[videojoe]

Greetings everyone,

Over the past 3 months, I have been helping my girlfriend with her search for a small "CUV" type vehicle.

The short list became the Crosstrek, Kia Soul, Mazda CX5, Hyundai Kona and lastly the Niro.

We recently came across a used touring with less than 5,000 miles. It drove really well but I did note a bit more road noise than a new EX with the skinnier 16 inch tires vs the Touring model's 18 inchers. Girlfriend didnt seem to mind the difference as we still averaged 47 mpg over our 40 min test drive.

This Niro has all my gf's wish list (sans AWD), Moonroof, XM, heated seats and a backup camera with both articulating and fixed lines on the back up camera. The 8 inch screen is really nice and Apple Car Play worked flawlessly.

The 2017 appears to be a base Touring (w/Nav) as it doesn't have:
a rear charging port, autonomous braking, Lane keep assist or the Advanced Cruise control.

The 2018 seems to add most of the missing features as standard.

The dealer is asking $24,000 as they have had it on their used lot for over 90 days

What's got us a little concerned is because this would be a "non- certified" car, so the dealer believes that KIA would only warranty the hybrid components (battery, inverter, etc...) for only the balance of the bumper to bumper 5 year/60k mile wrranty. This would only leave us with just under 4 full years.

I've priced an 18 Niro with her wish list of sunroof and heated leather seats and its a bit more than 27, 000 for a new one.

What is everyone's opinion of the lack of 10 year warranty (or the balance of most cars 8 year hybrid warranty that most other hybrids offer)?

Other thoughts would be appreciated as well!

 

[yticolev]

Only $3,000 more for a new one with all the features she wants, better safety tech, and a better warranty? What was the question again?

 

[RedWouldForrest]

AFAIK, no used car comes with the 10/100 warranty, no matter who makes it.

Both Kia and Hyundai reduce their 10/100 to 5/60 when a new car is sold again as used.

And agreed, for $3000 this one's a no-brainer. I'd go new.

 

[yyysguy]

AFAIK, no used car comes with the 10/100 warranty, no matter who makes it.

Both Kia and Hyundai reduce their 10/100 to 5/60 when a new car is sold again as used.

And agreed, for $3000 this one's a no-brainer. I'd go new.

Certified Kias do come with 10/100 powertrain warranty, according to Kia's website. Not sure why the car in question is not certified, given it's a year old and being sold at a Kia dealer. Perhaps OP might insist on having this vehicle certified as a condition of buying. I would agree that new model for $3K more would be a better deal.



Choosing a Certified Pre-Owned Kia gives you the confidence of knowing every vehicle comes equipped with Kia's comprehensive:
10-year/100,000-mile Certified Pre-Owned Limited Powertrain Warranty
12 month/12,000 mile Platinum Coverage
24-Hour Roadside Assistance
Towing/Rental/Travel Breakdown Coverage
164-Point Quality Assurance Inspection
Free CARFAX® Report on vehicle history
10-Year Unlimited Mileage Roadside Assistance Plan

 

[Ruzzell]

Might be better off trying to get the dealer to reduce the price and/or increase the warranty. The 2018 extra options of lane keep and ad cruise control don’t seem worth the price.

 

[Sstr Maria]

ad cruise control

Agree. I've turned off lane assist due to it's constant beeping on our twisty back-country roads.
And I don't like the adaptive cruse control at all.
Even on the minimum setting of 80 ft, when in the left lane it leaves so much of a gap that other drivers including tractor trailers think you are leaving room for them to pass so they cut in front of you, when you are in fact trying to pass them because your cruise speed is set faster than they are going - so using it makes you fall progressively further behind slower traffic. This is nothing but annoying unless you have time to waste.
There is a feature to turn off the adaptive setting and revert to regular cruise control and I'm going to do just that.

 

[yyysguy]

Agree. I've turned off lane assist due to it's constant beeping on our twisty back-country roads.
And I don't like the adaptive cruse control at all.
Even on the minimum setting of 80 ft, when in the left lane it leaves so much of a gap that other drivers including tractor trailers think you are leaving room for them to pass so they cut in front of you, when you are in fact trying to pass them because your cruise speed is set faster than they are going - so using it makes you fall progressively further behind slower traffic. This is nothing but annoying unless you have time to waste.
There is a feature to turn off the adaptive setting and revert to regular cruise control and I'm going to do just that.

I use adaptive cruise all the time. It works wonderfully well on the highway. If I want to pass someone, I can always override the cruise with the accelerator during that time. I usually use the maximum distance setting, which allows for a comfortable following distance, and provides about a two-second gap from the car in front, which is the minimum recommended for safety. Of course, other drivers will at times change lanes and cut in front of me when they see an opening. The only way to prevent that totally would be to tailgate the car in front, which is unsafe.

 

[yticolev]

If someone is cutting in front of you, it should be because your lane is actually moving faster than you are (the common exception is someone trying to navigate to an exit). Thus the car cutting in front of you is moving faster than you. On standard cruise control, this is zero problem, you stay at the same speed (more efficient) and the car cutting in front of you is pulling away. Yes, the follow distance is briefly unsafe, but again since they are pulling away, it is not that unsafe. Drivers without cruise control (who do not overreact) do not brake under such circumstances, but ACC drivers will be constantly braking which is not only uncomfortable and hurts mpg, but can cause safety issues with following cars. I hate ACC personally, and its use by other drivers.

When future cars are networked, these problems will go away of course. That is a long way in the future though.

 

[Sstr Maria]

While you are catching up to the car in front of you, passing slower traffic in the right lane, all of the sudden the adaptive cruise control brakes when the preset distance to the car in front of you has been reached. Drivers of the slower traffic in the right lane take this opportunity to pass and cut in front of you - as soon as this happens, the adaptive cruise control brakes per the distance requirement, creating yet more opportunity for slower drivers from right lane to cut in front of you yet again. This happens over and over until you are sick & tired of it. Instead of passing slower drivers, you become the slowest driver.
The highways I drive on are bumper to bumper, so trying to use this adaptive cruise control, even when the traffic is moving, is useless.

 

[Alex]

While you are catching up to the car in front of you, passing slower traffic in the right lane, all of the sudden the adaptive cruise control brakes when the preset distance to the car in front of you has been reached. Drivers of the slower traffic in the right lane take this opportunity to pass and cut in front of you - as soon as this happens, the adaptive cruise control brakes per the distance requirement, creating yet more opportunity for slower drivers from right lane to cut in front of you yet again. This happens over and over until you are sick & tired of it. Instead of passing slower drivers, you become the slowest driver.
The highways I drive on are bumper to bumper, so trying to use this adaptive cruise control, even when the traffic is moving, is useless.

Thanks for providing that kind of feedback because its what most of us will be doing. After all these were made for the city, much like every other vehicle in the segment.
Do you see yourself parting ways with the Niro sometime in the near future?

 

[yticolev]

ACC is designed for congested interstate driving, not city driving. For those of us that dislike how it works, switching to standard CC is easy enough (although annoying the option doesn't stay sticky as the manual states).

While the Niro is more efficient in the city, it was not designed as a city car. City cars sell very badly in the US. Most miles by most Americans are highway. Exceptions are perhaps taxis and Uber drivers.