As ever when it comes to electric cars, there are practical reasons why this car doesn’t - and can’t - look like a more typical mid-sized hatchback (because the underfloor drive battery stretches out the wheelbase, and diverts the cabin packaging upwards; because the lack of an engine up front allows a more cabin-forwards silhouette; etc). It’s certainly bold and different.
While I can’t deny that it does slightly resemble some gigantic man-eating plant when viewed from just the right angle, I quite like it. I’m not convinced it’s the mid-sized hatchback you’d expect Kia to make, though. Or, for that matter, to offer as an alternative to a boxy, upright SUV like the EV3. Or, come to think of it, to follow in the tyremarks that the EV6 laid down four years ago.
The EV4 is fairly square, upright and boxy itself, afterall. It’s front-motored and front-wheel drive; big and heavy for its class, and not especially stirring or sporty-feeling to drive. And so, as invitations not to buy an SUV go, it’s not the most obvious choice; and not the neatest fit for a youthful, sporty brand like Kia, either, if you ask me. Interesting, for sure; but not obvious.
With its vertical ‘star map’ headlights, bold black wheel arches, boomerang rear lights and various unusual slashes, this car is sure to divide opinion. We’ve got time for design that doesn’t try to please everyone.
Even Kia design boss Karim Habib admits the design of the EV4 is “polarising”, although he loves what his team has created and has set out to “redefine what a saloon can be” with the Fastback. It certainly beats the Model 3 for visual interest.
The EV4 has echoes of a Lamborghini at the front end in how the angles of the windscreen and bonnet are almost parallel. Kia really is leaning into the EV4’s low profile. While most buyers will continue to pick the slightly smaller EV3 SUV or the slightly bigger EV5 SUV, it reckons there are still plenty of buyers who really want the lower driving position and enhanced driving dynamics of a hatchback. Amen to that.
By and large, the EV4 is an EV3 but flatter. That’s obvious in it technical specification: the 400V, front-motor version of the E-GMP platform with a choice of a 58.3kWh or 81.4kWh battery; MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link rear.
