Kia Has a New Commercial for the 2023 Niro EV - Space and Astronauts Are Involved

It all starts in Space, where a capsule is rapidly approaching Earth. We see an astronaut, who is toggling various switches on board, and then we see the parachutes open. The unnamed commander is welcomed home by the Houston Mission Control Center, using the same calm tone of voice that we have grown accustomed to after watching a bit too many movies about space.

The ad is focused on the 2023 Kia Niro EV, in its Wave trim level, shown with optional features. While the clip does portray a potential usage scenario for an optional feature, it would be a bit of an understatement to call it farfetched.

Fortunately, the idea of the commercial is clear, and it is easy to understand the potential benefits of the optional extra, as well as one potential usage scenario.

However, the solution is not permanent in real life, as you might still need a set of keys to open the vehicle if its 12V battery gets flat one day. Or if there is something wrong with your phone, or if you want to lend your car to a friend without your phone. You get the picture.

Sure, this all flies because it is a commercial, but if you add things up and compare them with real life, it does not make that much sense. Without being overly mean to the people who made the commercial, we did notice a few things that did not add up.

Now, it might just be our opinion here, but the astronaut had improperly adjusted seatbelts in the capsule. We are not experts in the field, but being able to move that much while being strapped in your seatbelts might not be the safest way to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere in a capsule.

The second thing that does not add up is the Astronaut, who remembers just returning from The Moon and then realizing that is the place where they had lost their keys. Well, there is no reason someone would have their car keys with them in a space suit, especially ones with metal keys for a home attached to them.

We strongly advise you against this practice, as your car keys will be too heavy when placed in the ignition, and your home keys could scratch the dashboard. Moreover, if you happen to misplace your keys, now you cannot enter your house to get the spare key for your vehicle, and you cannot drive to your house in your car, either, so you lose two things at once. The same goes for phone cases that also have your credit cards, IDs, or anything else inside – bad idea.

Furthermore, it would not make sense to have those keys in an outside pocket of a space suit, as astronauts do not put those suits on at home and drive themselves straight to the launch site.

Moreover, astronauts in real life always spend a bit of time being observed by medical personnel right after completing a mission, they do not just leave after touching down. Again, this is an exaggeration for a commercial, so maybe we were a bit harsh on them because we have expectations.