Used Kia E-Niro buying guide: South Korea’s unsung EV hero

With a solid range and low purchasing price on the used market, the first-gen Kia E-Niro ran so the EV6 could walk.

These days, Kia is synonymous with building world-class electric vehicles. To name but a few, the EV6 is considered at EV Powered to be a “landmark car”. Just this time last year, we described the EV3 crossover as “all-round excellence”.

Yet neither of these cars would be here without the quiet hero in the South Korean manufacturer’s all-electric line-up, the first-generation E-Niro. Launched in the UK for the 2020 model year, the E-Niro was one of the first all-electric crossovers to come with a reasonable price tag and a decent range.

Based on the same platform as the Kia Niro hybrid, the E-Niro retained all of its sibling’s sensible qualities, and combined them with the quietness and refinement that an electric powertrain brings. These qualities, amongst others, included sensible exterior dimensions, a generously-sized cabin, and a well-quipped, well-made interior.

While far from sporty, the E-Niro is also better to drive and more practical than its sister car. Its underfloor battery pack concentrates the weight lower down, and offers better practicality. The E-Niro has 451 litres of boot space with the rear seats up, compared to the hybrid’s 382 litres, and the plug-in hybrid’s 324 litres. Fold the rear bench, and the E-Niro’s boot expands to 1,405l.

Kia stopped making the Mk1 E-Niro in 2022. With prices starting around the £12,000 mark from an official Kia dealer, plus a range of up to 282 miles on long-range models, the E-Niro offers plenty of bang for buck as a used choice.

Don’t forget that the E-Niro comes from a time before the current obsession with touchscreens and ADAS. In other words, the interior comes with plenty of buttons and tactile switchgear. What’s more, the irritating bings and bongs will be kept to an absolute minimum, and you won’t have to go through the hassle of switching them off before each journey. This alone should be a major selling point.

Kia E-Niro UK history

Kia purposely kept things simple with the E-Niro’s naming system: Entry-level cars were named ‘2’, mid-trim cars were named ‘3’, and the top-tier model was named ‘4+’. Easy, right?

The first versions of the Kia E-Niro to make their way to the UK were those with a ‘long-range’ 64kWh battery and a 201bhp, front-mounted electric motor. For the 2021 model year, Kia introduced a 39kWh battery with 134bhp.

The shorter-range E-Niro shared its front-wheel drive layout with the big battery car, and also packed the same punchy 291lb ft of torque. When it comes to performance, the Kia E-Niro 64kWh could do the 0-62mph run in a Polestar 2-rivalling 7.8 seconds, while the 39kWh managed it in 9.8 seconds. Their top speeds were 104 and 96 mph respectively.

The E-Niro was heavily facelifted for 2023 and renamed the Niro EV and introduced a 68.4kWh battery to the range. By the time it was removed from sale in the UK at the start of 2026, the E-Niro and Niro EV had accounted for over half of all Kia EVs sold. Quite the achievement for a carmaker that only started building EVs in 2014.

Used Kia E-Niro equipment

Historically, Kia has always been generous with equipment and the E-Niro is no outlier. The entry-level 2 was available solely with the 39kWh battery, and came with single-zone climate control, eight-inch infotainment display, part-leather seats, automatic headlights and wipers, and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror. Assisted cruise control, keyless go, and 16-inch alloy wheels were also standard.

The Kia E-Niro 3 and 4+ were offered with one choice of battery – the larger, 64kWh pack. Kia packed the E-Niro 3 with a larger, 10.25-inch infotainment system, full-leather upholstery (whether it’s real or fake cow, we don’t know), plus a heated steering wheel and front seats. The 4+ introduces ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a sunroof, and a JBL sound system.

Step inside the Kia E-Niro, and it quickly becomes obvious that the cabin is one of its biggest draws. Everything is logically laid out, with plenty of physical buttons for the HVAC, radio, and navigation that make it easier to use than a number of today’s ubiquitous screenfests.

In front of the driver sits a four-inch digital readout, displaying the speed, range, odometer, and remaining battery across two circular binnacles separated by a central screen. In another hark back to the past, the E-Niro’s steering wheel is an actual circle, and not a square… or a squircle.

Price, range, and running costs

Make no mistake, the Kia E-Niro is an affordable choice of second-hand EV. We scoured the Kia UK website for approved used models, and found 22 for sale via the country’s official dealer network.

The cheapest car was a 39kWh 2 model from 2021, with 53,351 miles on the clock and £12,495 price tag. Meanwhile, the most expensive was £17,295 – a 4+ car from 2020, with just 8,830 miles.

We also looked through AutoTrader, and found a total of 101 cars from a wide range of dealerships and private sellers. A 2021 4+ on 16,624 miles from an approved dealer was the priciest at £17,399. At the other end of the scale, the cheapest used E-Niro we found was a 159,000-mile 2020 car, priced at £5,995.

In short, there are plenty of E-Niros available for all sorts of budgets. It is also worth remembering each one is covered by Kia’s generous 100,000-mile/seven-year warranty.

As always, however, we urge you to buy from an approved dealer if you can. It may cost more up front, but it’s far less hassle in the unlikely event of something going wrong. More on reliability later, though…

The Kia E-Niro with the 39kWh battery has a range of 180 miles. Using a dedicated home charging tariff capped at 7p per kilowatt hour, you can charge it from 0-100% for £2.73. Cars with the 64kWh pack have a very respectable 282-mile range and will cost just £4.48 for the same charge. Using public charging will cost significantly more, though.

Unfortunately, the E-Niro lags some way behind newer rivals in the charging stakes. With a maximum charging speed of 100kW, a 10-80% top-up takes a sluggish 46 minutes. Using a 7kW wallbox, the smaller battery will take six hours to fully charge, while the larger will take 10 hours.

On April 1 2025, EVs became taxable under new government legislation, meaning they are no longer exempt from road tax. As such, all-electric cars registered from April 1, 2017 onwards will now be taxed £200 annually.

Kia E-Niro insurance

The Kia E-Niro is one of the more affordable EVs to insure. Cars with the 39kWh battery hover around group 20 (out of 50), while 64kWh models max out at group 26.

As always, shop around for insurance quotes, and remember that factors such as age, occupation, driving history, and whether you have on or off-street parking will be factored into the cost.

Used Kia E-Niro reliability, official recalls, and faults to look for

Like most other Kias, the E-Niro has proven itself to be a reliable buy. Throughout its life, it underwent no major recalls, and dealers have been continuously praised for their efficiency and excellent service.

In the 2024 What Car? reliability survey, the E-Niro ranked 5th out 25 EVs, and even ranked higher than the newer EV6 and the best-selling Tesla Model 3.

The ‘one to have’

If it were our money, the Kia E-Niro we’d buy would be the mid-range 3 model. The 282-mile range from the 64kWh battery is more than capable of handling both day-to-day and long journeys.

That lovely, button-heavy interior gets all of the equipment you’d need, and you’ll thank your hands and your bum for the heated front seats and steering wheel during the Great British Six Months of Winter.

The reason why it plumps the range-topping 4+, is because would you really miss the ventilated seats and sunroof if you didn’t have it? No, probably not.