Kia e-Niro review

You sit a fair bit higher in the Kia e-Niro than you do in most hatchbacks, but it isn't a particularly high-rise SUV compared with the Volvo XC40 Recharge. If you go for entry-level 2 trim, you'll get a manually adjustable driver's seat with powered lumbar adjust. An eight-way electrically adjustable seat comes as standard from 3 trim, and 4+ trim adds memory recall settings. The steering wheel is manually adjustable for height and reach on all trims and has a generous range of movement.

You feel slightly perched above the dashboard in the e-Niro, even with the driver's seat dropped to its lowest setting, but it has a better driving position overall than the Hyundai Kona Electric and Nissan Leaf (which lacks reach adjustment for its steering wheel). The dashboard layout is conventional, which is wonderful because it means you get plenty of easy-to-find, physical buttons and switches to operate features such as the climate controls. The touch-sensitive buttons on the VW ID.3 and others are much more of a faff to use when you're driving.

As a result, parking shouldn’t be too taxing. To make life even easier, 2 trim gets rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, and 4+ trim adds front parking sensors and brighter LED headlights. The standard halogen headlights are much dimmer, and sadly there's no option to upgrade them on the lower trims.

If you go for entry-level 2 trim, you'll get an 8.0in touchscreen that operates the DAB radio, Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone mirroring. Stepping up to 3 trim adds a larger 10.3in touchscreen, built-in sat-nav and wireless phone-charging.