New cars have gotten unnecessarily expensive and this is keeping a lot of buyers on the sidelines. Given that new cars have an average transaction price approaching $50,000, it sometimes feels like there are no good deals to be had. That’s not entirely true. If you want an affordable, gas-sipping car and are a little unclear about what to buy, maybe just buy a Kia Niro Hybrid.
After the success of my “Maybe just buy a Dodge Charver V8” post, which encouraged those in the market who wanted something powerful and unusual to maybe try and get a big discount on a rare RWD sedan, I’ve decided to turn this into a recurring series. This is new so I’m still deciding the parameters and want your feedback. Overall, I think the goal will be to make car buying suggestions that aren’t entirely obvious.
Obviously, if you want a sports car, Miata Is Always The Answer. If you want a cheap and affordable car, the easy thing to do is just buy a nice and reliable Toyota Corolla. Do you think you need or, maybe, just want a crossover and don’t care about fuel economy? It’s hard to go wrong with the Chevrolet Trax.
And if you do want something a bit green? You could hardly go wronger with a Kia Niro or Kia Niro PHEV.
Reason #1: You Have The Choice Between A Regular Hybrid And A Plug-In One
Hyundai and Kia are joining the growing list of automakers who offer a vehicle in both plug-in (PHEV) and traditional flavor hybrid (HEV). That photo above is of the Kia Niro PHEV I drove earlier last year, plugged in at a Porsche Destination Charger.
If you can plug your vehicle in, the PHEV version offers 33 miles of pure-EV range from a small battery pack for about $36,000 for a base EX trim car. Combined, the PHEV gets a combined 47 MPG according to the EPA. If you want the regular HEV version (the Niro is only available as some kind of hybrid) you can expect to pay about $29,000 for an LX version, which gets a slightly better 49 MPG combined.
The car you want depends entirely on what your situation is. If you can plug your vehicle in where you live and, assuming an average commute, those 33 miles of EV range might be all you need. Bonus points if you can charge at work. Some employers now offer free EV charging (The Autopian does) and that’s a huge benefit right there.
If you can’t plug in easily at work or home there’s no reason to buy a PHEV. You’ll make up the savings versus a non-hybrid CUV of a similar size faster and you won’t be dragging along extra weight you don’t need. It’s still rare to be able to make the choice and it’s one of the better features of the Niro, which also comes in a pure EV version.
Reason #2: It’s A Lot Of Car For Not That Much Money
If you time it right, you might be able to get the affordable Toyota you want at something close to MSRP without waiting too long. Unfortunately, Toyota’s brand is so good right now and its cars so desirable that getting the car you want at the price you want within a reasonable time window is often difficult. I considered buying a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid and started tracking deliveries/pricing online but eventually decided it wasn’t worth the effort.
According to Cars.com, there are about 600 Kia Niro Hybrid and 250 Kia Niro PHEVs for sale right now. That’s not a huge number of vehicles, but there are enough available nationwide that you should be able to find one nearby if you live in a decent-sized market. If not, buy it over the phone and have our friends at Nexus get it shipped to your place.
You can see the version I built online, which is the LX package model of the Niro Hybrid. I spent a little extra money (+395) for Runway Red, which brought the price to $28,760 delivered. You can pay a lot more and get an SX Touring model with bigger wheels and a slightly nicer interior if you like, though it’s not as good of a deal.
I also built an EX Niro PHEV and it was $36,465, including the great Mineral Blue paint (free!) and the cold-weather package ($600), which adds heated rear seats. These days, both cars are quite a good deal. This is a small crossover that can fit five people (four comfortably) and does everything you need basic transportation to do.
The PHEV version has 180 combined horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, which is enough to take it to an autocross track and not embarrass yourself. You’ll never feel slow unless your other car is a Mustang or Kia EV6. In the normal sub-30 mph, stop-and-go driving that makes up most of our lives the small electric motor helps get the Niro moving zestfully. The regular hybrid version is appreciably slower, with a 0-60 mph time in the high eight-second range, but that’s the price you pay for efficiency.
Both versions come with a dual-clutch six-speed instead of the ubiquitous CVT or eCVT and this gearbox makes the car feel better than a lot of the competition.
Reason #3: You’re Not Going To Feel Bad About Driving It
What Kia does better than almost any other automaker is making affordable cars feel nicer than you expect. A low-end Niro doesn’t seem appreciably worse than a high-end Telluride. How did Kia pull this off? The company hired some of the world’s best designers and let them build a cohesive design language that achieves a techno-cool look.
The Niro’s exterior has a dynamic presence with a lot of small details that aren’t expensive to produce and, yet, make the car seem more expensive than it actually is. The little chrome piece around the window, the complex headlight signature, and the thoughtful use of black plastic combine to make the Niro appear more premium than a vehicle like the rugged Subaru Crosstrek.
This is even more pronounced on the inside, where Kia makes a lowly Niro LX feel almost as nice as a Kia Telluride SX. I think the Kia Niro PHEV in EX trim stands up to the much more expensive Kia EV6 GT. There’s a little bit of a reliance on piano black plastics, which isn’t my favorite material, but it’s used sparingly enough that it isn’t super annoying.
Design is a front-loaded cost as a complex plastic mold isn’t dramatically more expensive to produce than a simple one, but it takes more time and attention to design. This is where Kia shines. The willingness to take the time to get a car’s design right is what makes a Kia worthwhile.
Reason #4: Kia Is A Good Automaker
There are still people who are surprised when I suggest they buy a Kia. The brand did start out as a highly-discounted Toyota alternative with products that weren’t always of the best quality. This stigma has persisted, even with buyers I’ve spoken with who admit the cars look great. The company did cut corners when it came to security, which is how we ended up with the Kia Boyz situation, and that’s understandably extended this perception.
I’ve now driven enough Kia products over enough miles to not have many concerns. Over thousands of miles, I can’t remember any issues and, in fact, most Kia products I’ve tried have felt as well-built as anything coming out of Japan. Will a Kia last as long as a comparable Toyota or Honda? It’s hard to say, but the 10-year-, 100,000-mile power warranty should ease some fears.
My parents have had a Kia Soul for almost a decade and have put over 170,000 miles on the vehicle, including multiple cross-country trips. The little Soul has never failed and somehow managed to get to cover this distance without needing any major maintenance. My dad just replaced the spark plugs and front wheel bearings.
If you’re like me, you probably get asked by people what they should buy all the time. If what they want is something that’s efficient, stylish, and affordable … maybe just tell them to buy a Kia Niro Hybrid?
We just JUST picked up a 2022 Niro hybrid when we moved back to the US. My wife’s beloved C-Max had self-destructed and the dealer wanted upwards of $10k to fix an 11 year old car (that always seemed to have some minor electrical gremlin).
Thus far we’ve been pretty impressed. We got the last year of the old body style, in a really neat orange-red color (nicknamed “the tomato”). The fuel economy is no joke. Ours is on paper less efficient because it’s the touring trim with the annoyingly larger wheels – I think it’s rated at 46/40 vs. 53/48 – but in practice we regularly achieve 50+mpg in the city and around 45-46 on the highway.
I attribute this to the fact that Kia has engineered any semblance of hustle out of this thing. It’s got enough electric torque that you can drive it in anger but really it prefers to just chill out and go. The adaptive cruise and lane-keeping work well and I found them to do well at reducing our fatigue on long drives.
So I take it that it doesn’t have the pep of the C-Max? Its combination of instant torque and go-kart steering made me forget my previous car, a MkV GTI, instantly.
It absolutely does not have the pep of the C-Max. One thing I liked about the C-Max was that you could drive it like a tall hot hatch. The quality and fuel economy (for a hybid touted at 47/47) left much to be desired but the C-Max could move.
One thing I’ve had to get used to is the fact that the Niro has an actual dual clutch transmission, not a planetary e-CVT. (That transmission is also why we bought CPO so we have Kia’s massive warranty if something goes pear shaped.) You will feel it shifting through the gears as you accelerate and if you demand power now it takes a few moments to shift down. Which means it’s not a car you can hustle, but it does get spectacular fuel economy on the reg.
The C-Max engine makes that nasty droning sound when you accelerate, but at least it doesn’t last too long. Zero-to-sixty in 8 seconds ain’t bad, ’bout equal to my 1980s GTI. I actually traded a 2009 GTI for the C-Max, and I don’t miss it at all. (Except for the way it looked; the C-Max is no beauty. Did it really need three front grilles?) I care most about steering accuracy and feel, and the thrifty Ford has that nailed.
Agreed on all points! The later models look slightly better with the refreshed grille but there isn’t much one can do to gussy up that basic frontal design.
Don’t you wish a C-Max Mk ll had been made with the single Aston-Martin-style grille of the late Focus? I’ll take the STI version, please.
“Will a Kia last as long as a comparable Toyota or Honda? It’s hard to say, but the 10-year-, 100,000-mile power warranty should ease some fears.”
How well does Kia honor that warranty though? Some of the commentators hers have mentioned going through Hell and high water with warranty claims.
Nah. Kia and Hyundai decision to not put interlocks in their vehicles has caused a huge uptick in crime in cities; my city is still suffering through it. While yes, they aren’t 100% to blame (you can’t ignore the criminals who decided to take advantage of it) I don’t think I’ll ever buy one of their products.
“In the normal sub-30 mph, stop-and-go driving that makes up most of our lives”
I’m not sure if this is normal for most people. I spend very little time in stop and go crap.
I took that comment to mean surface streets. By their very nature it’s stop and go. Because stoplights.
My partner’s sister and her husband were shopping for a replacement for their Mazda 5 just a week or two ago and they asked me for my thoughts. I suggested exactly this. She loves it.
It wasn’t hard to get our local Kia dealer to go under $30k for a well-spec’ed PHEV. At least in Pittsburgh they don’t seem to be selling well.
I ended up buying a new Camry instead, though – trusted it a little more and snagged it for even less.
Some of the sins committed by the Kia/Hyundai dealer network here in Canada are not forgivable. These people ruin lives.
The product is attractive and ever so enticing, but they are betrayed by dealership shenanigans, and a head office that has zero Fs to give for the customer.
All of that coupled with the engine problems is enough to pretty much guarantee I’ll spend my money elsewhere.
I even tried shopping at both Kia and Hyundai, albeit a decade ago. Both experiences were weird and shitty.
I ended up buying my new vehicles at Toyota and Subaru.
Came here to say this – the Kia dealers around here were shady used car lots before they became Kia dealers (nobody else would sign up with Kia at the time) and they haven’t changed their business practices one iota.
I’m also amazed how auto journalists as experienced as the ones at The Autopian overlook H/K’s disastrous engine reliability issues. That blown engine might be covered under warranty (more likely the weasels at the dealer will try to make it the customer’s fault) but I know of someone with a less than one year old Kia who has been waiting for H/K to provide a replacement engine for 3 months.
Tl:DR – The engine failures on Hyundai and Kia are so prevalent that they backordered 3 months on replacement engines and H/K doesn’t care – you already bought the car.
Just the dealer network alone is enough for me to never consider either brand. I’ve had enough bad experiences with ‘good’ dealerships, I’m sure as hell not going to a brand known for garbage dealers.
*checks Kia website and sees that the Niro EV starts at $73k on the road here. Cries in Australian.*
Ouch, that’s steep. But one thing to remember about prices stated on USA websites is that we don’t include tax in the price that is talked about. That’s because sales tax varies wildly depending upon the state you live in (it’s not federal tax, only state sales tax that you pay). There are some US states that have no sales tax and others where it is 9%+. And that doesn’t include registration fees either.
I researched the [non-PHEV] Niro Hybrid fairly recently. It is a very space-efficient car and is very well-equipped for the money — except for one thing: LED headlights are only available on the highest trim, which is decidedly not a good value. What a goddamn stupid thing to cheap-out on. Yes it is a dealbreaker for me. (This is based on the 2024 MY.)
I hate this bizarro universe where an insanely high-tech item like adaptive cruise control is standard on basically every car, but stuff like a heated steering wheel and LED headlights are reserved for the highest trim.
Considering the Kia/Hyundai ICE engine lineup hasn’t had stellar reliability in the last decade, I’ll pass. We also only get a 5 year/100,000km (60k mile) warranty in the great white north.
I had a Niro for about 5 years and I loved it. I bought it new right after those launched in north America. I put about 125k on it before it was totaled by a 98 blazer with no insurance. I’ve heard too many horror stories about Kia/Hyundai quality lately though, so I’ve written them off at this point. I have 3 Japanese cars now and I’m sticking with Honda/Mazda/Toyota.
My roommate has a 2-year old Niro hybrid (second one they have owned).
I have driven it quite a bit and and been in the front and rear passenger seats.
The good parts: It’s not too tall, surprisingly small outside and big inside, it fits 4 people comfortably and five in a pinch.
The rear cargo space is big enough for a medium sized dog crate. (25-30 lbs. pup)
Good fuel economy on road trips, great around town, A/C and heated/ventilated seats work great.
The bad parts: The Kia dealership didn’t reinstall the oil drain plug correctly or use a washer because the entire contents of the oil pan drained out overnight after a service, requiring a tow back to the dealer. There was a large oil slick in the carport for a long time afterwards. There is a brushed aluminum stripe on the lower part of the dash that when the sun hits it at the right angle is reflective enough to be practically blinding to driver and passenger.
Unimpeachable logic on this one.
Where in the world is $30k cheap? My last car I bought for $3k out the door. It was a 2007 Toyota Camry. It is also the newest car I have owned. We need to define cheap cars. Under $10k used under $20k new. I don’t care there are no new cars under $20k that is the mark. Prices of cars are growing faster than the crap in Joe Bidens diaper. Anything that is so much more expensive than it was in 2020 isn’t cheap. Gas is double. Let’s give up and recognize nothing about cars new or used parts is cheap due to leadership of soggy pants Joe and clueless Kamala Harris.
Agreed. When Trump was President I bought a brand new car for $8. Just a few years later, and Joe Biden raised the taxes so cars are tens of thousands!! Where will it end!?!
You make me wish we had a “block user” option in the comments.
The level of stupid it takes to blame Biden for rescuing the shitty economy left by COVID (made worse by Trump’s failed leadership) is amazing.
I would 100% become a member just o be able to block people like this. I’m right on the edge of doing so anyway, but that would bump me over.
Mom! Grandpa is off his meds and found the laptop again!
Please return to your cave
Gas is double! What a crock of shit. $3k out the door for an ’07 Camry? Did it have 7 million miles on it?
Oops my apologies I didn’t mean to upset anyone’s delicate sensitivity by letting them know not everyone thinks like them. My $3,000 2007 Toyota was purchased in February of 2024 and as for mileage it only had 238,000 miles. Isn’t that what we do hear but and keep cars on the road? I put new tires on it and have had 10,000 trouble free miles. So IN MY HUMBLE OPINION $30k for a most likely to be recalled car is not a cheap car. I thought most of us went the path of the different. But as far as prices go everything is more expensive quit deluding yourself.
Why not just buy the Soul like your folks did for considerably less money? It starts at around $21K including destination, is approximately the same size as the Niro, and gets 35mpg. It seems like a much better value than the Niro because the fuel savings will not make up for the larger purchase price.
It was on my shortlist the last time, the Honda Fit won out. If I’d bought the Soul – one of the last manual ones – it would’ve been the base-base model, the last one offered with manual, and I can only wonder how many times I’d have gone outside to find it smashed into and stalled a foot away from the exact spot where I parked it which would be just enough to bite the curb.
You have to be careful if you own a Soul, especially when you part with it. Never can tell what kind of devil is out there buying Souls.
Devils like these?
Haha. Yes.
Ignoring feature and content differences between base models, the Niro does have more passenger space and the extra wheelbase and length should make it a more comfortable highway ride. I haven’t driven or rode in the latest Soul, I assume it’s pretty good for the segment as older ones were, but the same is true for the Niro – the first Niro felt pretty substantial for the price, much more so than other little hatch/crossover things.
On fueleconomy.gov, comparing the worst Niro to the best Soul at 50/50 split of city/highway 12k/mi yearly, the Niro is $2k less over 5 years in fuel costs. Keep it longer or do more city miles and that will grow. (YMMV of course)
But it’s not like the difference in higher purchase price wouldn’t factor in if you sell or trade it too – looking at base auto 2019s, the MSRPs were about 5k apart, fuel costs were $2500 less for the Niro vs. Soul, and in KBB estimates with 60k miles, the Niro trade estimates at $12.4k, the Soul $9.2k. The Niro depreciated a bit more, but still exceeded the breakeven point.
I’m just done with anything from H/K. I won’t go into it here, but they have made so many poor decisions that have cost me so much money, that I’ll never consider them again.
Well, that wraps it up everyone, Eggsalad has declared Hyundai and Kia not worthy of purchase. Get home safe gang.
I don’t know Eggsalad, but the litany of major recalls, TSBs, long waits for back-ordered engines of most (all?) types, negative experiences from people I know, curses by mechanics at the very mention of their name, and insurance costs since they are/were so easy to steal, are plenty enough for me.
it’s not an uncommon experience/comment in the least bit. Your sarcastic jab is definitely unjustified
Being bitten by the H/K curse once is enough for me. After my Soul ate its engine the dealer/corporate experience showed me their true selves.
Wow, very difficult to justify the PHEV, even if you can plug it in. The $7k price delta means you could buy enough gas at $3/gallon to drive the 49 mpg regular HEV version 114,000 miles – through and past the 10/100k warranty period. And that’s even before getting into opportunity cost / time cost of money arguments and calculations.
There should be a partial EV tax credit available if you lease, which may make it balance out better if you drive a lot of electric-only miles over the term. I’d add in further savings if you buy the lease out (immediately or at the end), but from what I keep seeing when I read anything about Hyundai and Kia products, leasing may be the best choice anyway.
I’ve been a Niro fan ever since the first generation came out. It seems like a good, honest, useful car that will provide good value to its owner.
Agree with you on styling and the overall improvement of Korean offerings. Still hearing some timebomb sounding engines at stoplights which was my initial bad impression way back. Staying with Toyota at least for now.
Are you sure you’re not hearing GDI? Sounds a lot like a diesel and they probably don’t have great sound suppression. Not that I’m defending these cars.
As someone who replaced two early 2010 2 liter engines due to piston skirt degradation… they sound very diesel-y before they bite the dust!
My Grandmother has a 2012 Hyundai Azera (same size class as a Toyota Avalon) and it’s 3.3 liter V6 developed an unpleasant tractor-esque sound around 100k miles that it most definitely did not have before. It also started to burn a lot of oil. Too bad, because she loves everything else about the car.
Yeah pretty sure on this one.
How well are these aging? I feel like auto journalists keep telling me that Kia/Hyundai make “good” cars, and online comments tell me that their interiors fall apart and the engines self destruct
It’s a good question. I like their styling, and the initial quality has certainly improved. But I kind of get the sense that they are throwaway cars. After a few years and some miles, they just don’t hold up. Anecdotally, I recently had a 2022 or 2023 Kia forte rental car. I think it had about 50,000 miles. Ignoring the fact that it Smell like smoke, it was objectively one of the worst cars I’ve ever driven. It was loud, course, handled poorly, and the interior quality was abysmal. I went home happy to get back into my various 25 year old, 200,000 mile Toyota products.
You could probably enter a brand new Kia/Hyundai car in Lemons, and they would put it in Class C and wish you good luck. I’ve seen a Genesis coupe entered, and they put it in Class C. No one expects them to survive the weekend
I was in the market for a 2015-2020 Sedona and after hours of research I decided to go with a 2007 Toyota Sienna because it was going to be statistically more reliable. There is a reason why these are similarly priced even though they are 8-10 years different in age.
Kia 3.3 Engines are known to throw rods with no warning and have the headbolts strip due to weak casting in the block which causes head gasket failure. Kia quotes a new engine because they will not repair the stripped threads in the block.
Then there is the Kia/Hyundai class action settlement on the infamous 4-Cylinder engines which covered over 1 million cars from 2010 to 2020. https://www.hyundainews.com/en-us/releases/3657
In some cases, Hyundai/Kia extended the warranty but the engines are on backlog that you end up with no timeline on when it will be replaced.
Watch Wes Work on YT recently replaced a 2019 2.0 GDI with only 119K and discussed how there was no ETA on when a replacement engine would be available from Hyundai and I Do Cars (who is auto wrecker) discusses the high prices of these engines due to demand far exceeding supply due to the high number of failures.
Yea, I remember being shown a rod and bearing from a Kia in one hand, and a pair from Toyota in the other. It was almost incomparable
I’ve noticed the disconnect as well. I’ve never owned a Hyundai/Kia myself, but I know several people who have, and … most of the experiences haven’t been good.
I have a neighbor who owned a 2010 Hyundai Sonata with around 130k miles. He said it made strange noises and burned a lot of oil. I recommended he replace it before it gets worse and became hard to sell. He sold it and bought a 2014 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. I facepalmed a bit at that, but at least it doesn’t seem to have the same problems as the old one.
My grandmother owns a 2012 Hyundai Azera, which is like the Hyundai version of a Toyota Avalon. She bought it new and chose it because it had a lot of features for the price. True enough and she still likes it very much except for one thing; the engine. It’s always been a bit thirsty and coarse, but it started to exhibit some seriously unpleasant sounds on startup. Then it started burning a lot of oil. A year ago, it was burning so much oil that they were deciding between a new engine or a new car. My grandmother was busy settling my great-grandfather’s estate and didn’t want to do car shopping, so they had Hyundai replace the engine; they figured that everything else about the car was still good (debatable) so it was cheaper to buy a new engine than a new car. Well, more than $10K later, the new engine rattles very similarly to the old one. They are very disappointed and regret not just buying a new car.
In my opinion, Hyundai’s/KIA’s look like great cars when they are new, but if you try to keep them for as long as you would a Toyota, the cut corners to hit that “good value” price point crop up (bad engine designs, missing engine immobilizers, etc.)
Confirmation bias. You’re only going to read about bad experiences in the comments because those are the only experiences people feel strongly enough to write about. 99% of the time these cars are absolutely fine, needing only routine maintenance for 100k miles or so. We’ve got about 10 Kia’s of varying ages and models on my street and no one has a bad thing to say about them. The guy that owns the Stinger genuinely loves his car.
I mean, they lost a class action for 2010-2020 models due to engine failure
Didn’t know about that, touchè
Most of the anecdotal nightmare stories about Kia/Hyundai’s seem to be on older cars. The journalists are focused on the newer, much improved cars. I just bought a Santa Cruz, and it is a nice car for the money. Well designed, well put together, and quiet comfort.
We bought a sx phev right when these came out. We love the car and only put in gas once a month. At a tiny 8 gallons, it’s also very efficient.
Since my wife is a teacher, I drove it during summer and put about 2k miles before needing to put in gas.
The only downside to the vehicle has been the depreciation, so I would suggest looking for a slightly used one to save quite a bit of $.
This affect all Korean cars still, but we don’t mind. We plan to keep it for 10+ years depending on how quickly ev prices come down and when we hit parity so we’re not underwater on the loan.
How very timely. Suddenly in need of a replacement ride as the 2019 500x gave it’s all while setting stopped at a traffic light. Small print (The Wife) was a bit sore after a couple days, but modern safety standards prevented anything worse. The driver in the 20 year old CRV never touched the brakes.
Glad to hear everyone is ok!
I swear over 50% of the time I’m cursing some dumb shit on the road, it’s a CRV. Out of all the cars—all those Toyotas!—something about that particular vehicle attracts the worst drivers. Oddly, I find its RAV4 rival to not stand out at all, particularly strange where Corollas and Camrys are legendary (Prius used to be bad, though predictable, but every kind of person drives them now).
Hope your wife doesn’t get bad whiplash. Takes about 24 hours to hit.
She is doing well after a rough night three days after. We will miss the Fiat as it served well and she (and I) really liked it. No word from the ins. company yet, but the number is in. Don’t think they will spend over 10k to fix a 15k car that’s 5 model years old.
Many thanks for the thoughts and consideration.
A dashcam channel on YouTube coined the term “Honda bump” since a fair number of the cars crashing into the submitters were Hondas.
I did get rear ended by an Accord, but also a Camry and a Jetta.
No more Rappaport picture, but because you are covering your chin, you look suspiciously like Dana Carvey, pictured here
How old does everyone think I am?!?
Somewhere between young’un and whippersnapper.
I think I remember you mentioning your age at your last birthday, so we all attribute it to growing up in Texas without using sunscreen. You still have hair for now, which helps.
Young enough to have a young daughter AND hair, old enough to be partially in charge here and always insightful in your Morning Dump analyses.
So… 30-50? :p
You’ve giving him a complex!
Matt, this one seems more Ryan Gosling if it makes you feel any better.
my friend ditcher her Honda Pilot for one and seems pretty happy.
The Niro has always been electrified, HEV, PHEV and full EV since the start even in the first generation.
Oh, yeah, durr. Updated.