The 2017’s Kia Niro will be available in the market before this year’s end of first quarter. Prior to officially going on sale, the manufacturer states that the base price for will be $22,890, which is not inclusive of the destination fee. The automaker, through an email failed to reveal the destination prices and fee for the two trim levels. This crossover has a dedicated hybrid design from the bottom to the top and it will be a stiff competitor to the current established hybrids. Niro is a base crossover, whose combined EPA-rating is 49 mpg comprising of 46 mpg highway and 51 mpg city.
Niro FE is a step up from the base model with a rating of 52 mpg for city driving and 46 mpg for highway driving, which gives 50 mpg as the combined EPA-rating. The fuel economy of the Niro Touring is the lowest of the three. Its combined EPA rating is 43 mpg, with 46 mpg for highway driving and 46 mpg for city driving. While the full pricing details for Niro will be released by Kia at a later date, initial figures indicate that this model will be one of the strongest competitors in the segment. For instance, a comparison between Niro and Toyota’s RAV 4 hybrid shows that the Niro comes out ahead, at least on paper.
The starting price of RAV XLE base hybrid is around $29,970 with a destination charge of $940. Its combined rating is 32 mpg. This car’s city rating is 34 mpg, while the highway rating is 30 mpg, figures that are slightly below those of Niro. However, for those who are looking to buy Toyota’s crossover, it has the advantage of all-wheel drive.
Advertisements have been released to clearly indicate how the car is presented by Kia. The Niro will come with all the latest features of the automaker including Lane Change Assist, Blind Spot Detection, Autonomous Emergency Braking, Smart Cruise Control, and much more.
When Niro finally hits the market, the expectation is that it will be available in five trim levels. These levels are EX, LX, Touring, FE and finally a special edition will also be launched. It has been confirmed that in the near future the automaker is set to release a plug-in hybrid car variant of this model. Rumor has it that a fully-electric version of the car is also under consideration. Niro is clearly one of the models that customers need to look forward to because it has a lot to offer. Moreover, it will be a major competitor to giant automakers such as Toyota.