Compare the2023 Porsche TaycanVS 2022 Kia Niro EV

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Porsche Taycan have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision. The Kia Niro EV doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Taycan’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Niro EV doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Taycan and Niro EV have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Taycan has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Niro EV’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Porsche Taycan has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Niro EV doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The Taycan offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Niro EV doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Taycan helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Niro EV doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Taycan offers an optional Surround View System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Niro EV only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The Taycan has standard Porsche Connect, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Niro EV doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Taycan and the Niro EV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The Porsche Taycan weighs 712 to 1345 pounds more than the Kia Niro EV. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Warranty

The Taycan’s corrosion warranty is 7 years and unlimited miles longer than the Niro EV’s (12/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

Porsche pays for scheduled maintenance on the Taycan for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Porsche will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Niro EV.

Engine

The Taycan’s standard electric motor produces 201 more horsepower (402 vs. 201) than the Niro EV’s electric motor. The Taycan Performance Plus’ optional electric motor produces 268 more horsepower (469 vs. 201) than the Niro EV’s electric motor. The Taycan Cross Turismo’s standard electric motors produces 268 more horsepower (469 vs. 201) and 77 lbs.-ft. more torque (368 vs. 291) than the Niro EV’s electric motor. The Taycan 4S’ standard electric motors produces 321 more horsepower (522 vs. 201) and 181 lbs.-ft. more torque (472 vs. 291) than the Niro EV’s electric motor. The Taycan Turbo S’ standard electric motors produces 549 more horsepower (750 vs. 201) and 483 lbs.-ft. more torque (774 vs. 291) than the Niro EV’s electric motor.

As tested in Car and Driver the Taycan Performance Plus electric motor is faster than the Kia Niro EV:

	Taycan	Niro EV
Zero to 60 MPH	4.7 sec	6.5 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	10.3 sec	17.6 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	5.1 sec	6.5 sec
Quarter Mile	12.9 sec	15.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	115 MPH	93 MPH
Top Speed	147 MPH	108 MPH

Transmission

The Taycan’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Niro EV doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Taycan’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Niro EV:

	Taycan Base/4S	Taycan Turbo S	Niro EV
Front Rotors	14.2 inches	16.5 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	14.1 inches	16.1 inches	11.8 inches

The Taycan’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Niro EV are solid, not vented.

The Taycan offers optional heat-treated ceramic brake rotors, which last ten to twenty times as long as conventional cast iron rotors, don’t rust, don’t fade during repeated high speed braking, and their lighter weight contribute to better braking, handling and acceleration. The Niro EV doesn’t offer ceramic brake rotors.

The Taycan stops much shorter than the Niro EV:

	Taycan	Niro EV
70 to 0 MPH	147 feet	176 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	103 feet	123 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Taycan has larger standard tires than the Niro EV (F:225/55R19 & R:275/45R19 vs. 215/55R17). The Taycan’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Niro EV (F:265/35R21 & R:305/30R21 vs. 215/55R17).

The Taycan’s standard 275/45R19 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Niro EV’s standard 55 series tires. The Taycan’s optional 265/35R21 front and 305/30R21 rear tires have a lower 35 series front and 30 series rear profile than the Niro EV’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Taycan has standard 19-inch wheels. Only 17-inch wheels are available on the Niro EV. The Taycan offers optional 21-inch wheels.

Suspension and Handling

The Taycan offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Niro EV doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Taycan offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Kia doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Niro EV.

The Taycan has a standard driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The Niro EV’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Taycan has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Niro EV doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Taycan’s wheelbase is 7.9 inches longer than on the Niro EV (114.2 inches vs. 106.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Taycan is 5.1 inches wider in the front and 3.7 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Niro EV.

The Taycan’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (49% to 51%) than the Niro EV’s (55% to 45%). This gives the Taycan more stable handling and braking.

The Taycan Cross Turismo 4 handles at .89 G’s, while the Niro EV EX pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Taycan Cross Turismo 4 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.1 seconds quicker than the Niro EV EX (25 seconds @ .76 average G’s vs. 27.1 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

Chassis

The Taycan is 7.5 inches shorter in height than the Niro EV, making the Taycan much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The front grille of the Taycan uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Niro EV doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Taycan easier. The Taycan’s trunk lift-over height is 27.5 inches, while the Niro EV’s liftover is 29 inches.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Taycan. The Niro EV doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Taycan’s power trunk can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Niro EV doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening liftgate.

Servicing Ease

The Taycan uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Niro EV uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Porsche service is better than Kia. J.D. Power ranks Porsche third in service department satisfaction. With a 45% lower rating, Kia is ranked 26th.

Ergonomics

When three different drivers share the Taycan, the optional memory system makes it convenient for all three. Each setting activates different, customized memories for the driver and front passenger’s seat positions, steering wheel position, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations. The Niro EV doesn’t offer a memory system.

The Taycan’s optional easy entry system raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back when the door is unlocked or the ignition is switched off, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Niro EV doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Taycan offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Niro EV doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Taycan’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Niro EV’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Taycan’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Niro EV’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Taycan’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Niro EV’s projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Taycan offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The Niro EV doesn’t offer cornering lights.

When the Taycan with available tilt-down mirrors is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Niro EV’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Taycan’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Niro EV offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Taycan and the Niro EV have standard heated front seats. The Taycan also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Niro EV.

The Taycan offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Niro EV.

The Taycan’s 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. The Niro EV doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

The Taycan’s optional Active Parking Support can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Niro EV doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

The Porsche Taycan comes in sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the Kia Niro EV isn’t available as a sedan.