Photo: CarPix
The South Korean carmaker is definitely on a different timeline compared to other traditional manufacturers, in the sense that Kia’s and Hyundai’s usual model lifecycles last about five years instead of seven or eight.
Such is the case with the Kia Niro, for example, whose current first generation was unveiled only four years ago, and in 2021 will be replaced with an all-new one.
Our collaborating spy photographers recently caught a pre-production prototype of the 2022 Kia Niro and, despite the heavy camouflage, we can see that the car will definitely borrow more than a couple of design motifs from the the Kia HabaNiro Concept.
Unveiled at the 2019 New York Auto Show, the HabaNiro was quite a peculiar Kia concept car, in the sense that it didn’t feature the so-called ‘tiger-nose’ grille even though it was apparently offering a glimpse into Kia’s future.
Powered by an all-electric drivetrain that would give the model over 300 miles (485 km) of range, the HabaNiro also featured butterfly doors and a red-hot interior, two attributes that are definitely not part of the 2022 Kia Niro prototype we have in the attached photo gallery.
That said, the new compact crossover should have an EV version with similar range numbers, and the lack of ‘tiger-nose’ grille will trickle down to the road car as well.
Apart from the Niro EV, a plug-in hybrid and regular hybrid version will also be part of the lineup, albeit it’s the all-electric one that is bound to make the biggest fuss.
Sure, it won’t have the same visual pizzazz as the HabaNiro Concept but compared to the current generation, it should at least offer a heck of a lot more tech, including 800V wiring and possibly a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version.
Despite the heavy camo, it looks like the car’s design has been signed-off for quite a while, so we shouldn’t be more than six months away from its official unveiling.
Our collaborating spy photographers recently caught a pre-production prototype of the 2022 Kia Niro and, despite the heavy camouflage, we can see that the car will definitely borrow more than a couple of design motifs from the the Kia HabaNiro Concept.
Unveiled at the 2019 New York Auto Show, the HabaNiro was quite a peculiar Kia concept car, in the sense that it didn’t feature the so-called ‘tiger-nose’ grille even though it was apparently offering a glimpse into Kia’s future.
Powered by an all-electric drivetrain that would give the model over 300 miles (485 km) of range, the HabaNiro also featured butterfly doors and a red-hot interior, two attributes that are definitely not part of the 2022 Kia Niro prototype we have in the attached photo gallery.
That said, the new compact crossover should have an EV version with similar range numbers, and the lack of ‘tiger-nose’ grille will trickle down to the road car as well.
Apart from the Niro EV, a plug-in hybrid and regular hybrid version will also be part of the lineup, albeit it’s the all-electric one that is bound to make the biggest fuss.
Sure, it won’t have the same visual pizzazz as the HabaNiro Concept but compared to the current generation, it should at least offer a heck of a lot more tech, including 800V wiring and possibly a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version.
Despite the heavy camo, it looks like the car’s design has been signed-off for quite a while, so we shouldn’t be more than six months away from its official unveiling.
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