Ended up with a Niro EV

"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
10/28/2019 at 12:23 • Filed to: None

Following up on our overnight test d rive of the Leaf. Returning the Leaf to the Nissan dealer had my anxiety up pretty high (probably why they are willing to lend them out like that). Most of the experience there was typical car dealership bullshit, but kudos to the salesman for simply taking the keys back and letting me leave without harassment or some kind of infuriating 2 hour wait.

My wife vetoed the Model 3 based on its interior, and the Bolt and Volt based on size and exterior looks. We also had a Rav4 Hybrid on our radar, but she thought it would be too big and didn’t like how it looked either. Manly offroady aggressive styling doesn’t actually appeal to everyone, I guess. She’s been wanting a pure EV for a long time, but we couldn’t justify it until the range got above 200 miles. Even though all of the 200+ mile EVs are expensive right now, I’m glad we were able to find one she likes. She’s had a Versa for 12 years, so she’s paid her dues ;)

Before deciding on the Leaf, we wanted to try the Niro EV since it has more rear legroom on paper and slightly more range. Since I spoiled the reveal in the title, it should be no surprise that we liked the Niro better. It’s a master-class in packaging, able to fit my daughter’s rear-facing car seat behind me sitting in the front without being cramped. The Leaf just barely passed that test, but the Niro had an extra 2 inches for me. I literally couldn’t drive her Versa with the carseat in the rear-middle, so this will be a substantial upgrade.

Driving the Niro EV back-to-back with the Leaf would probably come down to taste for most people. The Leaf (plus version) feels very torquey and truly shoves you back in your seat. Handling isn’t great and understeer shows up at incredibly low speeds. Steering feel is ok, but is way lighter than I prefer. Brakes are good and one-pedal driving is pretty great. Despite the higher torque figure (290 lb-ft!), the Niro doesn’t shove you back in your seat the same way as the Leaf, but still feels plenty strong. Handling is much better than the Leaf because it feels more balanced and the steering is weighted just right. The ride in the Niro is rougher than the Leaf, but not bad at all.

The Niro’s interior is about the same quality as the Leaf’s overall. There are bits of the Leaf that are excellent, but some things like the center console and shifter that are pretty bad for 2019. The Niro’s controls are great and the infotainment is way better. Also, my wife is 2 feet tall, so the telescoping steering wheel in the Niro is pretty nice to have.

We ended up buying one in “Gravity Blue” which is a dark almost turquoise color that shows up as black in most photos. It’s very nice in person and I’m proud of my wife for getting a car with a little color. I just hope she lets me drive it sometimes...

This is getting long, so I’ll save the dealership experience and first day of EV-life for future posts.

We were both truly sad to get rid of our Versa. She bought it in 2007 before we were married. It’s been incredibly reliable over 130k miles and we’ve been on a ton of adventures with that car. Goodbye, old friend:

DISCUSSION (32)

Spanfeller is a twat > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 12:28

Tasteful choice!

Chariotoflove > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 12:37

Cool! I’ve often thought I’d like a pure EV for the majority of driving I do in town. It would be perfect if it had everything else I needed in one car.

I’ll look for a long term report from you down the road. We need more of those on these types of cars here. They are the future in many ways.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > Chariotoflove
10/28/2019 at 12:41

I think it’s cool that this is basically a commuter car, but it drives well and is fun. This might be blasphemy, but I like the sound too! The (artificial) hum at low speeds sound like the future, and the slight whine as you accelerate are both enjoyable. Not like V8 enjoyable, but nice...

412GTI > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 12:42

Nice! That color looks pretty cool and I like light blue accents.

I think the first gen Versa was miles better than the crappy second gen and this certainly shows!

vicali > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 12:42

Nice, looking forward to your thoughts.

Co-worker has a Leaf for commuter duty and they love it..

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > 412GTI
10/28/2019 at 12:45

Thanks!

Yeah, we had a Versa Note and a Sentra (for 5 months!) as loaners during the airbag recall stuff and they were both complete garbage. CVT + bad electric steering and way way cheaper interior materials made for a huge downgrade. I bet nobody has ever been as happy as we were to get back to driving a Versa!

For Sweden > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 12:49

I welcome our Korean overlords

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 13:06

I do like the Niro when I see it on the road, its more tall wagon than crossover. In short was your Kia dealer experience Bad or good?

What did your wife not like about the Model 3 interior?

QCGoose > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 13:07

Excellent choice! I've heard good things about these.

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 13:09

Good Stuff. My wife drives the Niro hybrid and was interested in this next. It’s a perfectly good city runabout.

Interested to learn about the dealer experience and the deal you got.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > vicali
10/28/2019 at 13:10

Here’s a little preview: I spent 2 hours by myself in the dark freezing cold charging the car at a Harley Davidson dealership and yet I still like the car.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
10/28/2019 at 13:12

Well, the car is good, but the dealership on the other hand....

KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 13:13

Uh Oh. Thankfully we had excellent experience with our Kia dealer. I was constantly thinking “Wait this is too good to be true” the entire time I was there.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
10/28/2019 at 13:13

Bad to Very Bad.

She didn’t like the giant screen / no buttons. I’m inclined to agree.

vicali > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 13:15

lol - it must be amazing.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 13:17

I wish I could say I was surprised. We had a bad experience right after the test drive and I pulled the ripcord pretty quick on that; they pretty much ensured we bought a Honda . The Hyundai dealer my parents went to was pretty scummy too.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 13:21

Congrats!

Q: How does rear seat space compare with the Model 3?

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > KingT- 60% of the time, it works every time
10/28/2019 at 13:41

I’d put it below average, but at least there was no outright fraud involved. Just run of the mill pointless waiting and complete lack of knowledge. I felt like a dick asking them to triple verify the VIN on the purchase paperwork, but they had the wrong car in there! That meant a ton of re-printing, of course.

On the plus side, it was low pressure and they had an accurate inventory on their website. Some of the problems were because we had dinner plans and they had to bring the car from Tacoma to Renton (about a 40 mile drive).

Favorite quote, from the greeter (or whatever his title is) at the front door after I asked about the Niro: “Neo-what? What department do you need?”

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
10/28/2019 at 13:52

Not too scummy, luckily. J ust laughably incompetent. As in, no working fast-charger, the wrong VIN (which I caught, on a hunch) on all of the paperwork that took 45 minutes to print, and terrible communication in general.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever
10/28/2019 at 14:06

Didn’t even see a Model 3 because my wife hated the pictures of the Model 3 interior so much.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 14:24

Oh man a friend got her VIN mixed up when they sold it to her and a few months later the dealer had to track her down and I don’t remember the exact mechanics of how it worked but they ended up buying the car back and giving her a slightly better version for a decent discount.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
10/28/2019 at 14:27

Oh man, should have let them get it wrong!

TheTurbochargedSquirrel > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 14:40

Semi-unrelated but a friend of mine who owns a Model 3 recently went on a 15 minute rant to me about how the Model 3 not only doesn’t have any physical buttons but Tesla is also constantly moving the position of the virtual buttons so you have no hope of ever building muscle memory so you can push them without having to look at the screen to figure out where the button is today. He hates that damn screen.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > TheTurbochargedSquirrel
10/28/2019 at 14:49

That’s a good point, I hadn’t thought of that as an additional drawback to the large screen. The entire smartphone design philosophy can’t really be applied to cars as it has been lately (not just Tesla, but Tesla is especially guilty).

His Stigness > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 14:52

Kinja'd!!!

EVs for life!

I knew what I was getting into in terms of range of my e-Golfs, but I still wish all of the time I had at least 200 miles of range. But I live with it since it’s so damn cheap to drive.

Textured Soy Protein > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 15:58

Also, my wife is 2 feet tall,

Saywhatnow?

Kinja'd!!!

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > His Stigness
10/28/2019 at 15:59

I rode in an e-Golf recently and it’s a great car. Too little range, or we would have bought that one. I love VW interiors.

Textured Soy Protein > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 16:00

My sister has a fully-loaded 2011 Versa SL hatch that my parents bought her brand new, even though they never bought me a car, because she’s daddy’s little girl. It’s been a perfectly decent basic transportation appliance for the past 8 years.

His Stigness > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 16:33

My original plan was to use my TDI for longer trips. But I love my e-Golf so much I stop and just use fast charging to get even further. I love it so much.

EE123 > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/28/2019 at 18:56

Did you get a good deal on the Niro EV? In So Cal, a dealer was asking for $5k over MSRP during the summer. Hopefully those days are gone. It's insane when I can get a Bolt EV for $5-6k below MSRP then.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > EE123
10/28/2019 at 19:10

Maybe about $2k below MSRP. I’m bad at buying cars, so I bet it could be a lot better.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
10/29/2019 at 10:24

N ice! Congrats!