2017 Kia Niro... Anything?

[FlawedLegacy]

Needed a new family vehicle and went with the 2017 Kia Niro FE. Anyone have any input on this? While the 50 combined is very good, I am looking for ways to improve it, or actually any fun/useful mods as well.
Looks like I might be the first top reach out for help modding Kia's "unhybrid" crossover that I can find.
Thanks in advance!

[MetroMPG]

Hey - congrats! I haven't even seen one on the road yet.

(... Or maybe I have and I just didn't notice it. I think that was part of Kia's intention with the design of it.)

I would air up the tires to start.

Do you know if it came with a block/coolant heater? You don't get full hybrid functions until the engine is warm, so that's a mod that helps even more than with a conventional vehicle.

Your driving style will arguably have an oversized impact on fuel economy in a full hybrid vs. a regular vehicle.

Most new hybrid owners mistakenly focus on trying to keep the vehicle in EV (electric drive only) mode as much & as long as possible. But that's not the route to best MPG. Instead, you should focus on how & when the engine stops when the vehicle is in motion so you can maximize engine-off coasting opportunities.

Generally, the main time you want to be TRYING to use EV mode is in very low speed operation (eg. creeping through a parking lot) or if you need to, say, move the car in the driveway onto the street or some short distance hop like that.

The rest of the time, use the engine (ICE) to accelerate fairly briskly. Use the car's ICE-off coasting mode as much & early as possible toward stops/turns/other transitions.

EG: let's say you're going from a stop to a stop sign a few blocks away. Best approach is to accelerate briskly enough to fire up the engine to build speed, then back off the throttle as soon as possible to stop the ICE and coast toward the stop (traffic permitting), probably grabbing a bit of regenerative braking near the stop sign.

It's steep learning curve time! Good for you. Should be fun.

[MetroMPG]

PS: check your garage entry. You have it as a "Rio".

[FlawedLegacy]

Thanks, I've fixed that.
New to hybrids, is there any idiots guide or rules I should follow? Any help is appreciated!

Also, any good mods to help it along?

[FlawedLegacy]

Well reached a new personal best for commute to our from the office on the way home at 27 miles in rush hour at 60.4 after having read up on hypermileing yesterday!

[pete c]

Saw one of these in a McDonald's parking lot yesterday. Nice looking rig. I suspect they'll sell boatloads.

[ptjones]

I was wondering if you compared a FORD CMAX Hybrid to NIRO? I test drove 2 EX and 2 Touring and they remind me of driving a Prius. To late for you, but here is a Link comparing CMAX Hybrid, Prius V and NIRO. 2017 Kia Niro - Competing Products - Ford C-MAX Hybrid Forum

[roflwaffle]

I can't speak to how it drives, but I saw one today and it's dimensions are pretty close to those of my gen II Prius. A quick check online indicates that's it's within a couple inches across the board, which makes sense.

https://encrypted.google.com/search?...s%20dimensions

https://encrypted.google.com/search?...o%20dimensions

If dressing up a hybrid as an SUV and splitting the kamm back between the top and the bottom instead of mostly dropping from the top sells more high mpg cars, more power to Kia!