Jalopnik today listed the 15 lightest EV's for sale in the US today, posted as a slideshow. I was going through the list in reverse order. Number 15 (the heaviest on the list) was the Ford Mustang Mach-E Select at 4,394 pounds. I wondered where the Niro EV might be on the list. As I made my way up the list, I saw the Chevrolet Bolt EV at #13 (3,589 pounds), the Hyundai Kona EV at #8 (3,715 pounds) and the Mini Hardtop Cooper EV at #2 (3,144 pounds). Surely, I thought, the Niro EV was larger and heavier than these! But no! The Niro EV was #1 on the list at 3,071 pounds. So, congratulations Kia, for producing such a relatively lightweight EV.
Oh, according to a commenter on Jalopnik, the Niro EV weighed so little, because they accidentally used the weight from the Niro hybrid. The actual weight of the Niro EV (from Car and Driver site) is 3,715 pounds, exactly the weight of the Hyundai Kona EV, which makes more sense.
Whew! For years I've been claiming my MINI Cooper SE is the most fun EV you can buy largely because it's the lightest EV thanks to MINI choosing handling over range (110 miles). I keep wondering how much the upcoming 250-mile range 2025 MINI EV replacement from Zhangjiagang, China weighs.
Thanks for posting this. It would be interesting to see if the energy efficiency of these vehicles follows matches the weight, i.e. the lightest of these get the most miles per kWH.
Weight is just one factor. If my MINI Electric had my gen-1 Insight's aerodynamic body, I'm sure it would do better than the 4.5 to 5 miles/kWh I see.
