the inner door panel. He now wishes he had never bought the car.

Can you tell him there is an Aussie who wants to know if he's a Trump supporter who recently emigrated from the USA...
 

[The Gonz]

Smoker? He deserves everything he gets.