NEWS
ALL-NEW KIA NIRO UNVEILED A second-generation Kia Niro is set to land in 2022, with a tough new look and an evolution of its hybrid, plug-in hybrid and EV powertrains. Revealed at the Seoul motor show, the new model has been inspired by the HabaNiro concept, including its two-tone paintwork with contrasting black C-pillars. It also features a newly evolved ‘tiger face’, with a lower grille that’s responsible for feeding its combustion engines with enough air, but a mainly flush upper grille bordered by metallic trim. There are vertical light pods at its extremities, maximising the Niro’s visual width, while chunky wheel arch surrounds and bulges along the car’s lower flanks ensure it looks every inch the small SUV. At the rear, its black C-pillars culminate in boomerangshaped vertical taillights. The interior is also very different to before, thanks to a sweeping display screen which dominates
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the dashboard, flowing from behind the two-spoke steering wheel and across the fascia. Beneath this, there’s a separate area with touch-sensitive ventilation controls, while the centre console has some physical switches and a rotary drive selector. There’s also a strip of ambient lighting spanning the dashboard, which should add to the car’s night-time dramatics.
“THE INTERIOR IS ALSO
VERY DIFFERENT TO BEFORE, THANKS TO A SWEEPING DISPLAY SCREEN WHICH DOMINATES THE DASHBOARD...”
A significant amount of recycled materials have been used inside, including a headlining made from recycled wallpaper, while the seats use materials from eucalyptus leaves, and its door panels are finished in low toxicity paint. The seating has also been slimmed down to improve interior space, and the headrests now incorporate a handy coat hanger. While specifications haven’t yet been released, the Niro isn’t underpinned by Kia’s very latest E-GMP electric platform, like the EV6, and is instead thought to be an enhanced and evolved version of its current platform. The plugin hybrid will get a ‘Greenzone Drive Mode’, which automatically places the car in its EV mode when driving in ‘green zones, such as residential areas, or nearby schools or hospitals’ based on navigation data, driving history and ‘favourite places’ such as the home or office.
