2023 Kia Niro plug-in offers a nice ride — but lacks a crucial SUV feature

2023 Kia Niro PHEV SX Touring vs. 2023 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid: Small but spacious ways to save on fuel.

This week: 2023 Kia Niro PHEV

Price: $41,635 as tested. A cold weather package added a supplemental heater and heated rear outboard seats for $500; special trim added $195 and floor mats, $155.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “perky optional plug-in hybrid powertrain, futuristic appearance, well-equipped from EX trim up,” but not how the “base powertrain is pretty poky, buzzy engine sounds under heavy throttle, not as fuel efficient in our testing as last year’s model.”

Marketer’s pitch: “Power that moves you.”

Reality: The Niro is so nice, but there’s one feature still missing.

Competition: Besides the RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Ford Escape, and Subaru Crosstrek are among plug-in hybrid SUVs.

What’s new: The Niro gets new styling inside and out for 2023. It’s bigger and more powerful.

Those are the positives.

The main negative is what’s still missing — the Niro still doesn’t offer all-wheel drive. It’s been as rumored as the return of the Volkswagen Microbus for all these years, and even Volkswagen says there really will be one here soon.

Up to speed: The 1.6-liter engine joins forces with an electric motor and 11.1 kWh battery to offer 180 horsepower. The little box gets to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds, according to Car and Driver. It’s much faster than the standard Niro at 8.9 seconds.

The Niro does fine in both Eco and Sport modes. I raced uphill on an entrance ramp and found the Niro to have plenty of power for the job.

Smooth power delivery can be an issue at other times, though. More than a few times it seemed to shudder or stumble in EV mode, mainly when climbing hills in less enthusiastic driving.

Shifty: The rotary gear selector dials in Reverse with a twist left and Drive with a twist right. Park is a button in the middle. The 6-speed dual-clutch transmission seems more seamless than Kia’s 7-speed versions have been.

On the road: Mr. Driver’s Seat’s usual weeklong test was truncated by storms in New England, causing some reshuffling of fleet deliveries, so my test was an abbreviated 60 or so miles.

But living with the Niro is as easy as ever. It glides nicely on country roads and on highways. It’s not sporty but it feels sure-footed.

People who think “Kia box” equals “Soul” equals “bouncy nightmare” will need to revise their preconceptions. The Niro rides nicely, even over some rough patches on Route 30 and on a gravel road waaaay out in the woods somewhere south of Coatesville. (Yes, Mr. Driver’s Seat actually got lost.)

Driver’s Seat: The gauges feature digital readouts that resemble nothing if not gasoline pump displays, which is a nice reminder — especially for drivers of the Niro EV.

The seat itself is comfortable and roomy, and driving position nice. The spartan dashboard also seems a little more jazzed up since the last Niro tested, and the night light displays offer some pizzazz as well.

Friends and stuff: Rear-seat passengers have nice accommodations to enjoy. Legroom, headroom, and foot room are all more spacious than the Sturgis family 2015 Soul’s already plentiful offerings. The floor hump is minimal and the center seat passenger should not feel too bad.

Cargo space is 19.4 cubic feet with the rear seat up and 54.6 when it’s folded.

Play some tunes: The stereo features the now-standard Kia controller switch, where the radio and heater use the same controllers. Dials control volume and tuning in this case, and buttons get you around the key locations.

The large 10.25-inch touchscreen is easy to read and operate.

Sound from the system is quite nice, about an A-.

Keeping warm and cool: Those same radio dials now also control the temperature, while the buttons control everything else HVAC. Seat heaters and ventilators add to the comfort, a nice touch that is easy to find even on Kia’s less upscale models.

Fuel economy: Here, the numbers are pretty far off as well, thanks to the short visit. I averaged 150 mpg in 60 miles, but much of that was so close to home that I almost could have left it plugged in.

The model is rated at 48 mpg using gasoline only, which seems optimistic, even using up the entire 33 miles of charge first.

Where it’s built: Hwaseong, South Korea

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the Niro reliability to be a 3 out 5.

Next week: How does the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid stack up?