Featured Designed For a Sustainable Future: The All-New 2023 Kia Niro Debuts

I hear you...I do my own maintenance as well ( on the 4 car family fleet )! I'd rather not worry about extra maintenance items. Also seems like a lot of extra fluid waste/disposal, etc... but to each their own.

And pity the poor average Joes that don't do their own maintenance. I bet Hyundai service is making a killing on this.

Yeah...exactly the reason I decided against a Hyundai hybrid. Just too many 'shortcuts' and extra maintenance items that don't exist with Toyota's HSD. I guess one could rationalize that away given Hyundai's arguably good warranty...and the fact that most don't own the same vehicle over 10 years though.

Like I said...we do own two Hyundai ICE vehicles and they have been solid. I'm just not sold on DCT based hybrids.

 

Seems like they use 8,000 miles because of the tire rotations. Less maintenance on EVs is one of the reasons I switched my Prime to an EV in 2019.

 

The 8000 miles for tire rotation is probably the longest you want to go with the extra wear an EV drive train could put on them.

So the only maintenance items that are more than inspect are cabin air filter, brake fluid, and coolant. The later two aren't for four and ten years; less if you do more than 12k miles a year.

 

Have they announced the price for the 2023 Niro EV models? The 2022 model starts at $39,990. I would think the 2023 model would be above $40K. I can't see the 2023 model to be less than $30K after the tax credit. That would mean the price has to be more than $2.5K less than this year's model base price. The number does not add destination charges, so, in essence, there is no 2022 Niro EV below $40k.

If the 2023 Niro EV is priced higher than current models, then it quickly loses its attractiveness especially when the base model EV6 Light with MSRP of $40,900 starts to ship. I think I am removing the Niro EV from my list.

 

There is probably room in the price for Kia to keep it the same, or even reduce it. The gen2 Bolt was reduced by over $5000.

The question is how Kia wants to position it in the line up with the EV6. The Light trim has less power, smaller battery, and shorter range, but is also a new BEV platform with RWD that may end up being 'fancier' than the Niro.

 

Yeah, if the new price is reduced over $5000 from the current base price, then it will be back on my list. At $35K, it will be a far better pick than Nissan Leaf Plus. But seeing how the price of bZX4 went up from the earlier estimate, I would not hold my breath though.

 

GM had to reduce the price since the tax credit is gone. Kia still have theirs.

 

As I said, it depends on how Kia wants to position the Niro against the EV6. For 2022, the Niro Ev is $910 less than the EV6 Light, even though it has a slightly larger battery and better performance. They are trying to keep the EV6 a more premium model with pricing. I don't think Kia will change that for the 2023MY.

Yes, GM had to lower prices because of losing the federal incentive. However, battery costs have dropped faster than predicted from when the Volt and Leaf first went on sale. So cutting the Bolt price was not a financial burden, just a loss in profits. So Kia has plenty of 'wiggle' room in the margins to keep the Niro EV at a lower price than the cheapest EV6, even if it has a higher production cost.

 

Wouldn't the increased diameter of the tires throw the speedometer out of whack?

 

Speedometer is easy. The harder part is making sure there is no tire and wheel well interference at the turn limits.

Bob Wilson