2023 Kia Niro EV Interior and Cargo

Almost every surface of the cabin is covered in some sort of recycled material, declaring the Niro EV's commitment to as small of an environmental impact as possible. The headliner is comprised of recycled wallpaper, while the seating materials are all vegan. For the Wind, this translates to cloth and SynTex upholstery available in two interior colors: Charcoal or Gray. Meanwhile, the Wave just the sports synthetic leatherette in similar hues - namely Charcoal or a combination of Gray and Charcoal. But don't think its tree-hugging ways make the Niro low quality. If anything, the cabin looks and feels better than ever before, and we cannot fault the build quality, either.

Compact crossovers remain among the most practical vehicles on the roads in terms of trunk volume compared to actual vehicle size. Behind the rear seats, there is a respectable 22.8 cubic feet, but the total cargo space of the Kia Niro EV can be expanded to 63.7 cu-ft if you drop the 60/40 split-folding seats down. For small-item storage, you get all the usual suspects, including four door pockets, a couple of cupholders in the middle console, and another two inside the rear fold-down armrest. There is a storage bin in the front armrest, and a standard glove compartment.

Kia ensures that you get a lot of bang for your buck by equipping even the base-model Niro EV with loads of standard features. In terms of comforts and conveniences, these include a 10.25-inch driver-info display, a Smart Key with push-button start, dual-zone climate control, a ten-way power driver's seat, heated front seats, and a number of USB and power outlets. The safety suite is even more impressive, comprising forward collision avoidance, a rearview camera with dynamic parking guidance, rear sensors, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane management, and highway driving assist. Rounding out the system is a driver attention system and safe exit alert. The Wave enhances this standard offering with a Digital Key, remote smart parking assist, front sensors, rear automatic braking, and highway driving assist 2.

At the center of the infotainment system is a 10.25-inch touchscreen display that grants access to Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth streaming, and SiriusXM. These can be controlled via the touchscreen, the steering-mounted buttons, or using voice commands. Everything is channeled through a six-speaker sound system as standard, but the Wave installs a more premium Harman Kardon system with seven speakers.