2019 Niro Interior
While not in the premium category, the interior of the Niro still looks neat and solid with a combination of hard and soft-touch materials. The leather-wrapped steering wheel is small and comfortable and falls easily to hand with a fair range of tilt and telescopic adjustment. Controls are well laid out across the dash, and as is the norm for Kia products, the infotainment system is easy to use. Space is ample, but not exceptional, and while the front seats can easily accommodate taller adults, the space in the rear of the cabin is limited, particularly when seated behind taller front occupants.
2019 Niro Interior Photos
Seating and Interior Space
The seating and interior space in the Niro is fairly good for a car in its class. Seating five might be a bit of a squeeze, but four can be seated quite comfortably. The front seats have 40.1 inches of headroom and 41.7 inches of legroom - adequate for tall drivers with a broad range of seating adjustment giving an ideal driving position, while the rear seats have 39.1 inches of headroom and 37.4 inches of legroom. Due to the abundant head and legroom, the Niro is quite comfortable, even for taller passengers, although rear occupants might find it snug behind a six-foot-tall driver. Front visibility is fine due to the tall seating position, but rear visibility can be a bit low because of the sloping roofline and narrow rear windscreen. Thankfully, there's a standard rearview camera.
2019 Kia Niro Interior Dimensions:
| Kia Niro Trims | FE | LX | EX | Plug-In Hybrid LX | S Touring | Plug-In Hybrid EX | Touring | Plug-In Hybrid EX Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seating | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Headroom Front Seat | 40.1 in. | 40.1 in. | 40.1 in. | 40.1 in. | 40.1 in. | 40.1 in. | 40.1 in. | 40.1 in. |
| Headroom Back Seat | 39.1 in. | 39.1 in. | 39.1 in. | 39.1 in. | 39.1 in. | 39.1 in. | 39.1 in. | 39.1 in. |
| Legroom Front Seat | 41.7 in. | 41.7 in. | 41.7 in. | 41.7 in. | 41.7 in. | 41.7 in. | 41.7 in. | 41.7 in. |
| Legroom Back Seat | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. | 37.4 in. |
| Shoulder Room Front | 56 in. | 56 in. | 56 in. | 56 in. | 56 in. | 56 in. | 56 in. | 56 in. |
| Shoulder Room Rear | 55.2 in. | 55.2 in. | 55.2 in. | 55.2 in. | 55.2 in. | 55.2 in. | 55.2 in. | 55.2 in. |
| Hip Room, Front | 53.7 in. | 53.7 in. | 53.7 in. | 53.7 in. | 53.7 in. | 53.7 in. | 53.7 in. | 53.7 in. |
| Hip Room, Rear | 48.3 in. | 48.3 in. | 48.3 in. | 48.3 in. | 48.3 in. | 48.3 in. | 48.3 in. | 48.3 in. |
Interior Colors and Materials
The Niro's interior doesn't pretend to be in the premium class. Instead, it offers excellent features in a neat and functional package. The dashboard has a combination of hard and soft-touch plastic with faux chrome and gloss black accents that also include a blue trim around the vents. The FE and LX come with either charcoal or grey cloth, while the EX is available in either a grey or charcoal mixture of cloth and leather upholstery. The S Touring is only available in charcoal cloth with leather, while the Touring only comes in charcoal leather.
2019 Niro Trunk and Cargo Space
The cargo space in the Niro isn't the best in its class but it's still decent thanks to storing the electric battery under the rear seats rather than the cargo area. The rear cargo space measures 19.4 cubic feet with the rear seats up, and 54.4 cu-ft with the seats down. This makes it comparable, but slightly larger than sister-car the Hyundai Kona, offering more storage with the rear seats stowed. The hatch is a fairly large opening, and the load sill is low, which means it's easy to access the cargo bay and store up to two suitcases.
Other than rear cargo space the Niro also offers decent space for smaller items inside the cabin, with storage in the glove box and center console storage compartment with removable tray. It also has front seatback storage, front cupholders, overhead console with storage, and front door pockets of a decent size.
2019 Kia Niro Trunk and Cargo Space Photos
2019 Niro Infotainment and Features
Features
Kia has loaded the Niro with features to keep up with all the impressively equipped rivals in its class, although the entry-level FE can be a bit sparse for most people's tastes. The FE comes standard with projector headlights, a rearview camera, dual zone climate control, cruise control, and remote keyless entry. Going up the range, many more features are added depending on the trim chosen. Some of the features include HID headlights, onboard navigation, a wireless phone charger, lane change assist, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, forward collision warning, blind-spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, heated front seats, ventilated front seats, adaptive cruise control, and a power-tilt sunroof.
Infotainment
The infotainment system is what you'd expect from a modern SUV with even the FE model getting a seven-inch touchscreen with rearview camera, six speakers, AM/FM radio, AUX and USB inputs, Kia's UVO services, and SiriusXM satellite radio with three months' paid subscription. Optional on the EX and S touring models as part of the EX Premium package, and standard on the Touring model is the Harman Kardon premium audio system which comes with an eight-inch touchscreen, onboard navigation, and eight speakers including a subwoofer. The infotainment unit can definitely compete with most of the other vehicles in the Niro's class and with the Harman Kardon premium audio system can even surpass some of them. It's a pity that there's no onboard Wi-Fi available.