KIA’S NEW-AGE SUVs: SORENTO SEVEN-SEATER • NIRO EV ELECTRIC-HYBRID
SUV • UTE • VAN • LIGHT-TRUCKS
May/June 2018 $7.50
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NIRO FAR
Story: Dean Evans Photos: Supplied
Sipping as little as 1.3l/100km, with up to 3200km possible from just a 43-litre tank, Kia says its Niro is NZ’s most economical SUV – and at a reasonable price, too.
SMALLER THAN A SPORTAGE AND larger than a Soul, Kia’s new Niro claims the title as NZ’s most efficient SUV. The headline model is the PHEV – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle – which combines a conventional 1.6-litre petrol four-cylinder with a 96-cell battery, which it uses to drive up to Plugging in is reserved for the top-spec model only, but charges take between 2.5 and four-hours, depending on the amp rating from the domestic or commercial outlet.
55km in electric-only mode, or a theoretical 3200km between fills of its 43-litre tank! It’s no slouch, either, with 0-100km/h in 10.8 seconds, top speed of 172km/h and solid handling thanks in part to Michelin tyres across the range. And that’s the key feature of the Niro: it performs, handles, weighs and cost the same as a normal compact SUV, but uses substantially less fuel. Or no fuel, in EV mode. The headline fuel number from the plug-in
electric model does require a little effort. Along with petrol in the tank, the battery needs external-sourced charging. Two chargers are included: for a standard domestic three-pin plug, which takes around four hours to fully charge at eight amps, includes a heat-sensitive plug which shuts down if it’s overloading a circuit; or a Type 2/three-phase cable, which pumps in 16 amps (though it can accept up to 32A), for a full charge in 2.5 hours.
Niro can drive up to 55km in electric EV mode, before needing a recharge, which takes between 2.5 and four hours.
DRIVE IT LIKE YOU OWN IT 1
Hybrid system gauge
2 3
Battery level
4 8 | LCV
Petrol gauge
EV mode indicator
RATHER THAN A TACHO, NIRO uses a simplified dash cluster, with a needle pointing to eco driving, power or charge modes, the latter motivated by downhill or braking situations. Designed more for urban driving, the system charges best in slow moving start-stop traffic, though in PHEV, it ultimately requires the charger to regain full battery capacity.
Identifying the Hybrid versus the Plug-in isn’t easy, with a range of mix & match wheels. Easiest spot is the charging flap on the passenger-side front guard.
The engine is a conventional 1.6 petrol engine, but the orange wires give the game away that something’s special, with the parallel hybrid sandwiching in neatly between engine and gearbox.
Nothing to see here, in relative terms. Rear seat is roomy for a compact SUV, leather is available on both top-spec models.
Boot space varies depending on the model, with the Plug-in taking up a little more due to its extra battery under the floor, which removes about 10cm of depth.
It’s no slouch, with 0-100km/h in 10.8 seconds for the plug-in, or 11.5 seconds for the entry level HEV. The Niro also uses a simpler parallel hybrid system, similar to systems used by Hyundai and VW, which sandwiches the electric motor between the engine and gearbox, enabling a smaller, lighter and cheaper system, at the expense of long-distance efficiency. While driving, the system is effectively seamless and invisible. There are displays which show where power is being fed to/from, and a small green EV light when in electric mode either automatically (in the two HEV models) and/or manually in the plug-in PHEV. But while the PHEV may take the headlines, it’s the Hybrid HEV that will sell more, with early sales figures suggesting the Hybrid – in EX or LTD specs – outsells the $15,000 price-premium PHEV ten-to-one. And it’s easy to see why: the EX’s $39,990 is targeted right at the rapidly growing under-$40k compact SUV market, and is extremely well equipped with all the increasingly expected mod-cons such as Smart Cruise Control, reverse camera and a big touchscreen display. Its slick 0.29Cd helps
achieve 3.8l/100km, for up to 1200km per 45-litre tank. It uses one-third fewer batteries than the PHEV, and doesn’t need an external charger, but does get a little more boot space. Dimensionally, Niro’s 4.35m length is 12.5cm shorter than a Sportage, but its 2.7m wheelbase is 3cm longer, so there’s plenty of room inside, including the rear seats. Though it doesn’t get the EV-only mode, the HEV is easily the pick of the range, and with Kia offering a temporary introduction price of $34,990, that’s a very appealing compact SUV. Energy isn’t free, and even electric vehicles cost money to refill, but Kia has done a lot of permutations and calculated its PHEV costs $3 per 100km to run, which it says is a few dollars less than even the Tesla Model X SUV. Kia’s Niro represents another step forward in the feasibility of hybrid electric vehicles, and puts it all into a compact SUV. With a five-year warranty, and seven years on the battery, Kia’s Niro isn’t just the future of compact SUVs, it’s the right now.
SPEC CHECK 2018 Kia Niro Hybrid & PHEV www.kia.co.nz Engine
1.6-litre petrol four
Power/torque
77kW/147Nm (engine)
Motor
32kW Hybrid/45kW PHEV
Combined
104kW Hybrid/122kW PHEV
Gearbox
Six-speed DCT
Economy
3.8l/100km (Hybrid), 1.3l/100km (PHEV)
0-100km/h:
11.5sec/10.8sec
Price
$34,990(intro)/$55,990
Full specs
www.lcv.co.nz
Rating (/5) Verdict
Impressive, especially at the intro price
LCV | 9
UTE-LYM P Story: Dean Evans Photos: Gerald Shacklock
They’re NZ’s most popular utes, but beyond brand loyalty, is one better than the rest? We put them to a decathalon of tests to find out the gold medal champion of champions.
20 | LCV
M PICS FORD RANGER, TOYOTA HILUX AND Holden Colorado have dominated sales charts over recent years. With such brand loyalty and fierce sales competition, in the wake of the Winter Olympics, we felt it was time to put together our own challenge: the Ute-lympics. Each of these utes has earned its right to compete, as the top spec of their respective models: the Ranger Wildtrak, Colorado Z71
series and the updated Hilux SR5 Cruiser. Like the quadrennial sporting event, we’ve gathered together the most elite in their class, all closely matched, and put them over a gruelling – well, at least challenging – decathalon of tests to find out their strengths and weaknesses, in a grab for gold, silver and bronze medals and points, across a series of eclectic tests mixing hard numbers with subjective opinion, to see who
wins which events, and who comes out on top. Each individually brilliant and beloved, it’s only when the best come together that the subtle nuances and differences can be assessed, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. So, as these top three look to reestablish themselves as the top sellers in 2018, we present the first LCV magazine Ute-lympics. Let the games begin!
LCV | 21
BEST BARS. BY FAR. FOCUS ON TOWING –
SSANGYONG REXTON
TOW NAILED
Story & photos: Dean Evans
SsangYong’s Rexton certainly impresses as a seven-seat SUV, and with a tow rating of 3500kg, can it cut the mustard towing, too? SSANGYONG’S REXTON ALREADY MADE a lasting impression with us last issue. We raved about its equipment, ride quality and looks, with a price starting at $59,990 for the Sport, up to $67,990 for the top-spec SPR. The seven-seat Rexton is one of the best SUVs money can buy, and with a 2.2-litre turbo diesel producing 133kW and 440Nm, it really only left us with one unanswered question: can it tow? So a visit to our friends at the recently opened Kennards Hire, Hamilton, had us sorted with some towing ballast to really give the Rexton a workout. Rated to Guidelines and a big screen make lining up the towing hitch safe and easy.
3500kg thanks to a solid rear axle – the industry standard amongst the workhorse utes from Ford, Holden and Toyota – the Rexton’s abilities are well beyond what most are likely to use it for, but with a seven-speed auto, hill-start assist and hill descent control, we wanted to challenge it a little more than just a box trailer and furniture. So Kennards supplied one of its portable power generators, weighing 2000kg including trailer. With two drivers and some gear, we’re closer to 2300kg, which represents around 65 percent of its standard towing capacity. We toured our standard loop, from Hamilton to Raglan return, mixing motorway, with urban, B-roads, hills and some sharp twists and turns. Hooking up the trailer came with a slight oddity: with the Rexton SPR’s presence sensor recognising the keyfob was close, it would automatically open the power tailgate. We had to shut it a few times while hooking up the hitch, at least before moving
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the key to the front seat. Same happens when refuelling. It’s a good system, though the wait time is often a few seconds, and for the amount of times that’s useful – handfuls of shopping or loading up armfuls of gear – it’s often faster to simply press a button. The automatic system is easily disabled, but that’s somewhat defeating the purpose and feature. The large touchscreen with guidelines makes reversing easy and safe and we’re quickly away and powering down the motorway, marvelling at the Rexton’s pulling power. 3500kg towing capacity from Rexton is partly thanks to its solid rear axle.
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It does such a good job that it barely needs any effort, just requiring a little deeper push of the throttle to produce the same kind of acceleration that gets it around town every day. Stability is rock-solid, with almost no affect – and certainly no ill-affect – to steering, with the well positioned trailer not sagging the rear suspension, or lightening the steering feel, the Rexton’s similarly loaded-up weight also helping the car and trailer act like a cohesive unit. Approaching the long straights heading west, the Rexton kicks down a gear to keep it in the meat of its torqueband – a 1000rpm window between 1600-2600rpm – and it powers up the hills like there’s nothing attached, with little more than a spike in the fuel consumption.
2000kg had the SsangYong rolling its eyes and yawning at the challenge. Downhill, the solid brakes keep everything in check and make for what is becoming a somewhat predictable and boring story… and that’s a good thing: Rexton is so capable, this 2000kg power generator trailer had the SsangYong rolling its eyes and yawning at the challenge, easily able to handle anything and everything we threw at it, from the slow-and-go tight twists, to the steep ascents and descents. It’s one of those vehicles that’s so competent, that when straying off into a cabin conversation, a glance in the mirror
comes as a slight surprise, and a reminder that something hefty is being towed. We roll into Raglan, stop for a quick lunch and head straight back again, and the Rexton eats up the climbs and powers through the open roads supremely competently and confidently, leaving us with few criticisms to balance out the praise. Of course the price for towing comes at the fuel bowser, and with SsangYong claiming the G4 Rexton manages 8.3l/100km combined, or 10.4 around town, for our 200km tow test loop, we saw around 15.6l/100km, which is near enough to identical to the fuel figures produced by the leading utes during their similar tow tests. Though the utes were towing heavier loads (around three-tonne), and the Rexton’s smaller 2.2-litre engine is working relatively harder, it’s still an admirable effort for an SUV that’s designed primarily to move a family up to seven around, and
occasionally tow a boat, caravan or trailer full of leisure time. We tried some 0-60km/h times before and after the trailer was attached and recorded 4.1 and 8.7 seconds respectively, times that match the fastest utes. For the record, zero to 100km/h arrives in 10.9 seconds, unladen, which also ranks it faster than Ranger and Hilux! As we roll back into Kennards Hamilton, and the guys helpfully unhook the chains, cable and hitch, there’s really not much to complain about; a job very well done. All this performance from just 2.2-litres, it’s the little four-cylinder that could.