Kia held its second-ever “Kia EV Day” this week where it introduced its future plans and new electric models to motoring media from around the world. The modular PV5 electric commercial vehicle made its world debut, alongside the Kia EV2 Concept, clearly previewing yet another new electric car from the Korean brand. One of the main stars of the event, however, was the new Kia EV4, set to arrive on Irish shores before 2025 is out.
I see two different cars in the image gallery...
Well spotted. The Kia EV4 will actually be made in both five-door hatch and four-door saloon styles. The latter doesn’t look like a saloon, granted, but Kia calls it a “sedan” in its release and if you look closely at the pictures, you’ll see a shut line near the base of the sloping rear window.
Indeed, the shape of the EV4 saloon (we assume it’ll be called that on the Irish market) is remarkably similar to that of the 2025 Kia K4, a car that has already been launched on North American markets and will eventually make its way to Ireland as a sort-of replacement for the Kia Ceed and old Optima.
Is that the size of the Kia EV4?
More or less, yes. Kia refers to the twins as C-segment cars - think Volkswagen Golf and Toyota Corolla - but the EV4 sits at the top of that class in terms of exterior dimensions, and in fact, while we assumed it would be sized to fit between the Kia EV3 and the forthcoming EV5 SUV, the EV4 sits on a longer wheelbase than those, at 2,820mm.
At 4,430mm long, 1,485mm high and 1,860mm wide, the EV4 hatchback is larger than the VW Golf in all directions. The EV4 saloon shares the hatch’s width and wheelbase, but it’s a massive 300mm longer while sitting 5mm lower.
Talk us through the design
It’s clear the EV4 is from the same school of design that has already brought us the huge Kia EV9 SUV and the EV3. Kia calls it “Opposites United” and it includes distinctive treatment of the wheelarches.
Up front there’s an EV-specific take on the firm’s “Tiger Nose” grille with vertically styled lights and a distinctive LED arrangement referred to as the “Star Map”.
The bonnet on both cars is low and short, though that is emphasised on the EV4 saloon because of the elongated roof and rear overhang, a style that is likely to be informed by the need to reduce aerodynamic drag, in the name of extending the electric range. Kia quotes a low coefficient of drag for the saloon at just 0.23, while both cars get full underbody covers for the same reason.
It would appear that all versions of the EV4, even the sportier-looking GT-line cars, will sit on 17-inch alloy wheels.
So how far will the Kia EV4 go on a charge?
Up to 630 kilometres is the short answer. That’s for the more aerodynamic EV4 saloon fitted with the larger of two battery options. Kia refers to it, an 81.4kWh unit, as the Long Range option, and the EV4 hatchback manages up to 590km according to official numbers.
The smaller battery, of 58.3kWh capacity, enables a WLTP range of 430km in the saloon and 410km in the hatch.
While not explicitly quoting the maximum charge speed on a DC connection, Kia tells us that the EV4s are built on a 400-volt architecture, so don’t expect anything higher than 150kW. Kia quotes 10-80 per cent charge times of 29 and 31 minutes for the standard and larger batteries, respectively, indicating that the bigger one comes with a higher peak recharge rate.
All EV4s can be charged at up to 11kW on three-phase AC chargers and the charge port is located above the front wheel on the driver’s side (in right-hand-drive cars in Ireland).
Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) functionality are available, but we don’t yet know if those will be standard fit to Irish cars.
Will it be fun to drive?
All versions of the EV4 announced so far use the same 150kW electric motor driving the front wheels. That’s 204hp, enabling a 0-100km/h time of 7.4 seconds for variants using the smaller, lighter battery, or 7.7 seconds for the Long Range option.
Kia does big up the EV4’s credentials in terms of ride and handling, and it comes with frequency-responsive dampers that can automatically ‘soften’ the suspension when traversing poor surfaces.
As ever in a Kia, the level of brake energy regeneration can be varied by the driver, and the EV4 features i-Pedal 3.0, including a memory function to remember the previous setting used.
And what’s the EV4’s interior like?
It continues along the same lines as the Kia EV9 and EV3 before it in terms of a mix of physical switchgear, a large expanse of digital screens and tactile, yet sustainably sourced, materials.
Kia refers to the digital dashboard as a 30-inch wide-screen display - called the connected car Navigation Cockpit - but in reality, it’s made up of three separate screens. In front of the driver is 12.3-inch instrumentation and the main infotainment touchscreen is another 12.3-inch display. Between these is a 5.3-inch touchscreen for always-visible climate control, though we’re very glad to see there are physical switches for this as well.
When parked up, however, the system is quite versatile and has what Kia calls a Vehicle Smart TV solution, enabling the use of YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, games and even karaoke to while away time at a charging station using the “Theatre Mode”.
Alternatively, there’s a “Rest Mode” that makes the most of the ambient lighting and the reclining front seats. There’s a sliding table in the centre of the car that can be used by front- or rear-seat passengers, while the floor across the back is flat to ensure all occupants have plenty of room for their feet.
The EV4 saloon has the largest boot capacity of the two - at 490 litres, vs 435 litres - but the opening is quite restrictive in comparison.
When does the Kia EV4 arrive in Ireland?
Kia Ireland hopes the EV4 will be available in the country by the last quarter of 2025, possibly just ahead of the EV5. Irish pricing has yet to be announced, but the EV4 will be more expensive to buy than the existing EV3, which starts at €36,790.