The Kia e-Niro EV is being displayed at
Auto Expo 2020 in the long-range version. It's a Hyundai Kona Electric rival
globally and one of the three models under the Kia Niro series of eco-friendly
SUVs. The Kia e-Niro has the same sleek and curvy silhouette as the Kia Niro
Hybrid and Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid but comes with its own set of subtle design
alterations to boast its cleaner powertrain. The Kia e-Niro comes with a closed
Tiger-nose front grille which hides the charging port behind it, along with
redesigned daytime running LED lights with blue highlights in the front bumper,
exclusive 17-inch aerodynamically enhanced alloy wheels and blue highlights.
On the inside, while the overall design is
the same, there are subtle alterations here as well. Things like blue accents
for the AC vents, rotator dial drive selector and blue trim in the leather seat
upholstery. The Kia e-Niro packs features like an 8-inch touchscreen
infotainment system, ambient mood lighting, leather upholstery, wireless smartphone
charger, electric parking brake, heated and ventilated front seats and heated
steering wheel.
The long-range version of the Kia e-Niro
EV uses a 64 kWh Lithium-ion battery pack and a single electric motor that
generates 204 PS and 395 Nm of torque. This electric SUV can go from 0
to 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds. It has a top speed of 167 km/h. The energy
consumption rating is 15.9 kWh/100 km and the maximum driving range which can
be extracted from the battery pack is 455 km.
The Kia e-Niro will not be launched in
India anytime soon and has been put on display here to just demonstrate the
company's EV technology. The Kia Seltos EV (codename: Kia SP2 EV) will likely
use the same powertrain as the Kia Niro EV long-range.