Used 2022 Kia Niro

The Kia Niro is an excellent value for drivers looking for a practical hybrid. It’s a small crossover with good interior space for its size, and it archives a combined fuel economy rating of up to 50 mpg. It also carries a starting MSRP of under $25,000. This all adds up to one of the most practical and value-conscious vehicles that money can buy.

The Niro is a hybrid with few direct competitors. Its closest rival is the venerable Toyota Prius, which is a hatchback rather than a crossover, but it’s similar to the Niro in pricing and efficiency. It’s worth noting that the Prius is available with AWD and the Niro isn’t. You could go with a bigger compact hybrid crossover like the hybrid variant of the Ford Escape or Honda CR-V, but those are more expensive and less efficient than the Niro.

The Kia Niro is a carryover model for the 2022 model year with no notable changes. According to Kia, this is the final model year for this generation of the Niro. We have separate Reviews of the Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid and the pure-electric Niro EV if you think that one of those might be more to your liking.

The 139-hp hybrid powertrain of the Kia Niro is adequate. Drivers who prioritize efficiency over performance won’t have much to complain about. Still, if you’re looking for a practical hybrid with some gusto, you’ll prefer the more energetic Toyota RAV4 Hybrid or Hyundai Tucson Hybrid. The performance of the Niro is just fine for driving around town, but on-ramps and highway passing require some patience. Sport mode helps deliver a more engaging driving experience, but it’s still no muscle car.

Its performance may be underwhelming, but the driving experience of the Niro is pleasant. The ride is smooth and comfortable, and it has composed handling. The small footprint of the Niro makes it easy to drive and park with a tight turning radius. Shifts from the 6-speed DCT automatic transmission sometimes feel jerky, but it’s generally unintrusive.

The interior of the Kia Niro is spacious for its size. However, the next size up in hybrid SUVs provides much more space, particularly in the cargo area. If you won’t be hauling lots of cargo or bulky items regularly, the Niro has a good amount of room. The back seats have enough legroom and headroom to seat two adults comfortably.

The interior quality of the Niro is consistent with its pricing. There are some low-rent materials throughout the cabin, especially in the lower trims, but it’s a comfortable crossover. It gets a bit nicer in the LXS SE trim with cloth/leather seat trim, and the top two trims have SynTex faux leather seating.

There’s nothing about the exterior of the Niro that screams “hybrid,” which is a good thing if you want the fuel economy of a hybrid, but you’re not trying to make a statement. It’s a stylish little crossover with some plastic cladding that makes it more SUV-like and some tastefully applied chrome.

The size of the Kia Niro is similar to other subcompact crossover SUVs like the Nissan Rogue Sport, Mazda CX-30, and Honda HR-V. In the Kia lineup, it’s bigger than the Kia Soul and smaller than the Sportage.

WIRELESS ANDROID AUTO AND APPLE CARPLAY
The standard 8-inch infotainment system in the Niro comes with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Link up your phone for music, navigation, and more without taking it out of your purse or pocket.

HEATED AND VENTILATED SEATS
The top trim of the Niro comes with heated and ventilated front seats, which is a premium feature that’s hard to find at this price.

There are some nice standard features on the Kia Niro, but it’s a little light on standard safety tech compared to rivals. Standard features on the base LX trim include 16-inch alloy wheels, roof rails, a rear spoiler, cloth seats, cruise control, dual-zone climate control, 60/40-split/folding rear seats, rear-occupant alert, and seven airbags.

The standard infotainment system is an 8-inch screen with Bluetooth, one USB port, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Upgrading to the LXS trim is a good buy. It adds more modern safety tech features, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-following assist, automatic high beams, and a driver attention warning. The LXS model also adds a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, a rear center armrest, and remote start.

The LXS SE model is similar to the LXS trim, but it adds partial leather seats, a 10-way power driver’s seat with lumbar control, rear parking sensors, and a power sunroof.

The Touring SE model is where the Niro starts to get more luxurious. It has an upgraded 10.25-inch infotainment system with navigation, but it has wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, unlike the wireless setup you get with the 8-inch screen.

This trim also introduces Highway Driving Assist, adaptive cruise control, cyclist detection, Harman/Kardon premium audio, SynTex seat trim, vents for the back seats, a 7-inch driver information center, paddle shifters, an electronic parking brake, and wireless charging.

It looks more upmarket thanks to 18-inch wheels, satin black roof rails, fog lights, and LED rear combination lamps. Because of the bigger wheels, this is the least efficient trim of the Niro.

The range-topping EX Premium trim has much of the same equipment as the Touring SE model, but it adds heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and a cargo screen. EX Premium is more efficient than Touring SE because it has smaller 16-inch wheels.

A 1.6-liter inline-4 mated to an electric motor lies under the hood of the Kia Niro. It has a combined system output of 139 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque. That’s enough to motivate the Niro around town and on the highway, but it generally feels a bit pokey.

All Niro models are front-wheel drive with a 6-speed DCT automatic transmission. This is one of the few SUVs on the market that is not available with AWD.

The fuel economy of the Niro varies depending on which trim you choose because of factors like weight and wheel size. Fuel economy for specific trims is spelled out below, with the most efficient version achieving an impressive rating of 53 city/48 highway mpg.

There are also plug-in hybrid and EV variants of the Kia Niro, which are reviewed separately.

1.6-liter inline-4 + AC synchronous permanent magnet electric motor
139 horsepower total system output
195 lb-ft of torque total system output
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 53/48 mpg (LX), 51/46 mpg (LXS, LXS SE, EX Premium), 46/40 mpg (Touring SE)