Kia Niro (2002) Review

WITH fuel prices wavering between £7 and £10 a gallon it is no wonder the cost of living crisis has spawned a new breed of driver.

Rather than motorists obsessing over the 0-60mph sprint times and the irrelevancy of top speeds they are more likely to focus on economy.

Right from when they choose which vehicle to drive they are thinking how best to eke out the miles per gallon. There’s even a word for it – hypermiling.

Unbeknown to me I’ve been doing it for years – it’s called having Yorkshire blood in your veins and a dad constantly aware of anything that causes ‘unnecessary wear and expense’.

Any time we drove his car he would have to set our speed to the most frugal and he’d moan if we drove with ‘yellow boots’ on and a heavy right foot.

Now, with fossil fuels running dry and efficient electrics still some distance away, ballet pumps and a featherlight touch are the order of the day, something that is being shared by a large section of the motoring population.

According to research by lease company Choose My Car, 89 per cent of drivers are now hypermiling, which is up 17 per cent since April.

Young drivers are feeling the pinch the most and 93 per cent of those aged 18-34 are trying to maximise fuel efficiencies when driving, something that is also helped by the fitting of black boxes to monitor standards in order to reduce their insurance premiums.

So does it really make that much of a difference? Well, you would not believe it. The new Kia Niro PHEV (that’s plug-in hybrid to you and me) provides the perfect example with stark differences between trying and not trying to boost economy.

Under normal conditions the 1.6 litre petrol/electric hybrid is a pretty economical car. Hoon about with your clogs on and you will still return an impressive 50+ miles per gallon; you used to have to drive a diesel to get those figures.

Practise the art of hypermiling and that figure soars to an incredible 110mpg. Now on our ridiculous school run of 62 miles that would make a difference in costs of between £9 and £4 each way depending on your driving style. He’s at school six days a week and 35 weeks a year so the annual school run bill would be £3,780 with a hefty throttle but only £1,680 if you go hypermiling. Now imagine the costs if you run a car that only returns 30mpg.

So that’s what it is and the difference it can make to your purse, but how do you do it?

Thankfully Niro is light at 1,594kg and good aerodynamics reduce drag, the enemy of economy.

It’s also powerful and whizzes up to cruising speed nicely where it is happy to sit with the electric motor doing the lion’s share of the work.

In fuel-chomping traffic Niro PHEV switches from petrol to electric and the results are clear to see.

Use the ‘eco’ setting on the car rather than ‘sport’ and keep an eye on the ‘instant’ fuel consumption figure on the trip computer and you can max-out consumption.

It helps economy to keep your momentum and Niro handles well allowing you to carry speed into corners without the need to brake. It is also great for vision allowing you to look as far up the road as possible, plan your next move and read the conditions to maintain progress.

Stick to the speed limits using the adaptive cruise control, sit back in the excellent Sportage-esque cabin and enjoy the ride, not to mention the admiring glances at what is a strikingly modern SUV.

Niro takes the stress out of fuel prices and the cost of living crisis leaving you sitting pretty as a member of a new breed of smart drivers.

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