Two-Year Review: 2022 Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid - Is It Worth It?

If you're considering a plug-in hybrid, this two-year review of the 2022 Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) offers valuable insights. As someone who also owns a RAV4 Prime, I'm sharing my real-world experiences, highlighting both the pros and cons.

What I Like About It

• Excellent Fuel Efficiency: Expect 40-50 mpg on longer journeys and approximately 24 miles of all-electric range. My lifetime mileage is a high 153 mpg due to primarily electric driving.
• Smooth Highway Driving: The radar cruise control and steering assist systems work effectively, making highway trips more relaxed.
• Surprisingly Practical: Despite its smaller size, my Niro PHEV can accommodate long items (like a 9'6" surfboard!) and offers a decent amount of cargo space with the rear seats folded.
• Stress-Free Road Trips: Unlike a full EV, the plug-in hybrid eliminates range anxiety, which is a huge plus for me.

What's Not So Great

• Lackluster A...

After nearly 9,500 miles with my RAV4 Prime, I’ve come to a clear conclusion about the one thing that drives me absolutely nuts about this car. It’s not the way it drives. It’s not the acceleration. It’s not even Toyota’s refusal to make it look sportier.

No… it’s the charging system.

If you're a RAV4 Prime owner with solar panels or a time-of-use electric plan, what I’m about to explain will either validate your frustration—or help you avoid a major headache.

The RAV4 Prime’s Charging Scheduler: A Big Letdown

Toyota gave the RAV4 Prime a plug and a battery, but for some reason decided to pair that with the most inflexible and unreliable charging schedulers I’ve ever used.

You can set specific times for the car to start charging, which is fine in theory. For example, I have it set to begin charging around 11:30 a.m. when my solar production is at its peak. But there are two big problems:

• No end time: You can’t tell it when to stop charging. So if your peak electric r
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The Hidden EV Charging Tax: Is Level 2 Worth It?

If you own an electric vehicle and rely on a standard wall outlet to charge (Level 1), you might be paying a hidden tax without even knowing it. It’s not a government tax—it’s an efficiency tax. And depending on how much you drive and how expensive your electricity is, it could be costing you more than you think.

What Is the EV Efficiency Tax?

When you charge an EV, not all the electricity you pull from your wall actually makes it into your car's battery. Some of it gets lost as heat and resistance in the charging process. And the efficiency of this process depends on whether you’re charging at Level 1 or Level 2.

A study from 2014 looked at the charging efficiency of Nissan Leafs and Chevy Volts and found:

• Level 2 charging: ~89% efficient
• Level 1 charging: ~84% efficient

For shorter charging sessions, the gap widened even more:

• Level 2: ~87%
• Level 1: ~74%

And before you dismiss that as outdated info, newer cars show...

🚗 Why I Went Plug-In Hybrid Instead of Full EV

Let’s start with the obvious question:

Why not just get a full electric vehicle?

I’ve driven Teslas, and honestly—I don’t like them. I don’t enjoy the one-pedal driving, and more importantly, road trips in non-Tesla EVs are still kind of a mess.

Electrify America? Spotty.

ChargePoint? Almost always slow.

It’s just not reliable enough.

With the RAV4 Prime, I avoid all that. I get to drive electric most of the time, and when I hit the road, I’ve got gas backup. No stress.

⚡ Real World Efficiency: EV Range + Gas Mileage

• EV-only range: ~33–44 miles (depends on driving style)

• Gas mileage on road trips: ~40 MPG

• Last time I bought gas? 1,500 miles ago… and it was just a half tank.

We use the car like an EV 90% of the time—school runs, errands, local drives. No need to touch gas.

🏎️ Smooth Ride, Quick Acceleration

This thing moves.

• 0–60 in 5.5 seconds

• Smooth acceleration—whether

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Maximize Freedom, Not Just Income 

A key principle of personal finance that many of us were never taught is that success isn’t about maximizing the number of dollars in our bank accounts—it’s about maximizing our freedom. This principle can help you cultivate contentment, maintain your health, protect your sanity, and strengthen your relationships.

The Trade-Off Between Money and Freedom

To earn money, you have to sacrifice time, effort, and energy. If you’re constantly chasing a higher income, you inevitably make trade-offs—often at the expense of your physical and mental health. Many high earners work extreme hours, neglect their personal lives, and wake up years later to find their relationships and health in ruins.

Take, for example, an attorney I once worked with. His job was essentially to push papers for credit card companies, sending out threatening letters to customers with outstanding debts. He looked years older than he actually was, limping through the office like...