Buying a KIA Niro in the fall of 2024 ended several months of seeking the best car for us. Our Chevy Cruze was serving us well. We liked it but it was a low-set vehicle. At pushing age 76 we were finding it harder to get in and out of it. So, we went on a quest seeking an ideal car.

We wanted a car that was easy to get into and out of, got exceptionally good gas mileage, was comfortable to drive and ride in, and was well built and durable enough to last for years.

EV or Plug-In Hybrid?

Although we were intrigued by an electric car, often travel takes us to rural areas where charging stations don’t yet exist. So, we sought a plug-in hybrid that would let us buzz around town on battery power yet allow us to use gas for longer jaunts.

McGrath Motors

We needed help locating the right car for us. Garrett Ellard at McGrath Motors in Cedar Rapids proved to be an outstanding resource. He listened to our needs and had us try a few models. One was a plug-in KIA Niro, a model we had never heard of. We liked it and purchased it through KIA’s lease-to-own program. This reduced the purchase price, but became complicated and problematic.

Complications

We picked the car up in November 2024 and have been driving it for half a year.

Here are aspects of the car we like:

• It is easy to get in and out of, and is comfortable to drive and ride in.
• The plug-in electric feature is outstanding. We plug it into a 110-volt wall outlet. We didn’t need to hire an electrician to install a faster charger.
• KIA says the car will run on battery power for 33 miles when fully charged. As expected, it does somewhat less than that during very cold weather, but exceeds the range during warm days.
• The car seamlessly switches automatically from electric to gas power when the battery is depleted. It has equal and plenty of power, whether in battery or gas mode.
• When driving on trips with the battery depleted, the KIA gets over 50 miles per gallon on gas. Once with a headwind, it exceeded 60 mpg.
• Safety items are amazing.

Here are a few things we found challenging or perplexing:

• KIA’s lease-to-own program: We were told that we’d receive a purchase price about $4,000 lower if we leased the car for three months and then made the purchase. That is a chunk of money, so we chose this. It became a frustrating, time-consuming process. We thought when we paid for the car in February 2025, we’d “own” it, but it initiated two months of signatures, changing out temporary plates, and just plain aggravation. Perhaps the dealer or KIA didn’t want us to buy the car, but just continue to lease it. This was resolved, but if the option of lease-to-buy comes up in the future, we would approach it cautiously.
• The electronics are amazing and do remarkable things, but many of them we don’t need or use. For example, it’s easier to turn on the radio in our 19-year-old Chevy truck than in the KIA. Feel for the knob and push it. With the KIA, one has to take their eyes off the road, if the driver, to find the radio function, if it is not one, and push the screen. Seems dangerous. The Cruise control is harder to use than in our old car, and when it’s not on, it’s difficult to manually hold the car at a steady highway speed. The car wants to go faster than the speed limit!
• The gearshift is actually a wheel. Again, the driver has to take eyes off the road to determine if in drive, park, or reverse because the gear shift is between the seats. Also, dangerous because the shift can get bumped and then create situation of loss of control of the car. A gear shift lever is safer. We are used to the wheel, but it is unsafe.
• What WERE the engineers thinking? Novelty is one thing, safety another. We vote for safety.

All in all it’s a great car.