I checked out a used 2021 Kia Niro EV EX today at a dealership. I liked the car overall, but the range was showing only 120 miles with a 95% charge. The car has about 22,000 miles on it. I asked the dealer, and they thought it might be related to a temperature sensor issue, where it wasn’t calculating the range correctly due to temperature misreading’s. They said they already had the part in stock and would fix it easily. I decided to walk away and look into it more. Has anyone experienced this? Could this low range be normal or a sign of something wrong? I’m coming from a 2016 Hyundai Sonata, which has had many issues, so I’m a bit hesitant about jumping into something that might cause problems right away.
Someone might have left the car running with the heat on, and the guess-o-meter would take that into account. Or maybe the last person drove it very aggressively. A lot of factors can influence it.
The range seems low, but it could be due to normal conditions at a dealership. If they’ve had many test drives or if it’s cold outside, that could affect it. I have a 2021 Niro EX, and my wife sometimes keeps the auto-temp high with the kids in the car. For the first few miles, we get about 2 miles per kWh, which is close to your range. You might also want to check the drive history to see the efficiency of previous trips by hitting the “EV” button. By the way, we generally get the full stated range with mixed driving.
Is this a 39kWh version? I know that model existed in the UK for a short time, not sure about other regions.
Han said:
Is this a 39kWh version? I know that model existed in the UK for a short time, not sure about other regions.
The dealer confirmed it has the 64kWh battery.
The range estimate is just a guess-o-meter. It uses past driving patterns. If the car was left running with the heat on for a while, it could show a very low range. The best way to figure out how far you can go is by checking the battery’s remaining capacity and your current energy usage (64kWh * remaining capacity).
Sounds like about 2.0 miles per kWh, which is normal for cold weather. No problem with the car.
That’s a little odd, but it could be because temperature affects the range. Did you check the trip or lifetime statistics on the dash? Normally, it should show around 3.4 miles per kWh. If it was driven in colder weather, 195 miles would be a reasonable estimate. The guess-o-meter isn’t the best way to measure battery health—it’s more about past driving habits.
@Kenan
The dealer was adjusting some settings on the center screen while I was driving, and I think it showed around 3.4. I didn’t get to pay much attention, as we were driving through roadwork. I did sit in the car for a few minutes before starting the drive to get used to everything.
@Zion
Whoever drove this didn’t take it easy on the pedal. If it was around 4.0, I’d expect a range of 180-190 miles with 90%, but still not great. Honestly, I would walk away.
@Zion
Was it in sport mode? That seems way off.
They should give you a really good deal for that range issue.
I have a 2023 Niro EV, and in my experience, the guess-o-meter doesn’t seem to care much about outside temperature. It just makes an estimate based on who knows what. Even when it’s freezing outside, it will still estimate the same range. But it’s not always accurate for extreme temperatures. Just my two cents.
How cold is it where you are? Here in Canada, the range can drop by 30-40% in the winter.
Linden said:
How cold is it where you are? Here in Canada, the range can drop by 30-40% in the winter.
It was around 40°F this morning—chilly, but not freezing. I didn’t expect the range to be 50% lower, and neither did the dealer. That’s why they thought it was a problem with the temperature sensor.
If you have an OBDII scanner, you can check the battery voltages while driving. You can also check the consumption on the mpkw screen and battery usage details. If the battery is healthy and the energy use is around 4 miles per kWh, and the battery usage looks normal, the guess-o-meter is probably being influenced by someone using the heat and driving aggressively.