Kia Niro EV quick drive.

I had to rent a car for a few days, and I ended up with a Kia Niro. Which is something I was curious about anyway. I haven’t driven any Kia vehicles for a few years and was always interested in the 2nd-generation Kia Niro.

Especially since currently, Kia is offering these for the crazy lease price of $149 a month. Which is less than some of my friend’s phone bills or what many spend on gas every month.

I think the exterior design still looks great after almost 4 years. A refresh is due at the end of this year or early next year. And the EV trim could be replaced by the all-new Kia EV3.

The interior is also very nice and roomy. Front and back. However, the Kia Niro isn’t a large car, and the rear seat is really fine for 2 adults. If you try to squeeze 3 humans back there, you might face some discord after a few miles.

The seats are very comfortable. Everything feels really solid and well-made. This is basically a much nicer interior than the current Honda Civic. With higher quality materials as well.

Another nice surprise is the base sound system that actually sounds really good.

The Niro EV is a great driving car as well. Suspension is very smooth and comfortable. The steering has a very nice feel. (Unlike the terrible steering in the Honda Passport I was driving last week). And it is, of course, very quiet all the time. (You can’t even hear that pedestrian warning sound that is so loud and annoying in the Honda Prologue.)

The Niro EV is only available in FWD and with one electric motor. And there is plenty of power for most people and more than almost any compact, affordable ICE cars available. This is just a vastly superior vehicle.

The range is easily over 250 miles. I went ot charge it and it took me about 20 minutes to add around 120 miles starting from 50% battery. Which isn’t bad. And the number actually went up to 250 miles by the time I drove it back home.

I felt compelled to write something about this car because I really was surprised by how good it is.

Of course, since it starts at almost $40,000, the base Niro EV doesn’t seem like such a great deal. Since other, larger EVs start at around that price. That’s also around the same price as a Tesla Model 3, which is loaded.

$5000 more will get you the Niro Wave, which includes a sunroof and a more upscale sound system, among other things. (And, unfortunately, it seems black is the only available interior.)

The main attraction here is the crazy $149 a month lease deal. Which is quite amazing. Not only for a $40,000 car, but for a car that is that good. A Civic hatchback Hybrid is currently $299 a month. Which is twice as much!

As far as I can tell, the Niro EV isn’t perfect. But it’s probably one of the best things you can spend $150 a month on…