AOL Cars took the Niro Prototype out for a quick spin: kia1.jpg our test route consisted of a bit of follow the leader through rural Korea in a car covered in cladding it's quite hard to tell, but from what we could gather it was refined and the power train was smooth. It switches quickly between pe...

Not sure I would class a VW Golf as a funky body!? Would you?

So do we think this will be a bit like Mercedes GLA? A bit of a pumped up hatchback?

Rob wrote:I also think the interior will be very similar to the new Kia Sportage that has just been released.

I hope so - the new Sportage interior is very nice and a big improvement over the old model.

Smaller than I thought to be honest - I was expecting more of an SUV size car - anyone else expecting the same?

Does the cost of running and maintaining a hybrid differ much to that of a normal petrol car - servicing etc.? I hear the battery lasts about 150,000 miles, I also hear the "hybrid battery" or "battery pack" goes for over £3000 if it needs replacing? I am very tempted by the new ...

There is no confirmation of pricing for the Kia Niro, although the firm’s suggestion that it crosses the best of the Nissan Qashqai and Toyota Prius suggests a starting price in the region of £25,000.

Kia apparently has plans to sell the Niro both as a hybrid and plug-in hybrid, just like Hyundai will be doing with its Prius fighter. It’s a known fact that Kia’s crossover will be an all-new model as it will utilize its own platform which probably will eventually be shared with other hybrids. The ...

Watch for the Niro to make its global debut in the weeks or months to come, ahead of a Korean market launch in the first half of 2016.

If a UK launch is planned, expect a date sometime in autumn 2016 or early 2017.

Up until now, Niro has been the name assigned to Kia’s 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show concept car, and widely thought would be used on the production car that’ll do battle with the Nissan Juke and replace Kia’s aging Venga compact MPV in 2018. However, bosses have deemed the name to be more suitable for ...