The Niro was designed to be a FWD car, but with a lot of that big battery weight placed low on the rear axle, it performs very similarly to AWD (and in some instances better). If the battery gets moved to accommodate AWD, the Niro likely would suffer in the handling department. Certainly choice of tires is also more important than the drive differences in any event... Sure, truck based four-wheel drive is superior, but a lot of folks assume that car-based AWD is pretty much the same (not close). Having owned all types (even rear wheel drive vehicles in my youth), I have a pretty good sense of situation driving in Minnesota winters.

 

Can anybody say E..D..S..E..L

 

Every Day Something Else Leaks... 🙂

 

Oh that's a good one!!!!!!

 

I have a 2018 Niro PHEV and live in Western Pennsylvania. We get a decent amount of snow here, not your Canadian levels, but a decent amount and I have never had an issue in the snow and ice with my Niro. I have never gotten stuck and never felt the car starting to skid.

 

i have no 4WD experience but my AWD subaru was superior to the FWD vehicles i’ve owned. it was marginally better starting from a stop in snow or going up hills around town but where it really shined was on the highway in light snow cover and heavy rain. i found that it tracked like it was on dry pavement. if anything it tracked too well in light snow cover because i probably drove too fast and an emergency maneuver likely would have put me on the median or in the woods. thankfully it never came to that. i would have bought another subaru but i wanted a phev or ev and the crosstrek did nothing for me. and i’m retired now so i feel no need for AWD, if the weather’s bad i just stay home, but it’s comforting to see the praise for the niro FWD.

 

That's a fair assessment. I want to clarify that Subaru has built most (all?) of their AWD vehicles from the ground up that way... and that allows for maximum design advantage. (Still, I don't think its a good idea to have the tailgate lip lower than the floor - I ran into falling groceries on the Cmax due to that failed design.) At the same time, other manufacturers (such as Hyundai with the early Tucson - and presumably the sister Kia Sportage) grafted AWD in as an afterthought... and traction suffered. Indeed, the Cmax with FWD had better traction and swerve control up to the 5" limit of the undercarriage compared to the AWD Tucson before it - and I had the same all-season tire on it. Quite a bit experience with this - in Minnesota where we buy the tires ranking the snow-ice capability above all other factors.

 

My guess would be that the hybrid battery location might be an issue of space for a driveshaft. Many AWD hybrids do so with a rear electric motor, so there's no need for a shaft. The Niro being such a small car, there might not be space for a rear motor, and even if there were the HEV battery wouldn't power it for long. For the PHEV, it would likely from from 26 to less than 20 miles EV range.

I've had mine for one winter, which was admittedly quite mild, even for Seattle. But in my 50+ years of driving, I've only had AWD in a few cars, and only one winter was it actually needed. I recognize your location is quite different from mine, and there are places that I would absolutely prefer AWD. But I have my doubts that the Niro will ever get it.

However, Kia does have a new dedicated EV platform coming out next year, and it should support AWD without an issue. Perhaps you're not ready yet to go full EV, but within the next 24 months there's going to be a lot of CUV EVs that offer AWD. The Mustang Mach-e, the VW ID.4, whatever Kia is offering then, and if you desire to stick with something with an engine there's the RAV4 hybrid or Prime PHEV.

 

My guess would be that the hybrid battery location might be an issue of space for a driveshaft. Many AWD hybrids do so with a rear electric motor, so there's no need for a shaft. The Niro being such a small car, there might not be space for a rear motor, and even if there were the HEV battery wouldn't power it for long. For the PHEV, it would likely from from 26 to less than 20 miles EV range.

I've had mine for one winter, which was admittedly quite mild, even for Seattle. But in my 50+ years of driving, I've only had AWD in a few cars, and only one winter was it actually needed. I recognize your location is quite different from mine, and there are places that I would absolutely prefer AWD. But I have my doubts that the Niro will ever get it.

However, Kia does have a new dedicated EV platform coming out next year, and it should support AWD without an issue. Perhaps you're not ready yet to go full EV, but within the next 24 months there's going to be a lot of CUV EVs that offer AWD. The Mustang Mach-e, the VW ID.4, whatever Kia is offering then, and if you desire to stick with something with an engine there's the RAV4 hybrid or Prime PHEV.

They recently made a Prius all wheel drive. I think they should have two options a 4 wheel drive and a non one. For me, I would only buy one if I live in a snowy area but here in Los Angeles, it doesn't snow. Plus I heard that those are those require more maintenance.

 

As a former Audi owner (2002 A4) I appreciate you post and am amazed how well you Audi served you for 14 years including tracking. IMO and experience the Niro is a great car that does have some nice hints of Audi design.

I doubt that the Niro will be available with AWD. That said, given its FWD and traction control, it should be pretty competent in snow, especially with dedicated winter tires. The only place AWD really makes a big difference is if your going up very steep, slippery inclines or driving faster than you probably should be in the snow.

You might consider looking at the Hyundai Kona EV. It has a lot of similarities to the Niro, has AWD, gets ~ 240 miles/ charge (US). I'm not sure if it is available in CDN market, but probably worth a look if you are OK with a pure EV and really want AWD. 2021 Hyundai Kona Electric Vehicle | Hyundai USA
2019 Hyundai Kona Electric: What's It Like To Live With? | Edmunds

Hyundai Kona Electric Premium SE: long-term test review | Auto Express

Final report: We gather Hyundai Kona Electric owners to see what life is like with the EV

www.autoexpress.co.uk

Let us know what you think

 

You might consider looking at the Hyundai Kona EV. It has a lot of similarities to the Niro, has AWD, gets ~ 240 miles/ charge (US). I'm not sure if it is available in CDN market, but probably worth a look if you are OK with a pure EV and really want AWD.

Um, pretty sure, like its stablemate Niro EV, the Kona EV does not come in AWD. (Your linked video review also reports this.)

 

The Niro was designated from the start to be a hybrid. I think though the setup of the Toyota prius (can't remember the model) might work. That little bit of electric torque in the rear end might be handy. But on the other hand We got through winter last year no problem. And winter in Winnipeg is no joke.

 

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To see how AWD could affect design, check out the Subaru Impreza Crosstrek PHEV. Open the rear hatch. Instead of a nice flat floor, or one that's a bit lower than the door opening, you'll see the floor about 6 or so inches higher, taking away from cargo capacity, especially usable vertical capacity (see photo)

 

To see how AWD could affect design, check out the Subaru Impreza Crosstrek PHEV. Open the rear hatch. Instead of a nice flat floor, or one that's a bit lower than the door opening, you'll see the floor about 6 or so inches higher, taking away from cargo capacity, especially usable vertical capacity (see photo)

I think that is due to the larger PHEV battery placed there. All Subarus sold in the US are AWD, and non-PHEVs have normal load floor height.

Extreme or ordinary off road vehicles lift the body to make room for drive and suspension components, they don't mess with load floors for different models. That is an HEV/PHEV thing.

 

~ Good INFO ~

Next-gen Kia Niro borrows the Habaniro Concept's garments

 

Adding a small motor to the rear is one more item (well, several when you add the mechanical connections to the wheels), but not much maintenance.

 

Doesn't it have ATF on the rear or that only on rear wheel cars?

 

the biggest problem i had with AWD was the tires. i had to replace one and the dealer told me i had to replace all four because the AWD will “wear” if all four are not the same circumference. the car was older so i got away with replacing two keeping them opposite each other. only other option i could find was having the new tire ground down to match the three remaining tires but i just couldn’t bring myself to trash half of a new tire‘s tread. later it occurred to me that if you could afford it the best solution might be buying an extra set of tires and rotate them all. happy motoring........