FAMILY CAR REVIEW: 2022 Kia Niro EV GT-Line

How big is the boot of the 2022 Kia Niro?

The boot of the Kia Niro EV holds eleven shopping bags from empty, which is one more than the previous model Niro that held ten shopping bags. That is comparable to other compact electric cars that nine shopping bags, including the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona and MG ZS. The Volvo XC40 holds twelve and the Kia EV6 holds thirteen.

A side-by-side twin pram fits in the boot but with no room for shopping bags around it, although they could go on top of it…

…or a modular double pram fits in the boot on the Kia Niro EV with four shopping bags.

A single pram fits in the boot with two bags around it.

Or a compact stroller fits in the boot of the Kia Niro EV with nine shopping bags.

You could fit your small or medium size family dog in the boot comfortably!

The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Bub’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.

Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.

I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.

The boot floor is flat in its highest position and carpeted…

…the floor can also drop down about 10cm but it is at an angle where it meets the back seats, which makes it harder to carry some items. But it is still suitable for an emergency nappy change in this position!

The parcel shelf in the Kia Niro EV is disappointing, it's a flimsy sun shade but can be easily folded up and stored away.

How good is storage inside the 2022 Kia Niro EV?

Storage is good in the front of the Kia Niro EV. There are two retractable cup holders that will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and there is a small central console box behind them.

In front of the gear selector dial is a wireless phone charging pad along with a few charging sockets.

The glove box in the Kia Niro EV is a good size and will hold an iPad and wallet with the manual.

The front door bins will hold a reusable water bottle and iPad and the handle can act as a storage well too.

In the back of the Kia Niro EV, the door bins are smaller and will only hold a small water bottle and, like the front, the handles double as little storage wells too.

There are hard map pockets on the back of both front seats that will hold but not conceal an iPad…

…and there are USB-C sockets on the side of both front seats for charging rear passengers' devices.

In a fold-down armrest in the central seatback are two cup holders. They will hold a disposable or reusable coffee cup.

How noisy is the 2022 Kia Niro EV? What is the battery range in the Kia Niro EV?

The 2022 Kia Niro EV is a mild-mannered and silent EV, making it a lovely BabyDrive. It starts silently and, being electric, you have all the beautiful benefits like driving your child to sleep and then sitting with the aircon going while they are sleeping without churning through fuel or pumping exhaust fumes into the local environment! There is also a plug socket in the rear footwell which I found really handy for plugging my laptop in so I could work in the car while Bub was sleeping!

This GT-Line model Niro has a 460kms battery range and I found that to be pretty accurate when using it for my week of regular family journeys.

When it comes to charging the Kia Niro EV will charge from 10-80% in 45 mins at a fast charger, which might feel a little long at a family stop on road trips. This isn't an issue if you aren't likely to do a lot of road trips in the Niro and mainly charge at home (which most electric car owners do). There are other electric cars that charge much faster nowadays, like the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 which take less than 20 minutes to charge from 10-80% if you use the right kind of super powerful charging station.

The driver display screen clearly shows you your battery range in the bottom left corner.

A full EV screen in the media system has a lot more information regarding battery efficiency and charging.

The Kia Niro EV has a lovely new wrap-around media screen and driver display. There is also panel below the central air vents that can switch between media system and climate controls.

The Kia Niro EV has the modern Kia media system and it's very simple to use.

All models have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can access Spotify or ABC Kids Listen App for example, or whatever you and your children listen to while you are in the car. It is also great for accessing your phone's navigation and messaging apps (via voice control) on the move.

You can adjust the climate control through the media screen and switch it to driver-only mode to save battery when you are on your own in the car.

The Niro is full of Kia's media functions that are great for families like Quiet Mode, which brings the sound from the rear speakers into the front. My family loves this for when we're driving along and the kids fall asleep in the back I can quickly press the button on the screen and move the sound to the front speakers. It's also useful if they are happy on devices in the back and you grasp the opportunity to rock out to “mum's rubbish music”.

There is also Voice Memo, which we love for recording the priceless conversations we have with our kids in the car! Or my endless To-Do lists!

The cameras are very good in the Kia Niro EV and the rearview camera can be turned on while driving along, which is really useful if vision using the mirror is obscured by the child seats installed in the back or the boot is packed full of balloons for a birthday party.

Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!

That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.

If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?

It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?

A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.

Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!

I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.

The reversing camera is very good too and you can easily turn the parking sensors off with a button in the central console.

There is a child lock button in the driver's door control panel that locks both the doors and windows. I found both the doors and windows are really nice and quiet and would not disturb small sleeping passengers when opening and closing them.

Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!

How many child seats fit in the 2022 Kia Niro EV?

The Kia Niro EV fits three Infasecure child seats across the back row! I installed one Infasecure Attain More, an Achieve More and one Aspire More.

There are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats. They were a little fussy to connect to and I found the ISOFix connectors had to go right in the centre of the ISOFix bars for them to connect.

There are top tether anchorages on the back of all three seatbacks, which are easy to connect to through the boot.

Three Infasecure child seats do fit comfortably and the lack of hump in the rear footwell (because the battery under the floor is also flat) makes it much easier for rear passengers to access their seats and makes it feel more spacious.

Legroom is great too in the Kia Niro EV and with rear-facing child seats in the back, we could fit a 182cm passenger in the front.

How comfortable is the 2022 Kia Niro EV? And how good is the 2022 Kia Niro EV to drive?

In the front of the 2022 Kia Niro EV, the seats are very comfortable. They are black leather with perforated central panels for the heated and cooled seats fitted to the GT-Line model I tested. This was very welcome in the Queensland winter that can go from really cold early in the morning to quite hot during the day!

For a mum travelling in the back with Bub, the rear seats are comfortable too and the lack of hump in the rear footwell gives really good leg and kick-room.

For the first year of my baby’s life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Bub so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!

The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down and the cruise controls are nice and simple to use and are accurate for motorway driving as well as slower more undulating roads.

There are four air-conditioning vents across the front dashboard; two central ones underneath the media screen and one at either end of the dashboard.

There are also air vents in the back of the central console which can be controlled from the front media screen.

You can control the aircon through the media screen and switch it to driver only to preserve battery range if it's just you in the car.

There is also a touch panel on the dash below the central air vents that can be switched between climate control settings and media system shortcuts, clever!

Visibility in the Kia Niro EV is pretty difficult out of the back when you have child seats onboard.

Luckily the Niro EV  has some very good cameras which help so much with parking and manoeuvring!

As well as a rearview camera that you can activate while driving if your view using the mirror is blocked. Kids love watching it too!

The Kia Niro EV also has remote parking, which you can do using just the key fob to drive it in and out of a tight parking space.

I found this not to be entirely necessary during our week with the Niro EV. I is a small SUV so I found there was plenty of space in car parks etc.

How safe is the 2022 Kia Niro EV?

The New 2022 Kia Niro EV is yet to be given an ANCAP safety rating.

Eight airbags come as standard in the Kia Niro EV; driver and front passenger SRS airbags, centre side airbag (front), front side SRS airbags, driver's knee SRS airbag and curtain SRS airbags (1st & 2nd Rows).

ABS (Anti-lock Braking System), ESC (Electronic Stability Control), HAC (Hill-start Assist Control),  MCB (Multi-Collision Braking), VSM (Vehicle Stability Management), AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) – car, pedestrian, cyclist & junction turning, LKA (Lane Keeping Assist), LFA (Lane Following Assist), BCW (Blind Spot Collision Warning) with RCCW (Rear Cross Traffic Collision Warning), BCA (Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist) with RCCA (Rear Cross Traffic Collision Avoidance), SEW (Safe Exit Warning), rear view camera with dynamic parking guidelines, DAA+ (Driver Attention Alert) with lead vehicle departure alert, ISLA (Intelligent Speed Limit Assist), haptic steering wheel feedback, electrochromic rear view mirror (Auto-dimming), ROA (Rear Occupant Alert) – door history type, high beam assist (HBA), dusk-sensing automatic headlights, front wiper & washer (Low/High and 5-Speed Intermittent), rear wiper & washer (2-Speed), rain sensing wipers, door open warning on driver display, seatbelt warning chime and indicator light (all positions) and speed sensing auto door lock.

As if that's not enough the top-spec GT-line has SEA (Safe Exit Assist), PCA (Parking Collision Avoidance Assist – Reverse) and eCall with SOS Button (Overhead Console Control).

Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub’s asleep!