[hdtvjeff]

Quick question,


Would the Niro Hybrid Plug in with EX Premium trim be the same feature wise as the Hybrid Touring minus the 18 inch wheels?


Hard to see from the website


Can you bargain from the sticker price as well as get Niro cash incentives on a lease?


Thank you,


jeff

 

[robertstrong]

Hi Jeff, I just went through this comparison and it is confusing. Many of the safety features have now been made standard
so the customer does not need the Touring to get them. The killer for the Touring is the extra weight and the 18 inch wheels which really dent the economy. And 18 inch wheels have a way of getting ugly from curb rash. Better to stick with the EX and the 16 inch wheels and enjoy the extra economy. Brian

 

[PS100]

I've also been researching the Niro Touring vs plug-in EX-Premium and have test driven both. I waited for the plug ins to arrive here before moving forward with this purchase. If you factor in the federal tax credit which in CT is about $4500 they cost about the same. Be careful if leasing, the Dealer or Kia will take that credit or will have some vague numbers in the lease papers that they will try to tell you incorporates the credit. If you buy after the lease, you don't get any tax credit. The only way to be sure you get the tax credit is to buy, not lease.

I was not happy to see the plug-in EX-premium it is not equipped quite the same as the Touring. In this area (northeast) the plug-in EX-Premium does not seem to come with a sun roof or nice looking 18" wheels like the Touring. It has a 120 v outlet. Everything else in the interior is the same as far as I can tell. I'm still thinking about which to get. We could live without a sun roof but why should we? Plastic wheel covers are not my thing on $35,000 car. It looks like all trim levels of the plug-in have the full suite of safety features which is great. They may be included on the Touring trim but I don't think on lower trims as standard. So far in my search, I can't find another compact SUV like car that has put together as many desirable features as well as the Niro, so I will get either the Touring or EX-Premium or wait for any number of amazing electrified vehicles being produced to arrive. We are fortunate to not need to replace either of our cars at this time.

 

[hdtvjeff]

Hi Jeff, I just went through this comparison and it is confusing. Many of the safety features have now been made standard
so the customer does not need the Touring to get them. The killer for the Touring is the extra weight and the 18 inch wheels which really dent the economy. And 18 inch wheels have a way of getting ugly from curb rash. Better to stick with the EX and the 16 inch wheels and enjoy the extra economy. Brian

Hi Robert,


am leaning to the Plug in but hope the 16 inch wheels vs the 18 inch wheels don't make the Niro too low.

 

[fredct]

PS100, take a look at the brochure on the Kia website. It will tell you exactly what’s the different trim levels and packages come with. There’s no regional differences within the US.

 

[yticolev]

We could live without a sun roof but why should we?.

You can borrow a few rationalizations from me if you want.

Number one is safety. A rather large number deaths arise from ejection through sunroofs in accidents. Still not on the public radar yet, but this has reached such scandalous proportions that NHTSA may soon set standards. Under consideration is requiring laminated glass that even when it shatters can stop objects from passing through. Presumably a large number of ejections come from not wearing seatbelts, but still. Sunroofs also weaken roof integrity potentially contributing to crushing injuries in roll overs (or bridge collapse like the recent news from Florida).

Second is efficiency. That is the primary incentive for buying a HEV/PHEV/EV in most cases (other than exotics). Sun roofs add weight, reduce aerodynamics of roof flow, and increase need for AC. All these things reduce mpg and increase CO2.

Finally, while not common, sunroofs can leak, reducing reliability and increasing cost of ownership. Roof leaks on cars without sunroofs are several orders of magnitude less (although I had such a car).

 

[Chis2k]

Quick question,


Would the Niro Hybrid Plug in with EX Premium trim be the same feature wise as the Hybrid Touring minus the 18 inch wheels?


Hard to see from the website


Can you bargain from the sticker price as well as get Niro cash incentives on a lease?


Thank you,


jeff

We went through a similar dilemma when trying to decide. We wanted to plug in but it didn't come in the color we wanted and no sunroof. At that price point, we wanted to not have as many compromises. The EX Premium didn't have the light gray leather with blue stitching so we went with the Touring. Only compromise was the bigger wheels hence lower fuel economy. However, the wheels do look nice! So taking the hit on fuel economy was fine...it's still a very fuel efficient vehicle and really depends on how you drive it to extract the MPGs! Good luck!

 

[PS100]

FredCT, Thanks, I have been on the Kia.com site quite a few times and been doing the build and buy feature as soon as the car was released last year. The cars delivered to the dealers I've been to don't match the website options, etc. very well. 2018 models probably are better than 2017 in that regard. I have looked at many local dealers website listings. Those in general are somewhat misleading. The only thing I actually trust at this time is the sticker on the window. Since for us, the safety systems are a requirement, a lot of Niros are not quite making the cut. They have 2017 EX Touring "launch" editions which are nice but lack the safety systems. There are lots of EX's priced like they had the Tech package which was supposed to have a sunroof and safety systems, but I never found one in CT. The dealer in Wallingford, CT does not "order" cars for customers apparently, at least not Niros. They will locate and get one for customers from other dealers in the region. So, we were at the dealer today getting our trade in valued. We decided we could probably get a lot more in a private sale so walked out. We have decided on a 2018 Touring at this time but will wait until we sell the current car first.

 

[PS100]

If Kia put some nice looking 16" wheels on the EX-Premium Plug-in, I'd prefer that over the Touring. The tires on the 16" wheels are the same outside diameter as on the 18" wheels so that the car height is identical. We do wish the front bumper wasn't quite so low to the ground. We could forgo the sun roof, as its not a necessity and as observed above, does bring some possible safety problems, a slight cost in efficiency, and may leak, although both our current quite old cars both have nice sunroofs which have been completely trouble free. My wife doesn't care about the wheels but does think the 18" ones are nicer looking. She also doesn't seem to care about the plug-in as much as I do and perhaps won't bother to hook it up every day so that would be a waste of a big battery and its weight to haul around. So since its going to be her car, it looks like the Touring is the best choice for us at this time.

 

[fredct]

PS100, I think some of the confusion is in 2017 the EX only had one extra package which added both the advanced safety features and a sun roof.

In 2018 the EX has two packages. The $1950 “Advanced Tech Package” which has safety features and power seat adjustments. It takes the $5300 “Premium”
Package to add in the sunroof and other “comfort” features like heated steering wheel, ventilated seats, larger screen, and wireless charging, etc. These are things that, other than the sunroof, we’re mostly available only on the Touring in 2017.

 

[PS100]

fredct, None of the 2017 EXs I found in CT actually had the safety packages. Believe me, I looked. I did see the two EX packages for 2018. The $5300 premium package brings the EX up near Touring level pricing. Some may want that as it is the higher MPG version with the 16" wheels and most of the Touring kit. I don't understand Kia's reasons for the 18" upgrade wheels that cost mpg. They could have provided similar looking 16" wheels like they have on every other kia model without the hit in efficiency and weight. Its surely a marketing thing designed to move buyers up to the more profitable trim lines and recognizing that some buyers want low profile tires for their high speed cornering. I wonder if the hybrid buying demographic is really that interested in that. I wish Kia would ditch the plastic wheel covers and offer modern looking 16" wheels with an optional 18"s for those wanting a bit more crisp handling.

 

[yticolev]

18 inch wheels are mostly a style thing on non sporty cars that cannot be replicated by 16 inch wheels. Nothing to do with hubcaps versus aluminum. Still, better than 19, 20, or 21 inch wheels I suppose.

 

[npaladin2000]

fredct, None of the 2017 EXs I found in CT actually had the safety packages. Believe me, I looked. I did see the two EX packages for 2018. The $5300 premium package brings the EX up near Touring level pricing. Some may want that as it is the higher MPG version with the 16" wheels and most of the Touring kit. I don't understand Kia's reasons for the 18" upgrade wheels that cost mpg. They could have provided similar looking 16" wheels like they have on every other kia model without the hit in efficiency and weight. Its surely a marketing thing designed to move buyers up to the more profitable trim lines and recognizing that some buyers want low profile tires for their high speed cornering. I wonder if the hybrid buying demographic is really that interested in that. I wish Kia would ditch the plastic wheel covers and offer modern looking 16" wheels with an optional 18"s for those wanting a bit more crisp handling.

The Premium package on the EX brings it up to Touring pricing because it essentially IS the Touring, just with 16 inch wheels instead of 18 inchers. A lot of people wanted that, they didn't want to make the big MPG sacrifice to get those features. They could have probably just made the 18 inch rims optional on the Touring and ended up in the same general place, but this homogenizes the trims better, making the EX with the premium package very close to the plug-in EX Premium trim (I think the sunroof and dash, and UVO eco service are the only differences). I think that's a good thing when you get down to it.

 

[hdtvjeff]

The Premium package on the EX brings it up to Touring pricing because it essentially IS the Touring, just with 16 inch wheels instead of 18 inchers. A lot of people wanted that, they didn't want to make the big MPG sacrifice to get those features. They could have probably just made the 18 inch rims optional on the Touring and ended up in the same general place, but this homogenizes the trims better, making the EX with the premium package very close to the plug-in EX Premium trim (I think the sunroof and dash, and UVO eco service are the only differences). I think that's a good thing when you get down to it.

No sunroof on plugin ex premium?


What are you referencing about the Dash?


Thanks !

 

[npaladin2000]

No sunroof on plugin ex premium?


What are you referencing about the Dash?


Thanks !

No sunroof on the EX Premium Plug-in, no. As for the dash, in the attached photo the left is the "normal" Niro dashboard, the one on the right is exclusive to the EX Premium Plug-In (at least for now). Not the best shots, but you can easily see the difference.