Compare the2022 Kia NiroVS 2021 Hyundai Tucson

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Niro are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Tucson doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Kia Niro has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Tucson doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Niro has standard Active Headrests, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Headrests system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Tucson doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Niro and the Tucson have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Niro is safer than the Hyundai Tucson:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Niro is 3.4% to 4.1% less likely to roll over than the Tucson.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia 6th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 8th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 7th.

The Niro’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 45 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 150) than the Tucson’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Niro’s 1.6 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 20 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 175) than the Tucson’s optional 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Kia Niro is faster than the Hyundai Tucson 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder:

On the EPA test cycle the Niro gets better mileage than the Tucson:

Regenerative brakes improve the Niro’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Tucson doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Niro’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. The Tucson doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia Niro higher (7 out of 10) than the Hyundai Tucson (5 to 7). This means the Niro produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tucson every 15,000 miles.

The Niro offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Tucson doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Niro stops shorter than the Tucson:

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Niro’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the Tucson (106.3 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Niro Touring SE handles at .82 G’s, while the Tucson Limited AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Niro Touring SE executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Tucson SE (27.3 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

The Niro is 4.9 inches shorter than the Tucson, making the Niro easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Kia Niro amounts to more than styling. The Niro has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .29 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Tucson (.33) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the Niro get better fuel mileage.

The Niro has .5 inches more front headroom and .2 inches more front legroom than the Tucson.

The front step up height for the Niro is 3.5 inches lower than the Tucson (15.5” vs. 19”). The Niro’s rear step up height is 3.8 inches lower than the Tucson’s (16.2” vs. 20”).

The Niro’s standard front power windows open fully with one touch of the switches and its driver’s window also automatically closes, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Tucson’s standard power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

When the Niro with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Tucson’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Niro has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Tucson SEL/Sport/Limited/Ultimate.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Kia Niro and the Hyundai Tucson, based on reliability, safety and performance.