Kia Niro BEV

[Triggerhappy007]

IEVS:

Consumer Reports: 2019 Kia Niro EV First Drive Review

https://insideevs.com/reviews/356577/20 ... rst-drive/

They think the Kona's a better deal for many. I agree, but not for me or others who need the Niro's greater cargo space (which is still a bit short with the seats up, as noted in my review uptopic), or who need max. winter range in an area with mild winters such as here, where the Niro's heat pump will eliminate any range advantage the Kona has. Direct link to CR review: https://www.consumerreports.org/hybrids ... ve-review/

I look forward to seeing their full review and test.

It's $1500 cheaper, but I'd rather have the safety systems that comes standard in the Niro EV. The Niro also has more rear seat room. Also, the heat pump is optional on the Niro so not all models will come with it.

[DougWantsALeaf]

Though o would have considered the Niro of it was available in IL,
The Leaf still has better capacity. The 18/19 has even a wee bit more room then the 13 leaf we had before.

[GRA]

Though o would have considered the Niro of it was available in IL,
The Leaf still has better capacity. The 18/19 has even a wee bit more room then the 13 leaf we had before.

Yes, the LEAF's got more cargo space (assuming you don't get the upgraded stereo, which makes slide-in loading a pain unless that's been fixed with the 2018+), but without a TMS it's not acceptable to me, plus it's CHAdeMO which I think is almost certainly going away in the U.S.

[webeleafowners]

Though o would have considered the Niro of it was available in IL,
The Leaf still has better capacity. The 18/19 has even a wee bit more room then the 13 leaf we had before.

Yes, the LEAF's got more cargo space (assuming you don't get the upgraded stereo, which makes slide-in loading a pain unless that's been fixed with the 2018+), but without a TMS it's not acceptable to me, plus it's CHAdeMO which I think is almost certainly going away in the U.S.

I’m not familiar with the US market. But in Canada the most popular non Tesla EV is the Leaf so all public DC fast charge locations include Chademo. What are the most popular non Tesla EV’s in the US? Obviously not a Leaf if Chademo is going away there.

[cwerdna]

What are the most popular non Tesla EV’s in the US? Obviously not a Leaf if Chademo is going away there.

https://insideevs.com/news/343998/month ... scorecard/
https://insideevs.com/news/344006/month ... d-archive/

[DougWantsALeaf]

I wouldn't say Chademo is going away. The US added 40% more Chademo chargers in the past year. That said, CCS should reach parity in number of chargers in the US in the next year or two.

With China joining ranks with Chademo, and the new standard released, its going to be interesting to see what happens.

https://www.electrive.com/2019/06/30/ne ... -revealed/

https://insideevs.com/news/356958/proto ... lug-inlet/


https://insideevs.com/news/356385/25000 ... 00-europe/

[DaveinOlyWA]

Though o would have considered the Niro of it was available in IL,
The Leaf still has better capacity. The 18/19 has even a wee bit more room then the 13 leaf we had before.

Yes, the LEAF's got more cargo space (assuming you don't get the upgraded stereo, which makes slide-in loading a pain unless that's been fixed with the 2018+), but without a TMS it's not acceptable to me, plus it's CHAdeMO which I think is almost certainly going away in the U.S.

I’m not familiar with the US market. But in Canada the most popular non Tesla EV is the Leaf so all public DC fast charge locations include Chademo. What are the most popular non Tesla EV’s in the US? Obviously not a Leaf if Chademo is going away there.

Discounting EA's obvious bias, chademo is doing just fine.

[webeleafowners]

Yes, the LEAF's got more cargo space (assuming you don't get the upgraded stereo, which makes slide-in loading a pain unless that's been fixed with the 2018+), but without a TMS it's not acceptable to me, plus it's CHAdeMO which I think is almost certainly going away in the U.S.

I’m not familiar with the US market. But in Canada the most popular non Tesla EV is the Leaf so all public DC fast charge locations include Chademo. What are the most popular non Tesla EV’s in the US? Obviously not a Leaf if Chademo is going away there.

Discounting EA's obvious bias, chademo is doing just fine.

Ahhh ok. Every installation in this province now is dual x 2 CCS/Chademo installs. Another one just opened about 30 kilometres from our house. 200 KW units. There is the odd CCS only install at a dealership but those are only usually open 8 to 5 and only for customers. If you drive into our local Chevy dealer with anything but a Chevy you will be told to leave....now.

There are literally dozens of new stations under construction here right now. Interesting to see stations in more remote locations. Some of these are only served by a single phase line. They are limited to 25 KW. Better than nothing.

By the end of the year Chademo/CCS locations will outnumber Supercharger locations by a ratio of 7 to 1. There are already almost three dozen more planned for 2020. There are about 4 players involved including B.C. Hydro, Fortis (a regional utility) Flo, Petro Canada, Canadian tire etc. But it is all coordinated by and partially funded by the goverment. We are a socialist province so charging infrastructure development and control is a thing.

[DougWantsALeaf]

My personal conspiracy theory is that Tesla is going to sell their US supercharging network to a Chinese company late next year for a pretty big cash infusion. As the other 350KW networks go up, and the Chaoji possibly going in at 900KW stations, the competitive advantage diminishes. Even with my paltry 53KW I get from the local Chademos, the car is ready before I can finish a meal.

As most of the cars now don't come with unlimited supercharging, they would only be angering the early car buyers, and those they will give a credit to for use.

[GRA]

Yes, the LEAF's got more cargo space (assuming you don't get the upgraded stereo, which makes slide-in loading a pain unless that's been fixed with the 2018+), but without a TMS it's not acceptable to me, plus it's CHAdeMO which I think is almost certainly going away in the U.S.

I’m not familiar with the US market. But in Canada the most popular non Tesla EV is the Leaf so all public DC fast charge locations include Chademo. What are the most popular non Tesla EV’s in the US? Obviously not a Leaf if Chademo is going away there.

Discounting EA's obvious bias, Chademo is doing just fine.

The cars aren't. There are only two cars currently available here that use CHAdeMO, the LEAF and the Outlander PHEV, both Japanese brands. More importantly, look at the list of non-Tesla 200+ mile BEVs currently available here.

CCS: i-Pace; e-Tron; Bolt; Kona; Niro.
CHAdeMO: LEAF.

Even the short-range Honda Clarity uses CCS. The CCS Soul will arrive as a 2020, and VW Group will be introducing a whole slew of BEVs using CCS over the next few years, as will the other European manufacturers. EA has no incentive to build more CHAdeMO stalls than they are required to, has no plans to upgrade them to provide more than 50kW, and no one is building QC sites at a profit, so unless some manufacturer like Toyota were to step up and build a network similar to EA's as a necessary marketing exercise ala' Tesla, CHAdeMO will be limited to intra-regional use - almost no one's going to count on the single EA CHAdeMO QC per site to be operational and available when they need it for a road trip.

Maybe if China were to start importing cars here in a big way CHAdeMO would be viable for the long-term, but given Chinese cars' current lack of production quality and refinement as well as the tariff fight, that's not going to happen for a while if ever.