Kia Niro review - Reliability and safety

Kia continues to shine in our Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, moving up from third place in 2019 to second position in the 2020 and 2021 polls for Best brand. The Niro finished in an outstanding fourth spot in 2020, out of a 75-car list, although placed 15th in 2021, while its Rio supermini and Sportage SUV siblings achieved 2nd and 9th spots respectively.

The Niro originally earned a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating in 2016, but if you added the optional Advanced Driving Assistance Pack the rating moved up to five stars. Kia now includes Emergency Stop Signalling, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, a Lane Keep Assist System  and a Lane Follow Assist function as standard on all models, while the top-spec '4' versions feature a Blind Spot Detection system with Rear-Cross Traffic Alert.

Warranty

With that in mind, it's good to know that the petrol-electric drivetrain is covered by the same seven-year/100,000-mile warranty as the rest of the car, and that should give you extra peace of mind if you are planning to take the plunge on this new technology. You only get 12 months' breakdown assistance, though.

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Servicing

Service intervals for the Niro are every 10,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. 

The manufacturer offers the Kia Care service plan package, offering fixed-price servicing designed to the age and mileage of your car. Kia also provides the 'Drive now, pay later' scheme, which allows you to pay 25% of the cost of your service up front, followed by the remaining balance at 0% interest over three months.