MOTORING
Super-Boost S-Crossby Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent
T
he SUV market must be the most competitive market in the motor trade at present as virtually every manufacturer has at least one model in their range. The markets are always driven by demand and the demand and interest is for practical, good looking, affordable, economical SUV’ s. Well I can see the reasoning behind this especially in the last three years when the SUV market has really taken off. Customers are now looking for a vehicle to all things well and are capable of
Hybrid Kia
Tboth worlds; a petrol engine that
he new KIA Niro is a hybrid, which essentially means you have the best of
charges an electric motor. Yes similar to the Toyota Prius which at one time was hailed as changing the face of the motor industry, not too sure if that happened.
Anyway, back to the new KIA Niro. Kia has developed this car on a brand new platform to accommodate the electric motor and the batteries which go along with it. The beauty about Hybrids is that they charge themselves and unlike fully electric vehicles you never have to worry about plugging them into a charger and hoping the range is good enough to get to where you want to go.
Kia has aimed the Niro at the family market as it is nearly a crossover, maybe not as tall. It is smartly styled and on the inside it far more spacious than it looks from the outside. The Niro is powered by a 1.6 petrol engine producing 104bhp add to that 1.56 KwH motor – all driven through a six speed double clutch auto gearbox. The Niro is certainly the smoothest of Hybrids I have driven easily changing from petrol driven to the Electric mode quietly and without any fuss around town. The only time I actually
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being as good as having two cars without the expense; it’ s the way of the world.
Suzuki took all this on board as below the surface was a great chassis, what was needed was a facelift and with the success of their brilliant Booster jet engines which offer amazing power and economy for their size add these to the SCross, redesign the front of the car, Tweak the suspension and Suzuki now have a winner on their hands.
The SCross I chose was fitted with the 1.0 litre Boosterjet engine. This engine had really
was aware of the engine noise was when I was overtaking and using full power.
The Niro inside simply and tastefully designed, the dash layout is good and easy to use. I found a very comfortable driving position and the Niro is well equipped in every area. Passenger space is generous and the boot is a good size as well. Like all Kia’ s the build quality is good and the Niro has a premium feel to it with high quality materials used throughout. impressed me in the recently released Suzuki Baleno and I was keen to see how it would react pulling a vehicle weighing in at 100kg more. Surprised! You would not know, the engine revved freely, delivered power throughout the rev range, had a bundle of torque and was so economical I thought the fuel gauge was broken. I averaged 59 miles per gallon. Suzuki quote 060 mph should take 11 seconds, well it maybe does but it feels a lot quicker.
The interior is simply laid out and clutter free. The driving position is elevated as in all SUV’ s which allow for good all round visibility. The five speed gearbox slick to use and the ratios are well chosen for the engine to give the best balance of performance and economy. The steering is light and offers good feedback.
The handling for an SUV is good as the S Cross offers sharp turn in, the brakes are good and on a B road with a lot of corners the tweaking of the suspension keeps the body roll in check. Suzuki have really got all the ingredients together on the SCross this time and it is a great SUV – Plenty of room inside, so it’ s practical, it looks stylish and impressive, it drives extremely well, the Boosterjet engine is an absolute gem, it is economical. I think the SCross now really does tick all the right boxes, oh; yes it’ s great to drive.
On the road, I was a bit sceptical but that soon changed the more I drove the Niro. It may be a crossover and with the extra weight of the batteries which are packaged below the rear seats, I was expecting the Niro to do all it says it can but maybe be a bit boring to drive. Wrong! Kia have done a great design job in keeping the weight central in the car and tuning the suspension to suit our roads and it handles really nicely and is good to drive.