Kia Just Fixed The Most Annoying Thing On The Niro Crossover

It’s time we admit two things: Fetty Wap is actually an incredibly talented vocalist, and “piano black” trim is one of the worst things to happen to cars since the EPA implemented the footprint rule. Thankfully, after more than 15 years of shiny plastics previously seen on slide phones, some automakers have decided enough is enough. Leading the charge, weirdly, is Kia.

Shiny black plastic has been slagged on for years, but this horse isn’t dead yet, so let’s keep beating it. This material is cheap, it invites unwanted reflections, and it’s prone to swirl marks that make it look like a scratched CD when it adorns any horizontal surface. Fingerprints, dust, and crumbs cling to it like it’s a lint roller, which means that five seconds after you clean it, it’s filthy again. Perhaps the worst part, besides this sort of plastic aging like milk, is that we used to simply know better.

Flash back nearly two decades, and you largely had two diverging schools of thought. Some brands thought the future was silver, with cars like the Saturn Astra and Ford Focus featuring huge slabs of metal-hued plastic. Even the BMW 3 Series wasn’t immune in most markets, with many trims receiving what was officially called Titan Shadow trim. On the other hand, some manufacturers like Volkswagen were leaning more heavily on rich, satin plastics. Sure, the coating could chip if sufficiently abused, but this rubbery paint made ordinary hard plastics look and feel expensive while maintaining a low price point.

Right, that’s the exposition, time for the exhibition. This is the new Kia Niro, which is roughly the same as the old Kia Niro, pictured below for reference. It’s a compact front-wheel-drive crossover offering a choice of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric power, now with effectively a heavy facelift: same doors, same fenders, different face. Admittedly, it seems a little less interesting than the model it replaces for a handful of reasons. The new face with blocky vertical headlamps connected via a bar of trim is more homogenous with Kia’s current lineup. The reverse lamps no longer mirror the design of the headlamps, and the tail lights look a bit more basic than before. However, that’s where the bad news ends.

For one, Kia’s latest infotainment system is onboard, consisting of two 12.3-inch screens. Not automatic improvements by themselves, but more legible gauges and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are welcome additions. Granted, the Niro still has that fiddly dual-duty bank of radio-slash-climate control buttons, but with automatic climate control and physical heated seat switches on the doors, how often are you flipping that panel over to HVAC?

The real joy here is that Kia has rediscovered other plastics, replacing the large shiny black console trim of the old model with a more demure, more mindful matte finish. The sort that won’t reflect whatever’s seen through the sunroof, collect more fingerprints than the FBI, or scratch upon its first exposure to the real world. It looks to be the right finish for this sort of surface, and it isn’t the first time Kia’s done this.

Roughly a year and a half ago, Kia facelifted the EV6 electric crossover and pulled the same sort of trick out of its colors, materials, and finishes bag. Big slabs of LG Rumor 2 faceplate-grade plastic? Gone, replaced with matte stuff that makes far more sense and should stay looking reasonably clean for longer. Job well done.

So, hats off to Kia for quietly declaring the era of cheap shiny black interior plastics as dead. We didn’t want them in the first place, and we’ll be better off once they thoroughly disappear from the roads. Who knows? Maybe they’ll all eventually be melted back down and turned into budget phones. One can only hope.

Top image: Kia