by Seán Creedon
A few months back Kia introduced two new electric cars to the Irish market, the e-Soul, that I wrote about here a few weeks back and the e-Niro, which I drove last week.
On the day in June that Kia launched their two new electric cars the Government announced ambitious plans to have one million electric cars on Irish roads by the year 2030.
There are approximately 2.7 million vehicles on Irish roads right now and only 5,000 of those are electric. So if we are to achieve the Government’s target every new car being sold today would have to be electric.
Most car companies now have electric motors and while many come up with rather boring designs for their electric versions, Kia are staying with their regular designs, but adding that all important ‘e’ in the title.
Sales of electric cars have increased this year, but the figures are still small; 2,860 to the end of August, compared with 1,077 for the first eight months of 2018.
There is no doubt that the e-Soul is funkier looking than the e-Niro, which is a bit bland. I certainly didn’t get as many comments when driving the e-Niro as I did in the e-Soul earlier in the summer.
The Soul has a funkier look and gets brighter colour options, while the Niro test car came in old fashioned ‘Henry Ford black.’
The e-Niro may not be as attractive as the e-Soul, but then some people like a car that doesn’t attract too much attention. Externally the e-Niro looks like your regular Niro but it’s so quiet.
I liked the high driving position and there was decent space for five adults. Plenty of boot space also, but while there is space for a spare wheel, none is provided.
The e-Niro has two battery options: 39.2Kw which has a 289km range and 65Kw which has a 455Km range. The lower-range costs from €33,495; the long range €37,495.
I drove the long range version and took it to the Ploughing Championships in Fenagh. I had visions of having to be towed out of the car park, but electric cars are brilliant when you are stuck in long tail backs of traffic and there were no range problems.
In the evening the car park in Fenagh resembled a pop concert with groups of teenagers enjoying the sun in a relaxed atmosphere.
It has been claimed that some people are putting on weight while they wait for their electric cars to charge at the various charge points around the country.
Last week while waiting for the e-Niro to get a blast of energy, I resisted the tasty doughnuts on offer in my local garage and made use of up some of the 400 minutes my mobile phone supplier gives me every month and rang some old colleagues.
I was reminded me of the late Frank Kelly telling the story of how he got the idea for his ‘Guess Who’ phone call comedy sketch.
One day Frank was in the coin box section of the GPO in O’Connell Street when he heard a girl make various calls using the old payphones. Her first words when somebody answered were always ‘Guess Who.’
With caller I.D. there was no need for me to say ‘Guess Who’ last week, but I did catch up with a few old colleagues while waiting for a charge, which to be fair was very quick.
So a relaxing week driving the e-Niro and I also found time to catch up with old friends.
