Skip to the end for the review where I talk about 100+ mpg.
This is a story of how I drove 4 different years of Kia Niros, two Hybrids, an EV, and then now the PHEV.
[Spaceship Mk I](https://lensdump.com/i/k16nHx) was a 2019 Kia Niro Hybrid EX Premium that I bought peak pandemic in 2021. No one knew what was going on and I managed an amazing deal on it with only 7k miles. I was super happy with the car with all it's features, reliability, ease of use. I managed to put 30k miles in a year, frequently getting 50+ mpg.
Fast forward to 2022, various dealers knew I had the Niro and wanted to buy it off of me with the crazy weird used car market. I really didn't want to sell, but one dealer reached out to me and said they had a brand new 2022 EX Premium, same color that I could trade it in for.
Stupid low interest rates and an stupider used car market caused spaceship Mk I to appreciate in value and I made out like a bandit with a new car, somehow ahead.
Cue Spaceship Mk II, 2022 Kiro Hybrid EX Premium.
[Side by side photo](https://lensdump.com/i/k16Mr1).
I was extremely happy with this trade, I gained better fuel economy being able to fiddle around with the added regenerative paddles.
I put just under 40k miles in a year with little issue, only doing regular maintenance. April 2023 comes around and [this happens](https://lensdump.com/i/k16PLm). A DUI driver smashes into me, police takedown style on the freeway at 60ish mph. The airbag deployed and I spun out into the shoulder and ended up [facing oncoming freeway](https://lensdump.com/i/k16oNK) traffic.
Though the collision happened so fast, the car spin felt stable and the abrupt stop into the embankment didn't hurt too badly. Despite a concussion and muscle strains/pinched nerve, this could have ended so much worse. I was even able to drive down the freeway to the next exit to be towed away. Kia may have made a lifelong customer out of me with how safe I felt.
[Goodbye Spaceship Mk II](https://lensdump.com/i/k16Y3c), you were amazing.
My insurance company hooked me up with a rental. Funny enough, they had another Niro! They forgot to tell me that it was the EV EX Premium version.
[Spaceship Mk IIB](https://lensdump.com/i/k16fai)
This was my first EV and I was impressed at how much zoom zoom it had. My daily commute 5 days a week is 150 miles round trip, but I never felt like I was going to be stranded even though I wasn't able to charge at home. The downside is that fast EV charging came out to be 0-15% more expensive than refueling the Hybrid. Also, we as a society are not ready for public charging stations as I frequently came across stations with stolen cables, likely stripped for materials.
It took about two weeks for my insurance company to determine that Spaceship Mk II was a total loss and to issue a settlement payment, during which I did research on the feasibility of used and new cars.
**A Review of the 2023 Kia Niro EX [Plug in Hybrid](https://lensdump.com/i/k16x4C)**
After much haggling and walking away from multiple dealerships, I landed one with 34k sale price in the color I actually wanted. Washington state has a pretty cool incentive where you don't pay taxes on the first 20k of certain PHEVs and EVs, so I only paid 10ish percent on 14k which brought me to 36k out the door with fees and licensing.
Here's the part that really matters to me- the fuel economy!
My commute 5 days a week is about 150 miles round trip, plus a variable 0-30ish miles depending on the day.
Here's a photo of the less efficient commute home with elevation changes. [113 mpg](https://lensdump.com/i/k16wrv)
More efficient going to work. [126mpg](https://lensdump.com/i/k16cl9)
I can plug in on both sides of the commute if I go to the gym and use their free level 2 charger. At home, I'm using a level 1 charger that takes 8 hours, but I'll be getting a level 2 charger in the next few days.
119mpg average with most of the 150 mile commute being ln the freeway. It's been perfect 60-70 degree weather in Seattle, so I assume a 30 percent decrease during the colder months. Also, when I've driven without charging, mpg drops down to high 40s, low 50s. When I'm driving around the city with short freeway stretches, I don't use any gas. This feels like a massive savings with gas over $4.50 a gallon over here.
The fuel economy has completely blown my expectations and easily makes this alone the PHEV worth it if you can plug in once a day, even if you charge only to 60%.
The interior feels futuristic with one piece, touch screen, digital dashboard. I can see this is a problem as I would prefer an analog speedometer and the lack of tactile feedback on the sceeen can be distracting. The customizable LED interior accent colors is a nice touch. I also learned that I somehow got a model with the cold weather package installed that includes a PTC cabin heater, heated steering wheels, and heated rear seats (!!!), which makes my 34k sale price seem like even more of a steal.
The driver assist features have been great on the last 3 model years, it's a massive help taking away driver fatigue on my long daily commute. For 2023, I think Kia has tightened up the experience and there feels like there's less ping pong in the lane keeping assist. I like how they've allowed you to change the rate of acceleration on the smart cruise control depending on how much zoom zoom vs fuel economy you'd want.
I had my friend who drives a sporty Lexus IS 350 drive mine around and he said that the PHEV easily goes toe to toe on the 0-30 acceleration with the new stronger electric motor. Both of us agree that the steering feedback is satisfying and doesn't have uncomfortable body roll on tight turns with acceleration. The electric motor is strong enough to get me to traffic speeds without engaging the gas engine which was an mpg killer on the hybrid models from a full stop.
I did go down one trim, by going from EX Premium (now SX in 2023) to EX, but the PHEV only came in EX or SX Touring, adding larger wheels which would hurt fuel economy.
I do miss the moonroof, but I had it closed on really hot days and it's cloudy and raining most other days in Seattle.
The premium sound system is missing and I do notice a change in audio, but not enough to annoy me.
Kia had front parking sensors on the 2019 Niro which made city parking braindead easy. They took it away and brought it back on SX and higher trims for 2023, so I haven't missed it too badly as I've gotten used to not having it for a year.
It seems that all 2023 models have the backup camera under the handle enclosure which makes it so I don't have to buy an aftermarket wiper attachment to keep the camera free of raindrops. Score!
All in all, I'm 10/10 happy with the new car! I feel more at ease with the generous warranty that Kia has too. Let's see how Spaceship Mk III holds up.
Thanks for following along with my story of how I came to regularly drive four different Niros over three years!!!
Anybody have any recommendations for backup cameras, fuse box wired or otherwise?
Thanks for sharing. I can't believe I read every word lol!
Have to say I'm kind of amazed at how little damage you sustained being hit by someone going 60 mph. I would not have guessed that big of an impact by looking at that photo!
I’m thinking you may have misunderstood the accident - the way I read it, the impact happened with both vehicles on the freeway with OP assumedly going around 60mph as well, so the impact isn’t a 60mph vehicle hitting a stationary vehicle. Police takedown style as OP says would be like a medium/hard sideswipe that caused OP to spin out and end up in the oncoming traffic side
thanks! /u/Super-IBS-Man nailed it, the impact wasn't too bad (at least relatively) as we were both matching speeds. The spin out after most likely saved me as well as it dissipated most of the force before I came to a stop.
yeah I was super surprised to see high numbers despite my 150 mile commute being mostly freeway. People often recommend against a PHEV for long freeway commutes, but the fuel efficiency and cost savings are more than double compared to normal hybrids, and possibly an order of magnitude compared to normal fuel cars.
Thanks for sharing. Happy to hear the car held up and you walked away from that accident.
Why did you go with the PHEV over an EV? Is your commute too long?
I purchased a 23 PHEV SX with the cold weather package at the beginning of the year. While we have two cars, this is really the daily driver for both my wife and I, and so far, we're averaging exactly 30 miles a day of local driving. We're lucky and WFH, so it's mostly running our kids around and short errands. I'm beginning to have some regret that I didn't go with the Niro EV though.
Because we mostly share this car, I wanted (needed) driver memory. That's why I went with the SX Touring. I like the power lift gate, rear heated seats, LED headlights, and the look of the larger wheels... the stereo sounds great too. No complaints.
While I'm VERY impressed and happy with the car, I kind of wish we went full EV. Though that would have pushed us outside our comfort zone for payments. I'm confident our next car will be all electric so, similar to you, I plan on getting an L2 charger in the next year or two. However, the stock L1 works just fine and I think, for our need, it would probably be fine for an EV too.
My daily commute is long, 150 miles round trip. That should be fine for the EV, but I have plenty more things to get to after work and my schedule is go go go. I would have to carve out time at the end of the day to fast charge which eats into my unwind/sleep time.
One bad winter outage would leave me stranded for the day with severe cold weather efficiency penalties even if I did manage to charge the day before.
The PHEV was a good compromise between a new car price, gas savings, and practicality for me.
Also, road trips are way more feasible with the PHEV, not having to plan an exact route and with the ability to make detours on a whim.
I'm such a big fan of this particular EX trim level, especially with the cold weather package. It hits a sweet spot with pricing in that 33k to 35k range. 40k to 41k for a SX touring is too hot. You can get a Sportage PHEV for 38k-40k.
yeah the value was perfect! especially as I was able to negotiate below MSRP. the size fits perfectly for what I want, a hatchback with a little more weight and space to it.
Skip to the end for the review where I talk about 100+ mpg. This is a story of how I drove 4 different years of Kia Niros, two Hybrids, an EV, and then now the PHEV. [Spaceship Mk I](https://lensdump.com/i/k16nHx) was a 2019 Kia Niro Hybrid EX Premium that I bought peak pandemic in 2021. No one knew what was going on and I managed an amazing deal on it with only 7k miles. I was super happy with the car with all it's features, reliability, ease of use. I managed to put 30k miles in a year, frequently getting 50+ mpg. Fast forward to 2022, various dealers knew I had the Niro and wanted to buy it off of me with the crazy weird used car market. I really didn't want to sell, but one dealer reached out to me and said they had a brand new 2022 EX Premium, same color that I could trade it in for. Stupid low interest rates and an stupider used car market caused spaceship Mk I to appreciate in value and I made out like a bandit with a new car, somehow ahead. Cue Spaceship Mk II, 2022 Kiro Hybrid EX Premium. [Side by side photo](https://lensdump.com/i/k16Mr1). I was extremely happy with this trade, I gained better fuel economy being able to fiddle around with the added regenerative paddles. I put just under 40k miles in a year with little issue, only doing regular maintenance. April 2023 comes around and [this happens](https://lensdump.com/i/k16PLm). A DUI driver smashes into me, police takedown style on the freeway at 60ish mph. The airbag deployed and I spun out into the shoulder and ended up [facing oncoming freeway](https://lensdump.com/i/k16oNK) traffic. Though the collision happened so fast, the car spin felt stable and the abrupt stop into the embankment didn't hurt too badly. Despite a concussion and muscle strains/pinched nerve, this could have ended so much worse. I was even able to drive down the freeway to the next exit to be towed away. Kia may have made a lifelong customer out of me with how safe I felt. [Goodbye Spaceship Mk II](https://lensdump.com/i/k16Y3c), you were amazing. My insurance company hooked me up with a rental. Funny enough, they had another Niro! They forgot to tell me that it was the EV EX Premium version. [Spaceship Mk IIB](https://lensdump.com/i/k16fai) This was my first EV and I was impressed at how much zoom zoom it had. My daily commute 5 days a week is 150 miles round trip, but I never felt like I was going to be stranded even though I wasn't able to charge at home. The downside is that fast EV charging came out to be 0-15% more expensive than refueling the Hybrid. Also, we as a society are not ready for public charging stations as I frequently came across stations with stolen cables, likely stripped for materials. It took about two weeks for my insurance company to determine that Spaceship Mk II was a total loss and to issue a settlement payment, during which I did research on the feasibility of used and new cars. **A Review of the 2023 Kia Niro EX [Plug in Hybrid](https://lensdump.com/i/k16x4C)** After much haggling and walking away from multiple dealerships, I landed one with 34k sale price in the color I actually wanted. Washington state has a pretty cool incentive where you don't pay taxes on the first 20k of certain PHEVs and EVs, so I only paid 10ish percent on 14k which brought me to 36k out the door with fees and licensing. Here's the part that really matters to me- the fuel economy! My commute 5 days a week is about 150 miles round trip, plus a variable 0-30ish miles depending on the day. Here's a photo of the less efficient commute home with elevation changes. [113 mpg](https://lensdump.com/i/k16wrv) More efficient going to work. [126mpg](https://lensdump.com/i/k16cl9) I can plug in on both sides of the commute if I go to the gym and use their free level 2 charger. At home, I'm using a level 1 charger that takes 8 hours, but I'll be getting a level 2 charger in the next few days. 119mpg average with most of the 150 mile commute being ln the freeway. It's been perfect 60-70 degree weather in Seattle, so I assume a 30 percent decrease during the colder months. Also, when I've driven without charging, mpg drops down to high 40s, low 50s. When I'm driving around the city with short freeway stretches, I don't use any gas. This feels like a massive savings with gas over $4.50 a gallon over here. The fuel economy has completely blown my expectations and easily makes this alone the PHEV worth it if you can plug in once a day, even if you charge only to 60%. The interior feels futuristic with one piece, touch screen, digital dashboard. I can see this is a problem as I would prefer an analog speedometer and the lack of tactile feedback on the sceeen can be distracting. The customizable LED interior accent colors is a nice touch. I also learned that I somehow got a model with the cold weather package installed that includes a PTC cabin heater, heated steering wheels, and heated rear seats (!!!), which makes my 34k sale price seem like even more of a steal. The driver assist features have been great on the last 3 model years, it's a massive help taking away driver fatigue on my long daily commute. For 2023, I think Kia has tightened up the experience and there feels like there's less ping pong in the lane keeping assist. I like how they've allowed you to change the rate of acceleration on the smart cruise control depending on how much zoom zoom vs fuel economy you'd want. I had my friend who drives a sporty Lexus IS 350 drive mine around and he said that the PHEV easily goes toe to toe on the 0-30 acceleration with the new stronger electric motor. Both of us agree that the steering feedback is satisfying and doesn't have uncomfortable body roll on tight turns with acceleration. The electric motor is strong enough to get me to traffic speeds without engaging the gas engine which was an mpg killer on the hybrid models from a full stop. I did go down one trim, by going from EX Premium (now SX in 2023) to EX, but the PHEV only came in EX or SX Touring, adding larger wheels which would hurt fuel economy. I do miss the moonroof, but I had it closed on really hot days and it's cloudy and raining most other days in Seattle. The premium sound system is missing and I do notice a change in audio, but not enough to annoy me. Kia had front parking sensors on the 2019 Niro which made city parking braindead easy. They took it away and brought it back on SX and higher trims for 2023, so I haven't missed it too badly as I've gotten used to not having it for a year. It seems that all 2023 models have the backup camera under the handle enclosure which makes it so I don't have to buy an aftermarket wiper attachment to keep the camera free of raindrops. Score! All in all, I'm 10/10 happy with the new car! I feel more at ease with the generous warranty that Kia has too. Let's see how Spaceship Mk III holds up. Thanks for following along with my story of how I came to regularly drive four different Niros over three years!!! Anybody have any recommendations for backup cameras, fuse box wired or otherwise?
Thanks for sharing. I can't believe I read every word lol! Have to say I'm kind of amazed at how little damage you sustained being hit by someone going 60 mph. I would not have guessed that big of an impact by looking at that photo!
I’m thinking you may have misunderstood the accident - the way I read it, the impact happened with both vehicles on the freeway with OP assumedly going around 60mph as well, so the impact isn’t a 60mph vehicle hitting a stationary vehicle. Police takedown style as OP says would be like a medium/hard sideswipe that caused OP to spin out and end up in the oncoming traffic side
thanks! /u/Super-IBS-Man nailed it, the impact wasn't too bad (at least relatively) as we were both matching speeds. The spin out after most likely saved me as well as it dissipated most of the force before I came to a stop.
Nice write up. Glad you’re ok with that accident!
Glad you are ok! I love my 2023 PEHV too!
I read the 0-60 is over 8sec. Do you find it sluggish entering the highway or passing?
I had a Niro before so I use sport mode for this. No complaints here!
My overall mpge is 150+ and I only get to charge at home. These things are sooooo efficient.
yeah I was super surprised to see high numbers despite my 150 mile commute being mostly freeway. People often recommend against a PHEV for long freeway commutes, but the fuel efficiency and cost savings are more than double compared to normal hybrids, and possibly an order of magnitude compared to normal fuel cars.
Thanks for sharing. Happy to hear the car held up and you walked away from that accident. Why did you go with the PHEV over an EV? Is your commute too long? I purchased a 23 PHEV SX with the cold weather package at the beginning of the year. While we have two cars, this is really the daily driver for both my wife and I, and so far, we're averaging exactly 30 miles a day of local driving. We're lucky and WFH, so it's mostly running our kids around and short errands. I'm beginning to have some regret that I didn't go with the Niro EV though. Because we mostly share this car, I wanted (needed) driver memory. That's why I went with the SX Touring. I like the power lift gate, rear heated seats, LED headlights, and the look of the larger wheels... the stereo sounds great too. No complaints. While I'm VERY impressed and happy with the car, I kind of wish we went full EV. Though that would have pushed us outside our comfort zone for payments. I'm confident our next car will be all electric so, similar to you, I plan on getting an L2 charger in the next year or two. However, the stock L1 works just fine and I think, for our need, it would probably be fine for an EV too.
My daily commute is long, 150 miles round trip. That should be fine for the EV, but I have plenty more things to get to after work and my schedule is go go go. I would have to carve out time at the end of the day to fast charge which eats into my unwind/sleep time. One bad winter outage would leave me stranded for the day with severe cold weather efficiency penalties even if I did manage to charge the day before. The PHEV was a good compromise between a new car price, gas savings, and practicality for me. Also, road trips are way more feasible with the PHEV, not having to plan an exact route and with the ability to make detours on a whim.
Thanks for sharing! Is that color from the dealer or after market??
It's a factory color, snow white pearl, but it's at an additional cost says the website
I'm such a big fan of this particular EX trim level, especially with the cold weather package. It hits a sweet spot with pricing in that 33k to 35k range. 40k to 41k for a SX touring is too hot. You can get a Sportage PHEV for 38k-40k.
yeah the value was perfect! especially as I was able to negotiate below MSRP. the size fits perfectly for what I want, a hatchback with a little more weight and space to it.