Compare the2024 Hyundai Kona ElectricVS 2024 Kia Niro EV

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Kona Electric have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Kia Niro EV doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Kona Electric Limited has a standard Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Niro EV only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Kona Electric and the Niro EV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and with its optional front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Kona Electric the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 207 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Niro EV has not been tested, yet.

The Kona Electric’s corrosion warranty is 2 years and unlimited miles longer than the Niro EV’s (7/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Kona Electric for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Hyundai will pay for tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Niro EV.

On the EPA test cycle the Kona Electric gets better mileage than the Niro EV:

The Kona Electric SEL/Limited can travel longer on a full charge than the Niro EV (261 miles vs. 253 miles).

The Kona Electric has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Niro EV doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Kona Electric has variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Niro EV doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Kona Electric has .2 inches more front legroom, 1 inch more front hip room, .2 inches more front shoulder room and .2 inches more rear headroom than the Niro EV.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Kona Electric’s rear seats recline. The Niro EV’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Kona Electric has a much larger cargo volume than the Niro EV with its rear seat up (25.5 vs. 22.8 cubic feet).

The Kona Electric’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Niro EV’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

To keep a safe, consistent following distance, the Kona Electric has a standard Smart Cruise Control, which alters the speed of the vehicle without driver intervention. This allows the driver to use cruise control more safely without constantly having to disengage it when approaching slower traffic. The Niro EV doesn’t offer an adaptive cruise control.

The Hyundai Kona outsold the Kia Niro by over two to one during 2023.