Kia EV4 review

The market for electric SUVs is about as overcrowded as a living room dancefloor during a college house party. Everyone seems to want a high-riding car these days, meaning the electric hatchback market has been pretty quiet. There were some early entrants with the likes of the VW ID.3, MG4 and Cupra Born, but it's taken until now for Kia to join the quiet crowd hanging out in the kitchen.

You won't miss the EV4 in a car park. Razor-sharp LED daytime running lights adorn the front end, while the back end's all futuristic angles. It comes in either hatchback or saloon forms – the latter is called the fastback and has one of the least flattering rear ends we've seen in the car industry in years. It appears to be wearing a pair of giant prosthetic buttocks.

Two battery choices give the EV4 a range of either 273 or 388 miles (though you can knock 50 miles off both figures for a better real-world estimate), and all get 201hp going to the front wheels. Underneath the skin, you can think of it as a Kia EV3 that's been squished by a giant foot.

Inside it's very EV3 too – there are loads of storage cubbies, an impressive twin-screen infotainment system (with a dinky third screen in the middle for climate controls) and the kit list is quite impressive, with heated seats and a heated steering wheel on all models.

Back-seat space is good for a Golf-sized car, and the 435-litre boot is noticeably bigger than in the Volkswagen yardstick – and the Kia can offer 490 litres in the EV4 fastback.

Perhaps the biggest flaw with the EV4 is that the batteries push the floor up, meaning tall six-footers will be banging their heads on the sunvisor at junctions. Quite often we'll whinge about poor headroom in the back of cars, but sadly the EV4 lacks it up front. Still, those less blessed with altitude will be okay.

Driving dynamics are stable and largely forgettable, though we'd have liked less wind and road noise at motorway speeds, and more confidence-inspiring steering.

If you're one of the minority who want an electric hatchback, however, the EV4 is a very good all-rounder.

The EV4's interior is a pleasing mix of high-tech screens, a few physical buttons and some comfortable (and recycled) materials. Entry-level Air models get grey cloth upholstery, while mid-spec GT-Line and top-spec GT Line S models get two-tone artificial leather.

While it may not be the most aesthetically arousing cabin, it's a doddle to use. The steering wheel has physical buttons for the standard-fit adaptive cruise control, as well as buttons to flick between views on the 12.3-inch digital dashboard. 

There's a small monochrome screen to the left of the dashboard display which controls the heating and ventilation functions. Like in other Kia models, this is a good idea marred by the fact it's hidden by the steering wheel rim when you're driving – you have to peer awkwardly around the wheel to fiddle with it.

Another 12.3-inch screen sits front and centre as your main infotainment system. It includes sat-nav software on all models, and can do the usual wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring. It's a responsive system that also gives you the option to sign in to YouTube, Disney+ and Netflix to while away the time charging the EV4's battery.

There is one black mark for the EV4: the ergonomics for taller drivers are decidedly naff. As a reasonably lanky 6'3" individual, I found myself hitting my head on the roof when leaning forward and twisting sideways to check my blind spots and at junctions. 

I also found myself constantly bashing my right knee on the rotary gear selector, which sits underneath the wheel on the right-hand side. Not ideal – there's a sense that the EV4's underpinnings (memorably called E-GMP) were designed with SUVs and not hatchbacks in mind – which of course they were.

As per usual with Kia, even entry-level models get a lot of kit. You're blessed with front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera on all models, along with over-the-air updates for the EV4's software. Mid-grade GT Line cars get bigger 19-inch alloys and slightly sportier looks, while top-spec GT Line S models add some useful tech, including a head-up display, a 360-degree camera, an eight-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system (which didn't blow us away), and ventilated front seats which fully recline.

In terms of practicality, the EV4 scores well for a 4.4m-long hatchback – with the exception of the aforementioned headroom problems for tall people. Just for context, the EV4 fastback is 4.7m long – all of the extra length comes behind the rear wheels.

Not to get too nerdy, but the space between the front and rear wheels on the EV4 (the wheelbase) measures in at 2.82m, which is a bit longer than the class average. This means rear-seat knee room is impressive, while headroom is only just about commodious enough for my 6'3" frame in the hatchback. The saloon's swoopier roofline eats into headroom and is awkwardly low for tall adults.

Rear-seat footroom is not good if your front-seat occupants lower their pews to the floor (which they likely will do) – you'll not be able to slide your feet under their seats. The EV4 has a completely flat floor in the back so kids can easily walk through the cabin, but the middle seat is quite narrow. 

You get a USB-C charging socket on the side of each of the front seats, and a comfy fold-down armrest in the middle-seat backrest.

Swing open the EV4's rear doors and you'll likely be impressed with how wide they open, which makes it easier to bundle child seats or children into the back. It's a shame that the shape of the rear windows does mean you have to lean forward to peer outside, which may make younger kids feel claustrophobic – not helped by the GT Line S's sunroof not extending to the rear seats.

Boot space is pretty good for the hatchback class at 435 litres (490 for the EV4 fastback), and there's a shallow tray under the boot floor for charging cables. You can flip the rear seats down in both the hatchback and saloon, but sadly there's no frunk on either EV4 model.

Storage in the cabin is okay – we wish Kia would give us bigger door bins – but the glovebox is a handy size, and there's plenty of places to dumps stuff in and around the centre console.

The EV4 comes with either a 58kWh or 81kWh battery, officially rated for driving ranges of 273 and 388 miles respectively – and you can add 20 miles to those figures if you get the saloon. We saw a real-world range of about 300 miles from the big battery model in mild 16C weather.

The maximum charging speed is a fairly average 129kW, which will get you from 10-80% charge in about half an hour in both versions. You can only get a heat pump on top-spec GT Line S models, which adds £900 to an already punchy list price of well over £40,000.

Performance from the EV4's 201hp front-wheel-drive motor setup is brisk rather than punchy, with a 0-62mph time of between 7.5 seconds for the small battery and 7.9 seconds for the big battery.

As with most Kia models, you can adjust the levels of regenerative braking using the paddles behind the steering wheel, and there's a one-pedal driving mode too.

Finally, the battery pack is covered by an eight-year warranty, and the EV4 in general has a seven-year/100,000-mile warranty.

You'd expect a hatchback to handle more sharply and with less body roll than an SUV. It's a line we often use when comparing the two body types, but it's not really true when it comes to the EV4. Sure, there's not loads of body lean in corners, but there's little to excite you behind the wheel of Kia's electric hatchback.

It grips well enough in corners, but the steering is light and a little vague, and despite having hot-hatch levels of power, it doesn't ever excite. Sport mode sharpens the throttle response and sets the ambient lighting to red, but the result is just a bit more urge when you put your foot partially down. Expect a little wheelspin exiting tight junctions, but otherwise the EV4 just grips and goes with little in the way of sporting encouragement. A bit of a shame that it doesn't encourage you to lean more on the tyres in faster corners.

The suspension does a good job of isolating your backside from broken Tarmac, and although there's a little more wind and tyre noise than we'd like at 70mph, it's a decent long-distance cruiser. The entry-level Air model with its 17-inch wheels does smother bumps noticeably better than the GT Line and GT Line S models do on their 19s.

Kia needs to be praised for its approach to disabling advanced driver assistance (ADAS) systems. Simply press and hold the volume roller on the steering wheel to mute the speed limit warning system, and hold the lane keeping assist button on the wheel to turn that system off.