Kia, and its parent and collaborator Hyundai, aren’t a byword for electrification despite being in the game for the better part of a decade with a pair of hybridized family sedans, the Optima and Sonata, respectively.
And yet the Korean brands make no secret of exploring alternative propulsion and setting sights on the hybrid leader, Toyota.
The Kia Niro, therefore, is one car with the unenviable task of convincing the world it can out-hybrid the hybrid that made hybrids a thing. Yet it isn’t about to shout or complain about it. Instead, it tries to seduce with logic.
Kia would like to think the Niro is some kind of answer to the subcompact crossover boom it has only partially answered so far with the funky Soul. The Niro, while larger and more contemporary looking, is no more than a tall Forte wagon.
It's based on the same platform as the Hyundai Ioniq, a compact platform the two share for their electrified vehicles right now. But 171.5 inches (4,356.1 mm) long, it’s smack in the Honda HR-V and Mini Countryman territory.
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Even though the doors themselves feel tall, the Niro isn’t perched as high off the ground as even some of the lowest SUVs, something I realized when I somehow managed to smack my head into the tailgate latch the first day I had it.
Before I did that, the Niro seemed clean, but fairly anonymous in the way it looks. It might actually be trying too hard to be normal, especially painted in the Silky Silver paint like my test car. If anything, it looks like a slightly squished version of Kia’s own Sportage compact SUV, which isn’t a bad thing if you find the Sportage too weird in front.
But a crossover? I don’t see it, even after being hit on the head.
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