Kia has a lot to talk about at this year's CES, and one of the biggest announcements is the claimed range on its Niro EV concept. If the concept has any bearing on a future production Niro EV, it won't simply be a rebodied version of the Hyundai Ioniq EV, which has a 110-mile range. Instead, Kia says the Niro EV concept has a range of 238 miles. Those in the know with EVs will recognize that this is the very same range as the Chevy Bolt EV. The range comes from a 64 kWh battery pack, and it supplies power to a 150 kW electric motor, which equates to 201 horsepower. Again, that's a dead ringer for the Bolt EV, which makes 200 horsepower. If these numbers all translate to production, Kia will have a serious EV contender.
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- This is an electric vehicle with 238 mile range and about 200 horsepower from its electric motor, but it's not the Chevy Volt. Even though those specifications are the same, this is the Kia Niro EV at CES 2018. You can buy the Chevy right now. You can't get this yet, but Kia promises it's coming soon.
One interesting technology that Kia is debuting in this Niro EV, it's called Dual Zone Audio. It actually uses speakers in the headrest front and rear that allows the passengers in the front seats to listen to a different audio program than the passengers in the back seat with no headphones required.
The basic shape of the Niro is similar to what's currently on the market. It's the details that make it different. Get a load of those wheels with the carbon fiber and copper-colored inserts, the interior with LED lights placed, kind of like how Rolls Royce does with the headliner, and a front end that can actually display individualized messages on an LCD screen. Don't expect those kinds of things to make it to production.
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