Anyone drive an electric Kia or Hyundai?

[ShortiePants]

...specifically, a Kia Niro or a Hyundai Kona?

DH's old diesel estate (skoda fabia) is packing up and we're keen to replace it with a (fully) electric car. Hopefully newish 2nd hand.

I am fairly little, and nervous of driving anything too large or with rubbish rear visibility (though I think these have cameras) We do however need something big enough to carry a couple of bikes, or occasionally, 5 adults (though we are all quite small in this family, biggest person is 5'11", so compact adults :)

These cars looked like they might fit the bill. Any fellow shorties driven one? Does anyone regularly carry either of these "payloads" with either of these vehicles? Are they too small? What are they like otherwise? All experiences welcomed, or suggestions of (smaller!) alternatives.

TIA

I love love love my kia e niro! It's got great visibility and could seat 5 adults just fine. The only drawback is the boot isn't enormous compared to our previous estate.

I've has a hyundai kona as a courtesy car and didn't like the view through the back- it's much lower than the e niro.

I think you'd be able to put a roof rack on for bikes?

Ooh thats very helpful @postitnot thank you

I'm 5ft2 and I've had no problems with the Kona. The seat goes up and down (also electric!) which is a great feature. I've got a zoe now and definitely miss the features that the Kona has. And it has an excellent range too.

I'm 5'1, my husband is 6'4 and we both drive the Kona without any issues at all.

I also have an electric Kona and adore it. The seats are very adjustable so both DH and I have found it easy to drive. We have had 5 adults in it before, but the middle person was a bit squeezed so fine for a short journey.

We looked at both the Niro and the Kona but went in the end for an Ioniq 5 as the boot is a bit bigger. I'm a shorty and can see out fine. The electric seat goes up and down (as does the steering wheel!) And it has great reversing cameras. Plus it physically stops you going backwards if there is something in the way. The brakes literally jam on by themselves and there's a loud beeping noise. Whether that's a wall, a car coming along, or a pedestrian. Super useful. Would really recommend as I think the range is further as well?

Oh and meant to say can easily fit five adults in the Ioniq. If anything, it's a bit too wide for some parking spaces. Makes it ultra spacious though.

I have a Niro EV 3. I'm 5'4" and DH is 6'3" and we both find it comfortable to drive and be a passenger. The view is good and there are a zillion safety features to help with visibility, including a reversing camera. I got a tow bar fitted to hold our bike rack (4 bikes), so no worries there. The range is great: 250 miles easily.

I haven't had adult passengers in the back (it's only a month old!) but have had three kids. There's lots of leg room but the sideways fit might be on the cosy side, depending on the width of the passengers' hips and shoulders.

On the downside, it constantly bings and bongs and throws a fit, like the jumpiest, most anxious and annoying passenger ever. At first it made me jump out of my skin by beeping, flashing and yanking the steering wheel when I was changing lanes on the motorway. I've got used to it now and just tell it to be quiet and let me drive!

Oh, and the boot space is ok. I downsized from a 7-seater so it's not as spacious as I'm used to, but there's a surprising amount of space under the floor in the boot as well.

This is all so helpful! Much better than the blokey review sites going on about whether or not its a thrilling drive 😄

Our Ioniq drives by itself (!) And has all that lane assist stuff but you can also turn it all off. Most usefully it has a three pin socket in the back so when we were late for a wedding I could plug in my straighteners and sort out my hair while DH drove.

Adult bikes or kids' bikes?

To answer your question — I don't have either but SIL has an electric Hyundai. She test-drove the Kona and quite liked it but thought it wouldn't be quite big enough for their family, so they went for an Ioniq instead. (Not the new Ioniq 5, hers is the teardrop-shaped one that's been out a while as a hybrid but also now comes as electric. Looks a bit like a Prius.)

You could probably get a roof- or boot-mounted carrier for bikes on a Kona or a Niro. Although it would blunt the range quite a bit I would imagine, due to the decrease in aerodynamics.

I've got an Ioniq 5 which is very good. My colleague is an EV nut and chose a Kona so I'm guessing they must be good too.

My Kia ENiro is amazing. Massive range and carried very heavy loads. We never plan to go back.

I’ve carried three trees in the ENiro plus two kids.

I will say that a family member finds the Kia difficult to get in and out of (disability). He finds it a bit low. But he’s the only one who has ever complained.

We can get one bike in the boot of our Kia e-niro if we put one of the back seats down. Not more though.

I don't drive it but DH does and he's never complained. The range is so good - we've never had trouble with being short on charge.

DH has an e-Niro and whilst I haven't driven it, it's very comfortable to ride in and has a great range. The back is spacious and he got a "frunk" which enables him to take some of the stuff out of the boot and store it under the bonnet to make the boot bigger for long journeys. We had a towbar fitted for a bike rack.

I have an all electric Kona.Easy to drive and park.
Boot is small.Kids bikes would fit in but you would have to drop the back seats to get an adult bike in.
Good safety features.
I got the one with the smaller battery as I don't drive long distances.
Promo says you get 350k on a full charge .I get 285k , something to take into consideration if it's a main family vehicle.
I checked for 2nd hand ones but was put off by the fact that in Ireland and we get a grant towards the cost of the vehicle and the charger.
You won't get this with a 2nd hand car.

Adult - sometimes mountain bikes

MG 5 might be worth a look? It’s pretty much the only EV estate around just now. It’s not pretty but it does the job.

It is annoying — the Fabia estate is a really, really useful car and there aren’t many others like it!

So I think we would use a rear bike rack to carry the bikes (a bit more aerodynamic than the roof!). Am I right in thinking the Ioniq issimilar size to niro but maybe longer and lower? Looking at prices I suspect we will end up going for a kona as its slightly less of a stretch and will do what we need more or less. I have to say the Niro does seem to have a lot of love here! But the dealers seem to be aware its popular! 😄

Really appreciate everyone's input here, itts very reassuring 🙏🙏

@ShortiePants Yes, the Ioniq is a hatchback car rather than a crossover. It's about the same size as a Toyota Prius. Probably similar space-wise inside to a Kona/Niro (which are effectively the same car underneath), but the boot is a bit bigger.

Thanks @JuneShitfield