You Want It, Kia Wants It, But Here's Why Niro Likely Won't Offer All-wheel Drive Anytime Soon

by Mark Stevenson

Published: February 1st, 2017

you want it kia wants it but here s why niro likely won t offer all wheel drive

Kia’s foray into the hybrid segment might be ill-timed, considering the current contraction of sales for its main rival, the Toyota Prius, but the Korean automaker is betting big on the Niro’s traditionally boxy shape bringing in would-be Prius buyers offended by origami-esque sheetmetal.

Still, with that two-box silhouette comes some preconceived notions — like all-wheel drive.

While you want it, and Kia Motors of America would surely love to give it to you, there are a host of reasons why Kia’s newest hybrid-only crossover doesn’t offer all-wheel drive and likely won’t anytime soon.

After speaking with Kia Motors America’s director of communications, James Bell, it appears the company would love to offer optional all-wheel drive on the Niro and is actively campaigning for its addition, but two major technical issues stand in the way.

First, one must consider the platform. The Niro is based on the same bones that underpin the new Hyundai Ioniq, a car that will be launched later this month. Underneath the rear seat sits the same battery pack as the Ioniq, which stretches more-or-less the width of the vehicle. This poses an issue in engineering.

“You’d have to split that battery pack in half,” explained Orth Hedrick, vice president of product planning for Kia Motors America, when asked about the addition of mechanical all-wheel drive. Splitting that pack would be no easy feat, and would likely reduce the Niro’s battery capacity while also adding the extra weight of a mechanical all-wheel-drive system.

But what about an e-AWD system where the rear wheels are independently driven by their own electric motor? Not so fast.

“The rear of the Niro is already quite tight and we didn’t package protect the rear for future all-wheel drive,” Hedrick stated, effectively killing the possibility of a single-motor solution.

Still, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Hyundai-Kia’s largest supplier, Mobis, offered a glimpse at an in-wheel electric motor e-AWD system that would solve the Niro’s packaging issues — but at a cost.

“[In-wheel e-AWD] is unlikely to happen if the solution adds $4,000 to the price of the vehicle,” Hedrick said.

If Kia Motors America gets its way, all-wheel drive could show up in a second-generation Niro, with some other vehicles also benefiting from the new technology. Kia is currently developing an e-AWD system in-house, but will need to find more applications than just the Niro to bring it to production.

[Image: Kia Motors America]

#AllWheelDrive #AWD #E-AWD #ElectricVehicles #EVs #Hybrid #KiaNiro

Mark Stevenson

More by Mark Stevenson

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 18 comments

RHD on Feb 02, 2017

There may be a perfectly good reason for the moniker placed on this model, but perhaps Kia should have first researched the, ah, colorful life of Nero. But maybe there will be parallels in the life of Nero and the Kia Niro - power sharing, being adopted by a new "parent", then belonging to several different women (and then a man) over the course of a few years... possibly a disaster or two that cost a fortune to repair, followed by an early death.

Like Reply
Stephan00 on Feb 07, 2017

If anyone from Kia is reading this.. please make this: http://www.kia.com/us/en/content/vehicles/concept-cars/trailster PLEASE!?

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Lichtronamo Watch as the non-us based automakers shift more production to Mexico in the future.
28-Cars-Later " Electrek recently dug around in Tesla’s online parts catalog and found that the windshield costs a whopping $1,900 to replace.To be fair, that’s around what a Mercedes S-Class or Rivian windshield costs, but the Tesla’s glass is unique because of its shape. It’s also worth noting that most insurance plans have glass replacement options that can make the repair a low- or zero-cost issue. "Now I understand why my insurance is so high despite no claims for years and about 7,500 annual miles between three cars.
AMcA My theory is that that when the Big 3 gave away the store to the UAW in the last contract, there was a side deal in which the UAW promised to go after the non-organized transplant plants. Even the UAW understands that if the wage differential gets too high it's gonna kill the golden goose.
MKizzy Why else does range matter? Because in the EV advocate's dream scenario of a post-ICE future, the average multi-car household will find itself with more EVs in their garages and driveways than places to plug them in or the capacity to charge then all at once without significant electrical upgrades. Unless each vehicle has enough range to allow for multiple days without plugging in, fighting over charging access in multi-EV households will be right up there with finances for causes of domestic strife.
28-Cars-Later WSJ blurb in Think or Swim:Workers at Volkswagen's Tennessee factory voted to join the United Auto Workers, marking a historic win for the 89- year-old union that is seeking to expand where it has struggled before, with foreign-owned factories in the South.The vote is a breakthrough for the UAW, whose membership has shrunk by about three-quarters since the 1970s, to less than 400,000 workers last year.UAW leaders have hitched their growth ambitions to organizing nonunion auto factories, many of which are in southern states where the Detroit-based labor group has failed several times and antiunion sentiment abounds."People are ready for change," said Kelcey Smith, 48, who has worked in the VW plant's paint shop for about a year, after leaving his job at an Amazon.com warehouse in town. "We look forward to making history and bringing change throughout the entire South."   ...Start the clock on a Chattanooga shutdown.