[charlesH]

We have had minivans (Dodge, Nissan, Chrysler) when our children were living at home, luxury cars (Acura, BMW, Infinity) when I was working, and an economy car when we retired (Hyundai Accent).

I can feel and see a portion of minivan utility (seats 5 comfortably, easy exit and entry), BMW luxury and driving dynamics (interior and handling), and economy car practicality (PHEV, Kia value).

We are very happy with our Niro PHEV.

 

[charlesH]

We have had minivans (Dodge, Nissan, Chrysler) when our children were living at home, luxury cars (Acura, BMW, Infinity) when I was working, and an economy car when we retired (Hyundai Accent).

I can feel and see a portion of minivan utility (seats 5 comfortably, easy exit and entry), BMW luxury and driving dynamics (interior and handling), and economy car practicality (PHEV, Kia value).

We are very happy with our Niro PHEV.

I had a chance yesterday to dirve the Niro on the freeway and try out the smart cruise control, lane keeping assist and navigation.

Smart cruise control

This worked better and I liked it more than I expected. I was able to maintain a comfortable distance from the car ahead. It also adjusted quite nicely to cars moving in and out of the space between me and the car ahead.

Lane keeping assist

Last year I almost drove off the freeway because of falling asleep during the day. Only the rumble strip on the side of the road woke me up. This feature nudges the steering wheel and beeps at you is you stray out of your lane. It also beeps at you if you take your hands of the wheel for more than a few seconds. I liked it.

Navigation and audio

Thanks to android auto and an $8 cell phone (non activated) I now have navigation and my entire audio collection in our Niro. I find google maps to be a fit of a pain to use since to use it off line one has to load maps covering the trip you are planning. You can't just load maps state by state but have to select an area manually to download using wifi before you set out on your trip.

 

[charlesH]

What

What I don't like.

Blue ev miles remaining number difficult to read, especially at night.

Wheel covers. I want more attractive wheels. Probably get a set and use the stock wheels for winter tires.

 

[charlesH]

What I don't like.

Blue ev miles remaining number difficult to read, especially at night.

Wheel covers. I want more attractive wheels. Probably get a set and use the stock wheels for winter tires.

rather, during the day

 

[cookrd1]

A couple things I don't like.
Wipers are totally inadequate in a downpour.
No stop and go or even just stop and hold capability.
LKAS not as good as on other vehicles I own and really should pull the car over and stop if driver becomes disabled. When LKAS fails, should get AUDIBLE warning, not just a light turning white.
Plastic wheel covers on PHEV are ridiculously expensive.
Response of infotainment system is slow as is the response time in phone app.
I won't mention handling and braking because it is an economy car on fuel economy tires. It does no worse than its competitors.

Lots of things to like that far outweigh the above. Some of them small, like ventilated seats and a real transmission instead of a lousy CVT. Free telamatics for 10 years. Try to find these on its competition.

Happy with my Niro? No, ecstatic!

'18 PHEV EX Premium

 

[npaladin2000]

Navigation and audio

Thanks to android auto and an $8 cell phone (non activated) I now have navigation and my entire audio collection in our Niro. I find google maps to be a fit of a pain to use since to use it off line one has to load maps covering the trip you are planning. You can't just load maps state by state but have to select an area manually to download using wifi before you set out on your trip.

Using it with an actual active cell phone is much less of a pain to use, because you get the live map updates and traffic updates. You also get the option of using Waze for navigation instead (it only works online but has great live traffic rerouting and such).

Unfortunately, as you've noticed, the AA maps solutions really work best when used "online," if you wanted an offline solution, the built in nav system would work better. I'm assuming your model didn't come with it though?

 

[charlesH]

Using it with an actual active cell phone is much less of a pain to use, because you get the live map updates and traffic updates. You also get the option of using Waze for navigation instead (it only works online but has great live traffic rerouting and such).

Unfortunately, as you've noticed, the AA maps solutions really work best when used "online," if you wanted an offline solution, the built in nav system would work better. I'm assuming your model didn't come with it though?

Yes, your info is well taken.

I wanted a low cost standalone navigation solution for the car that's always there for my wife even though it's less convenient for me to set up.

And I'm very happy with what I have.

 

[yticolev]

Google Maps doesn't use much data. You can get a really cheap cell plan with slow data and it will work fine.

 

[charlesH]

Google Maps doesn't use much data. You can get a really cheap cell plan with slow data and it will work fine.

thx

the point is i don't want a phone with a cell plan in the car. What I have now cost me $8 and $0/month. And it works just fine. Just a small pain to set up.

 

[npaladin2000]

Yes, your info is well taken.

I wanted a low cost standalone navigation solution for the car that's always there for my wife even though it's less convenient for me to set up.

And I'm very happy with what I have.

Ok, that wasn't really the impression I got, particularly when you said "fit of a pain" to use (which I took to mean "bit of a pain.")

Just FYI, to make it clear, the phone isn't supposed to be in the car permanently. You're supposed to use the phone you already carry and use daily to plug in to AA and use (and unplug it and take it with you when you leave the car). The presumption is that you already have something with a data plan, not that you're expected to buy a new device and data plan just for use with the car. Not that the latter doesn't work, as you've seen, but it is a bit of a pain (as you've also seen) compared to the device you carry around, which has all your contacts, calendars, and favorite locations, that will pipe your calls through AA, and pass your upcoming calendar entries to your Google Maps, etc etc as I drone on and on in nerd mode.

 

[charlesH]

Ok, that wasn't really the impression I got, particularly when you said "fit of a pain" to use (which I took to mean "bit of a pain.")

Just FYI, to make it clear, the phone isn't supposed to be in the car permanently. You're supposed to use the phone you already carry and use daily to plug in to AA and use (and unplug it and take it with you when you leave the car). The presumption is that you already have something with a data plan, not that you're expected to buy a new device and data plan just for use with the car. Not that the latter doesn't work, as you've seen, but it is a bit of a pain (as you've also seen) compared to the device you carry around, which has all your contacts, calendars, and favorite locations, that will pipe your calls through AA, and pass your upcoming calendar entries to your Google Maps, etc etc as I drone on and on in nerd mode.

Yes, that is what normal people do. Our case is not normal. I use my cell rarely (we use a home land line) and my wife doesn't have a cell (too complicated).

 

[yticolev]

If you do a simple Google search, there are free data plans. Cheap enough?

 

[charlesH]

If you do a simple Google search, there are free data plans. Cheap enough?

thx for the tip

I did a search and they all have some limitation such as, old phone (no android auto), upfront fee, free for a limited time period, etc

None are as free as what I have now.

 

[charlesH]

PHEV AC is so cool

Niro PHEV AC positives.

So cheap to use, at 2% of moving energy, I can use it all the time and never feel guilty/wasteful. No interior dust.

Driver only mode. Cool me not the entire interior.

AC in EV mode all night if needed at rest stops. No hotel $$/time, no heat/humidity, no bugs.

 

[brandent]

Clever. Oh and I don't like Waze. Tried it in a major metro area 2 weeks ago and it simply didn't respond fast enough.

 

[charlesH]

Niro PHEV AC positives.

So cheap to use, at 2% of moving energy, I can use it all the time and never feel guilty/wasteful. No interior dust.

Driver only mode. Cool me not the entire interior.

AC in EV mode all night if needed at rest stops. No hotel $$/time, no heat/humidity, no bugs.

Also, enough room in the back with the second row seats down to lay down on an air mattress if I like at the rest stop.

 

[Superhomem]

I like the idea of a permanent phone, but yes... the idea is to use your own phone so you aren't distracted with calls and texts.
I see how someone with a potatoe phone would want a dedicated phone. Maybe they still set it up to use calls over bluetooth.
Does android auto cancel bluetooth?

Anyway, this car is an awesome value. The BEV will be too when it goes toe to toe with the bolt and wins or ties each spec, but it probably 5k cheaper with LKAS and AEB standard.

 

[tigerucla]

alternative navigation apps

I don't use Android Auto. I simply mount my phone on the dash and use it stand alone. If you do that, you could use Copilot, which stores maps for offline use. (I'm guessing there may be others.)

 

[yan_nz]

thx

the point is i don't want a phone with a cell plan in the car. What I have now cost me $8 and $0/month. And it works just fine. Just a small pain to set up.

Google Maps has an offline maps feature. You can select areas which you will download and refresh when on WiFi. Not every information is in the download, but about 95% of what you can get when online (i.e. no voice recognition by example).
Covering the whole of New Zealand should take 8 areas / 600MB of storage, but you usually don't need all your country available all the time.

 

[rifeman]

I have had the LKAS try to pull me into a new lane as the road goes from 2 to 3 lanes. Otherwise very happy. Wish you could go a bit longer before the system barks at you to grab the wheel. Will this change in the future?