Mark Richards and his wife Glenys were looking for a new vehicle. Something more modern and economic than their Calais V6.

“While doing some online vehicle research we came across the Kia Niro and liked what we read. So we came to Brendan Foot Supersite to see if it lived up to the reviews,” said Mark.

They quickly decided that the Niro hybrid was a good option for them. Also it would give them very economic motoring without losing too much space.

Since buying the Niro in August Mark has become very interested in seeing how economic the Niro could be. Kia states the economy as 4.4 litres per 100km, but as with all manufacturers that involves driving in very specific and controlled conditions.

Mark will regularly look at the Niro’s average fuel consumption. He’s thrilled that after almost 8,000 kilometres he’s driving at a rate of 4.6 litres per 100km. He’s even got it down to 4.4 litres on a recent trip to Otaki.

How does he do it? “It’s not that hard”, says Mark. “I often drive in Sport mode and find that regenerates the battery. Also I like to have the ‘Eco’ symbol appear on the dash and will take my foot off the accelerator a little so it drives on battery.

I really like that I can get about 900km from a tank, and it’s also fun to drive.”

The Richards didn’t consider a full electric vehicle as they were wary of any costs of installing power charging equipment in their garage. Plus they didn’t want ‘range anxiety’ from buying a vehicle with only a small range and not being able to easily charge up.

“So for us, the Niro Hybrid is perfect” sums up Mark.