Auto Express – August 20, 2019

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk SpecialIssue 89

SteveWalker

[email protected]

LivingwithaKiae-Niro OURCARS

Ourfleet

INDEX

Audie-tron

Issue 1,579,1,585

BMW3Series

Issue 1,576,1584

CitroenBerlingoXL

Issue 1,579

CupraAteca

Issues 1,564,1,573, 1,581

DaciaDuster

Issues 1,561, 1,564,

1,572, 1,575, 1,583

Ford Focus

Issue 1,582

HondaCR-V Hybrid

Issue 1,576,1584

HyundaiSantaFe

Issue 1,575, 1,580,1,587

JaguarI-Pace

Issue 1,588

Kiae-Niro

Issue 1,569, 1,580

KiaCeed

Issue 1,567, 1,577,1,582

MazdaMX-5

Issue 1,573, 1,585

RenaultMéganeR.S.

Issue 1,581

SEATTarraco

Issue 1,574,1584

SkodaFabia

Issue 1,572, 1,582

VolkswagenCalifornia

Issues 1,578,1,583, 1,586

VolkswagenTouareg

Issue 1,580,1,585

OURAudie-tronhasalreadyproveditselfas

agreatcommutingtool,butdeputyeditorJohn

McIlroygottotesttheEV’spracticalityrecently,

whenhedroppedhisfamilyoffattheairport.

Thee-tronisabigcar,yetit’sbasednotona

bespokeelectricvehiclearchitecturebutrather

onthemodifiedunderpinningsofconventionally

poweredcarsliketheQ7.Squeezingbatteries

intothatplatformcan’thavebeeneasy,but

Johnwaspleasedtoseethattheboothada

nice,flatloadarea,withoutasignificantlip.

There’splentyoffloorspace,too,soJohn’s

sonwaseasilyabletoslidehisownhandluggage

in–andclimbaboardforagoodbyephoto.

It’sworthnotingthatwhilethee-trondoesn’t

haveaproperfull‘frunk’underthebonnet,where

thecombustionenginewouldbeina‘normal’car,

there’sahardplasticbinintherethat’ssuitable

forwetchargingcables.Butwe’verarelyusedit.

Locked

Keyless

entry has

been handy

when Rich

has had his

arms full,

but has also

frustrated

his wife

Anna

Renault Mégane R.S.

KEYLESSentrycanbeincrediblyuseful,asreviewsandfeatureseditor

RichardIngramfoundoutwhenheborrowedourRenaultMéganeR.S.for

theweekend.Withthekeyinyourpocket,ourcarhandilyunlocksitself

asyouapproachit.Loadedwithshopping,Richfoundbeingabletofree

justonehandtoopenthereardoormadefillingthebackseatadoddle.

However,thesystemisnotwithoutitsfoibles.Richfellfouloftheset-up

twiceinoneweekend –bothtimeswhilefillingtheMéganewithfuel.

Bymakingeverything‘hands-free’,Richfounditeasiertokeepthekey

cardinhispocketratherthanfindingsomewheretoplaceitinthecar.After

fillingthecarwithpetrol,hewalkedawayleavinghiswife,Anna,inside.

Ashereturnedafterpayingforhisfuel,ourmanfoundadistressed-

lookingAnnastandingbesidetheRenaultwiththealarmsounding;

theMéganehadlockeditselfassoonasitsensedthekeywasout

ofrange,despitethefactthatsomeonewasinthecar.

Ourmanrefusedtolearnfromhismistakes,sothesamethinghappened

onthewayintoworkonMondaymorning.Butperhapsthatone’sonRich.

Fleetwatch

Audi e-tron

Your ultimate

guide to buying

andowningan

electric car

WITHtheKiae-Niro’sregularcustodian,

VickyParrott,awayonholiday,Itookthe

opportunitytograbholdofthekeysandspent

acoupleofweeksseeingwhatallthefussis

aboutwithouraward-winningEV.

Ifyou’vestillgotdoubtsabouttheviabilityof

electriccars,theDrivingElectric2019Carofthe

Yearcouldwellbethemodeltoextinguishthem.

Evenputtingthepowertrainasideforamoment,

you’vegotaroomycompactSUVwithspacefor

adultsintherearandarespectableboot,too.

Ithinktheinteriorlacksalittleofthepolish

anddesignflairyoumightgetinsomeother

£33,000cars,buttheamountofequipment

fittedtothisFirstEditionmodelimpressed

me.Therearealsosomereallywellthought-

outstorageoptions,suchasthephoneshelf

positionedlowatthebaseofthedashthat

keepsyourUSBcableoutoftheway,andthe

coveredcup-holdersinthecentreconsole.

Amazingly,the295-milerangequotedbythe

dashboarddisplayafterafullchargeturnedout

tobeclosertothetruththanIexpectedbefore

gettingbehindthewheelthisweek,andthe

near-silentrunningmademycommuteso

muchmoresereneandenjoyable,too.

Thebiggestsurpriseforme,though,came

onfasterB-roads,wherethee-Nirocanactually

begoodfun.WhileIknowelectriccarsare

generallynippy,IfoundthewaytheKiasteers

RoomyThereisplenty of spaceinthe

back seatsfor adults to sit comfortably

andgripsthroughacornerthensquirtsyou

uptheroadtothenextbendsurprisingly

enjoyable.Theonedownsideisthewaythe

bodytendstoleanandpitch,somethingI

didn’tnoticeintownoronthemotorway.

Thislittlecrossoverisprobablyabetter

standard-bearerforelectriccarsgenerally

thanlotsofmodelscostingtwicetheprice.

UpdateAward-winner is achamp with Steve, too

Kiae-Niro

Essentials

Kia e-NiroFirst Edition

Onfleetsince: March2019

Pricenew: £32,995(afterGovt.grant)

Engine: 201bhpelectricmotor,

64kWhbattery

CO 2 /tax: 0g/km/£0

Mileage: 8,352

Efficiency: 5.1miles/kWh

ENJOYABLE,practicalanddemandingso

fewofthecompromisespeopleimagine

areinvolvedintheswitchtoanelectric

car,thee-Niroisadeservingaward-winner.

Steveenjoyeddrivingourssomuchthat

hewaswantedtokeepholdofthekeys.

★★★★★

Verdict