Joined
·
25 Posts

Kia plans to improve their overall fuel economy by 25% before 2020 ends and the hybrid Niro brought them one step closer to that goal. Now, the automaker is coming out with a plug-in variant of their new crossover and it is set to go on sale in Europe this fall.
Debuted at the 2017 Geneva Auto Show, the Niro PHEV has a 8.9 kWh capacity battery pack which is 5.7 times more than the regular hybrid’s 1.56 kWh. At full charge, the plug-in NIro has a pure-electric range of 34 miles.
Even though it uses the same 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine and permanent-magnet synchronous AC electric motor/generator as its hybrid sibling, the plug-in variant has a higher total system output at around 139 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. That is enough for the plug-in Niro to sprint from o-62 mph in 10.8 seconds, which is a 0.7 second improvement.
For those who wants to squeeze even more mileage out of the plug-in Niro, Kia is offering plenty of fuel saving features including regenerative braking, ECO Driving Assistant System, Coasting Guide Control, and Predictive Energy Control.
Car And Driver says the Niro plug-in hybrid will hit European showroom floors this fall, but the U.S. launch date has not been released yet.