With new EV price tags continuing to dip lower, it felt like a matter of time before we got a fresh entry level electric sedan with a shocking amount of range. Well, here it is. This is the EV4 and not only is it an electric car that isn’t a crossover, it should feature more than 300 miles of maximum range and will come to America as one of Kia’s more affordable EVs.
On paper, it seems pretty great, but I just have one concern. Kia’s been getting more and more outlandish with its exterior styling, and I’m worried the look of the EV4 might not exactly vibe with mainstream American consumer tastes.
Let’s start with something fairly normal. Taking a look inside the Kia EV4, its cabin seems to stick pretty close to Kia’s brand language. A 30-inch ultra-wide screen for gauges and infotainment is complemented by a selection of physical climate and audio controls, including a volume scroll wheel and quick HVAC temperature switches. By placing the electronic shifter on the steering column, Kia’s opened up space for a multi-tier center console with a wireless phone charger, a bin for a small bag, a well for cup holders, and a table you could theoretically eat tacos off of, so long as you’re careful not to get Tapatio in the switches for the parking cameras, auto-hold switch, hill descent control, and parking sensor beeps.
Of equal importance, Kia’s used some funky materials inside the EV4 including fabric, matte plastics, and this nifty finish that almost looks stone-like. It’s about time shiny black plastic started to find its way into the recycling bin of history, and the neutral tones of the EV4 cabin look pleasantly, well, demure. At the same time, you still get a shedload of features including an eight-speaker Harman/Kardon audio system, phone-as-key functionality, mood lighting, heated and ventilated front seats, and karaoke.
As for exterior styling, imagine if you ran an EV9 and a K4 sedan through that website that combines two Pokemon, because that’ basically the EV4. With a fairly strong two-box sedan silhouette, plastic wheel arch cladding, vertical lighting, and an itty bitty ducktail, the EV4 sedan looks a bit like a Kia training shoe, and if you thought the K4 looked bizarre, this is on another level. It’s not quite sleek, it’s not quite domineeringly angular, it’s certainly not conservative, it’s just comprehensively weird. We like weird cars at The Autopian, but many consumers steer towards normalcy. So how about an EV4 that isn’t a sedan?
That’s right, it’s hatchback time, motherlovers. Sure, a traditional hatch might not be as slippery as a more teardropped silhouette, but doesn’t that just look better? Maybe it’s the presence of an actual C-pillar, or the relatively normal spoiler setup, but I reckon this is how every EV4 should look. Of course, looks are only part of the equation, because with any EV, it’s what’s under the skin that counts.
Beneath the odd sheetmetal, Kia’s splashed a little bit of cash on frequency selective dampers, which feature entirely mechanical valves that respond differently to different frequencies for better ride tuning without the complexity or expense of adaptive dampers. You’ll find MacPherson struts up front and a multi-link setup in the rear, a fundamentally solid arrangement for the EV4’s class.
Like the Niro Electric, the EV4 is front-wheel-drive, making use of the corporate 201-horsepower electric motor and 400-volt entry-level electric architecture. However, battery pack sizes balloon to 58.3 kWh for the standard pack and a whopping 81.4 kWh for the long-range pack. Combine that with a drag coefficient of just 0.23, and Kia claims a range of 391 miles from the long-range model on the optimistic WLTP cycle. That should certainly translate to at least 300 miles on the EPA cycle, which would be a considerable figure for an entry-level EV.
So far, so promising, but there may be a catch. From what I’ve been hearing, it’s possible America will only get the sedan, and with its rather outlandish styling, I do worry it’ll simply be too out-there for American tastes. Sure, sedans have historically sold better in America than hatchbacks, but part of that’s seemingly due to adhering to historic norms. The EV4 sedan doesn’t look normal by any stretch of the imagination, which is why success might come down to price.
Although Kia hasn’t released U.S. pricing, it has stated that the EV3 crossover is expected to start around $35,000. We’d be surprised if the EV4 deviates too far from that figure, especially when you look at what’s already on offer below $40,000 today. Come 2026, the EV4 will have to compete on price with stuff like the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai Kona Electric, and Chevrolet Equinox EV. With the K4 sedan already showing that Americans will buy unusual-looking cars if they’re practical and offer strong value, let’s see if Kia hits the mark in 2026.
Top graphic images: Kia; depositphotos.com
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Admittedly I have odd taste, but I found it fine until that rear 3/4 shot. There’s something disconcerting about that rear end – and definitely something dissonant about its various elements.
Baby got just a little too much back is I think what you’re trying to say…
That is exactly where I decided I preferred the hatch.
Pretty sure every reader of Jalopnik would love a Kia EV.
I was so excited about this until you got to FWD. Why??? Maybe Hyundai will follow up with a fastback/hatchback version of the Ioniq 6.
I’m not generally an RWD of bust guy, but having driven a Niro EV for a while now, having a ton of torque to the front wheels is just so much less usable than the back. With rear wheel spin eventually you squat into a nice launch- with front it just does intense burnouts.
I can’t find a single good reason to make a FWD EV and I’ve owned 2. The Spark EV had comical and I’d argue dangerous levels of torque steer. The Bolt is better but would be better as a RWD.
I agree, going electric is such a huge opportunity to RWD all the things. It kills me to see FWD EVs.
You maintain all the compromises of FWD with none of the benefits. All EVs should be RWD or dual motor AWD.
Well it doesn’t have the angry eyes that look like they are ripping through the front fenders, or the fake grill for no reason other than than to imitate a gigantic cat anus, and the sides don’t look like they got sideswiped by a UPS truck. No raccoon kennels in the bumper area either. Is that what you mean by weird? I like it, especially the square back.
Can you get them in some color that isn’t off black, gray, or white ? Orange or sky blue would be nice.
The EV4 does look a bit weird though the hatchback variant looks quite alrite in my view. The K4 on the other hand is not only weird but hideous. So if they’re buying that, styling alone won’t stop anyone from getting the EV4 sedan or otherwise.
Uh oh, I better go so my therapist cause I like the way the ‘sedan’ looks. weird is just another word for nothing left to lose…Also there is good weird and but ef weird (Cyber thing, good god all the BMW’s, the Mercedes that now look like an old Camry, Audi’s that look like basic VW’s that look like basic line drawings, and with my favorite Lewis Black voice: WTF is the Toyota design group smoking? Given that I’ll take Korean weird for 400 on the Jeopardy Board
I love that cream-beige interior.
Can I have that in an Audi Coupe please?
This is why I love this site – all the other auto sites describe the sedan as the only version of the EV4 coming to the US, but you’re the only one who correctly calls it too weird for Americans.
Not bringing the hatchback to the US is a strange decision. They must know the Hyundai Ioniq 5 hatch sells much better than its nearly identical stable-mate, the Ioniq 6 sedan, right?
Maybe Kia plans to keep selling the rapidly aging Niro EV, and they don’t want the EV4 hatch to steal sales from it?
Can they just offer this thing as a convertible as well. I am waiting patiently to throw my money at somebody who has an EV Vert.
+1
I had been waiting for a conEVertible but I ended up with an EV with an opening glass sunroof. I had thought about getting a fox body and doing an EV swap myself. My Dad was a TV repairman and has the ultimate set of tools.
I don’t think either one of these cars looks too weird…? There’s much worse looking cars you could buy.
Huh?
58kWh is small for a modern EV, while 81 is pretty typical and there are plenty of vehicles with packs larger than that.
Good colors for the interior, even shades of beige (someone write this book!) are a welcome sight.
I think the styling is fine but for the love of god can we stop with the wheel designs that make round things look square?
All of Kia’s recent wheel designs have been horrific.
I appreciate your following up the ‘Too Weird?’ headline with ‘we like weird cars here at the Autopian’, because my first reaction to the hatchback description and photo was: finally, a full electric that hits the sweet spot for me! I like the capabilities and features, I like the materials, I like the hatchback’s ‘not-a-pseudo-SUV’ design and (smallish) size. I could genuinely envision test driving this with buying or leasing in mind.
I think these both look great, but I like the hatchback a little more.
I like there is a color choice for the interior that isn’t blacker than the inside of Satan’s colon.
I live in the South. I can’t wear shorts in a vehicle with black leather seats. Not sure why every manufacturer in the world thinks that all black interiors should be a thing in the South.
My Sportwagen has a similar colored interior. My first car without a black interior and I love it! It makes the cabin feel bigger too.
I like both, maybe to lease. I have little faith in the long term reliability of these without data. All of our 4 cars are 10+ years old and 2 are over 200k miles, with one approaching.
This is a sedan? With a trunk? Like many modern sedans with fastback rear glass, it looks like the trunk opening will be the size of a mail slot.
Needs a hatch. Period.
I noticed the same thing and looked around until I found a picture of it open. The last 6″ or so what of looks like the rear glass is actually black trim on the trunk lid, so the opening is bigger than just the painted area.
Still seems small, but it’s bigger than it looks at a glance.
Why did it take EVs becoming common for the shifter to return to its rightful place?
For what it’s worth, the brightness of that interior is striking.
Also, not to be pedantic, are we really calling this a “two-box sedan”? Wouldn’t it be more accurate (and less clunky) to call it a fastback or even kammback?
Console shift always seemed “sporty” in the ’70s to ’90s. Which did you want, a bucket seat console shift ’85 Monte Carlo/Cutlass Supreme/Cougar or one with column shift and a split bench? Sure they have the same engine and auto trans, but one seems so much better.
That was also before cupholders became a requirement. It’s been nearly 30 years and manufacturers are only now realizing they don’t need to put a console shifter in the way of things.
Eh I think it’ll do fine. A lot of “sedans” have been getting the slippery teardrop thing with no creases to speak of between roofline and trunk lip. Prius of course, Volt too, Civic.
Both versions are just so damn ugly. The beige steering wheel looks like they took an early 90’s Ford airbag wheel and squished the rim a bit.
I love two spokes from a practicality perspective, but yeah, I hate that it’s squished. Might be fine on the highway, but when turning I feel like that’d just get annoying quickly.
It’s so bad, I thought the hatch was the real thing…and the sedan was your Photochop just to make a point
It’s not any more horrid than half the other EVs out there, it’s just not my cuppa.
Eh, the last gen, too-angular Civic did pretty well here. I think this will be fine for folks.
Are we talking about weird in this America?
Looking at what sells these days, I’m kind of questioning whether American buyers really care about styling one way or the other anymore
You mean, BMW buyers. If we had to pick just one marque, anyway.