Ok, second round of questions from me. I'm still on the fence, driving a perfectly fine 2013 allroad (211 HP, AWD), 100k miles. A part of me says to wait for a proper wagon, or even for some of the "missing" Niro features to show up on a future care, but the other part of me is looking at available incentives / rebates / tax breaks, and also anticipating Audi maintenance expenses as I approach the 110k mile mark. Anyhow, here are my questions: 1. Kia's official documentation describes the headlights as: "Bi-function projection headlights with leveling function and escort" OR "LED projection headlights with 1W assist beam" ...so for the halogens, what does "escort" refer to, and for the LEDs, what is the "assist beam?" Are these cornering lamps? 2. A YouTube extended reviewer (1 week) commented that the cabin is slow to heat up at night. He made reference to his model having the heat pump, but he was based out of Southern California, so I'm not certain he was correct, as heat pump equipped models are unicorns here. I imagine the heat pump models also have the resistive heater coils, which I would expect provide nearly immediate heat. As a comparison, my Audi has an auxiliary heater (electrical resistance aka toaster oven elements) and I get warm air through the vents and defroster almost immediately while the motor is warming up. I would expect the same of the Niro. 3. Does the blower motor automatically decrease RPM when taking / placing a phone call over Bluetooth? The Tahoe I drive at work does this and it's an absolutely fantastic idea. 4. I know we don't get seat memory as an option here in the US, which I can live with. However, I swear by my auto-dipping side view mirrors for keeping my wheels rash-free while parallel parking. A UK reviewer noted that the Niro's side-view mirrors both dip, depending on which side the mirror selector switch is set to. Does this feature in fact work with US models, none of which have seat memory? As an aside, I know I'm not going to pony up the cash for a new Audi EV wagon as much as I'd like one, but a do prefer a low roof line for roof rack access and driving experience. The Niro is 4" taller than the allroad. The AWD would be missed and though I don't drive the allroad in the snow, it's always nice to have. Horsepower is about even between these two cars but the Niro has way more torque -- I really enjoyed my test drive, but would like to spend a whole day with the car. I'd give up useful creature comforts such as rain sensing windshield wipers and auto-dimming sideview mirrors, but gain adaptive cruise, cooled seats, Android Auto (all of which I have in a AWD Ford Flex), and get 2" extra leg room for the kids. The two cars are comparably wide, Audi has 9 cu ft more cargo volume with the back seats up (27.6 vs. 18.5), but Niro bests the allroad with the seats folded (53 vs. 50.5). That's a lot of ground covered in one post. As always, I appreciate any answers or thoughtful discussion.
