Kia EV4 Review & Prices

The Kia EV4 is a chunky electric car that’s comfortable, practical and offers a bit more range than alternatives, but it’s quite dull to drive and cabin storage is disappointing.

It’s a bit like a smart watch, because the EV4 is packed full of technology, but it’s designed to fit into your daily life without causing a fuss.

If you’re considering the Kia EV4, there are dozens of alternatives to choose from, which are similarly priced and similarly sized. There are electric hatchbacks such as the Cupra Born, Volkswagen ID3 and Peugeot E-308, as well as electric SUVs including the Renault Scenic, Skoda Elroq, and Kia’s own EV3.

Its styling certainly stands out, though it’s not particularly pretty. You get the Kia-typical sharp lines and angles, but where the larger EV9 manages to look almost elegant, the EV4 has a chunkier aesthetic. Not unattractive, but an acquired taste from some angles; the hatchback is, though, much better-looking than the awkward EV4 Fastback.

Inside it’s much more conventional and a lovely place to eat up miles, with very comfortable seats. You have a mix of cloth materials and artificial leather, depending on trim, and all of it is sustainably sourced. Quality is largely excellent, though if you go looking there are scratchy plastics within easy reach.

Kia EV4: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 273 - 388 miles
Efficiency: 4.7 - 4.8mi/kWh
Battery size: 58.3kWh, 81.4kWh
Max charge speed: 127kW
Charge time AC: 5hrs20mins - 7hrs15mins, 10-80%, 11kWh
Charge time DC: 29 - 31mins, 10-80%, 350kWh
Charge port location: Right side front
Power outputs: 201hp

There’s a triple screen setup that sweeps across the dashboard, starting behind the wheel with a clear and configurable instrument display, across to an infotainment screen that’s sharp and fairly intuitive to use, though not as simple as the Google setup in a Renault Scenic. Between the two is the awkward climate display, which is completely obscured by your hand on the wheel, though the bank of physical controls for your temperature settings makes this less of a problem.

Storage is hit and miss, because the door bins are tiny all around the car. However you do at least have plenty of space in the two-tiered centre console, with the lower area roomy enough for a small handbag.

Those in the back have almost limo-like space, with massive legroom even behind a tall driver. Headroom is fine though it starts to get a little tight if you’re over six foot, and seating three across the bench is a little cosy.

Boot space is decent at 460 litres, being bigger than other electric hatchbacks, but if you need maximum luggage capacity the EV3 has slightly more room, while the Renault Scenic gets a cavernous 545 litres.

You have a choice of battery size depending on your budget and range needs. Entry level Air models are offered with a smaller battery that will get up to 273 miles between charges, or you can get this trim with a larger battery for the EV4’s maximum range of 391 miles. Top-spec GT-Line models only get the larger battery and a range of 362 miles.

That’s all just above average compared with alternatives but does give the EV4 the longest range of the bunch, beating the next best Renault Scenic’s 380 miles. Our testing of the GT-Line model returned 3.9 miles per kWh, which would give a real-world range of about 315 miles.

You’ll be happy to make the most of all those miles because the Kia EV4 is incredibly comfortable, making it just as ideal for long motorway drives as it is for driving around town or doing the school run. It’s quiet and refined, but don’t expect any thrills on a country road, where the Cupra Born will put a bigger smile on your face.

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The Kia EV4 starts just below £35,000 with the small battery, or under £38,000 for the larger battery in entry-level Air trim, which also gives you the longest range possible. You can step up to the GT-Line model for less than £2,000 extra, which is tempting, while top-spec GT-Line S versions start at just under £44,000.

That puts the Kia EV4 in line with most alternatives – the Cupra Born, Renault Scenic and Peugeot E-308 all fall into this 35k-to-45k sweet spot. If you do want to save a bit of money, though, the Kia EV3 is a bit more affordable, as is the Skoda Elroq.

There’s loads of kit as standard, so even the entry-level Air trim doesn’t feel short-changed. You get LED lights all round, heated front seats and steering wheel, and semi-autonomous cruise control. GT-Line models get sportier styling and bigger alloy wheels, while top-spec GT-Line S models get a sunroof, heated rear seats and a 360-degree parking cameras.

What is disappointing is that even top-spec GT-Line S models don’t come with a heat pump as standard. These help stop your range plummeting when it’s cold, but you have to pay nearly £900 extra to get one on the EV4, and it’s not even an option on GT-Line or Air cars. The Renault Scenic, for example, gets one as standard.

Comfortable, quiet and refined – the Kia EV4 is lovely to drive but it’s far from exciting

In town

The Kia EV4 is a great city car, because the suspension deals with bumps brilliantly. We’ve only tested it in Spain, where the roads are generally smoother, but we hunted out potholes and hit a few hefty speed bumps and can confidently say it’ll be great on broken British Tarmac.

It feels quite big on the road, which can make tight city streets a little less easy than in, say, the Peugeot E-308, and rear visibility isn’t very good either. At least you get some standard-fit assistance kit to help you avoid low-speed collisions, while the reversing camera and parking sensors help with that limited view out of the back.

On the motorway

The Kia EV4 excels on the motorway. It’s smooth and feels quiet and refined like a bigger car. There’s very little in the way of wind and road noise.

All versions get an adaptive cruise control system that can maintain your speed and distance to the car in front, as well as steering assistance to keep you in your lane without too much input. Blind spot collision avoidance is standard, but you need the top-spec GT-Line S model to get Kia’s neat blind spot video feed in the instrument dials when you indicate.

On a twisty road

Find a winding country road and the Kia EV4 is perfectly capable, with enough grip and little in the way of body roll, but it’s anything but fun. That’s fine, because you probably don’t need your electric family car to do a hot hatch impression on the school run, but if you do want something with a bit more of a skip in its step, the Cupra Born is your best bet.

Some of the storage in the cabin could be better but space in the back is massive

The Kia EV4 is roomy up front, but the driving position is a bit awkward, particularly for taller drivers. The pedals are a fraction too close to the driver’s seat and the steering wheel doesn’t have enough travel towards you so you have to compromise on how you sit.

Overall storage is pretty good thanks to the large area under the centre console that can fit a small handbag, though the under-armrest cubby hole could be deeper and the door bins are tiny. There’s a wireless phone charging pad beneath the central vents with two USB-C slots set into the dashboard.

Space in the back seats

There’s so much legroom in the back of the Kia EV4 you might mistake it for a business class seat on a long haul flight. It’s not perfect for long distances because the floor is a bit too close to the cushion, so you don’t get quite as much under-thigh support as you might want, but overall the EV4 is much roomier than alternatives. This also makes it ideal if you need to fit a bulky child seat.

Again, storage is mixed, with even smaller door bins in the back, though you do get seatback pockets and a fairly large cubby in the centre console. Two USB-C slots mean there’s no debating who gets to charge their phone.

Boot space

Compared with other electric hatchbacks, the Kia EV4’s 435-litre boot is quite exceptional. You get 385 litres in the Cupra Born and Volkswagen ID3, and 361 litres in the Peugeot E-308. However, if you need maximum space, the Renault Scenic and Skoda Elroq SUVs offer more capacity at 545 litres and 470 litres respectively. You could also consider the Kia EV3, which is a bit roomier than the EV4 at 460 litres.

The access to the boot is a touch narrow, so really bulky items could be a pain, but otherwise this is an impressively spacious cargo area. You get a couple of hooks for holding items in place and loads of under-floor storage, which is useful for keeping your charging cables out of the way.

Cool lounge-like design appeals, but the triple screen layout is awkward

You get a lovely cabin in the Kia EV4, which isn’t quite as aggressively futuristic as the exterior. Particularly on the entry level trim with its fabric upholstery, you get a calming lounge-like design, and the relaxing atmosphere is helped by the comfy seats.

Much like a modern lounge the view is dominated by screens. Three, in fact. You get the usual digital instruments and central infotainment display, but there’s also a third between them for the climate controls. As in other Kia EV products it’s blocked by your hand and the steering wheel, but fortunately there are physical climate controls which are nice and easy to use while driving.

At least the infotainment itself is pretty slick - it has sharp graphics and it’s quick to respond to your inputs. It can be tricky to get your head around at first, but there are shortcut buttons on the dashboard that make it easier to quickly navigate between menus. You also get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard if you want to bypass Kia’s system.

Most of the things you touch feel like good quality, particularly on the higher trims, though there are cheaper materials to be found on the door bins and lower dashboard. That said, we tested the car in Spain using European-specific trims that aren’t perfectly aligned to what we get in the UK, so we’ll update this once the EV4 is on UK roads and we’ve poked and prodded around.

There are two battery options, both of which come with the same single motor powering the front wheels with 201hp. The smaller battery is only available on the entry-level Air trim, and gives you a range of 273 miles.

The bigger battery is 81.4kWh and is available on all three trims, getting maximum range ability as an Air model at up to 391 miles.

That compares well with alternatives, with the basic model going a bit further than equivalent versions of the Cupra Born, Peugeot E-308 and Volkswagen ID3. The long range model goes further than equivalent versions of alternatives, too.

DC fast charging speeds of up to 127kW is good but not outstanding. You’ll do a 10-80% top-up in about half an hour, whichever battery you go for, which is about par for the course among alternatives, though the Cupra Born and Skoda Elroq can both charge faster. You can also charge at 11kW on an AC charger if you have access to one, which is a nice bonus.

The Kia EV4 has not been tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP just yet, but the mechanically similar EV3 scored the full five stars. None of the categories were particularly outstanding but 83% and 84% for adult and child occupant protection respectively are decent.

Standard safety kit includes the typical city collision avoidance systems and lane-keeping on the motorway, but all EV4s get Highway Driving Assist 2.0, which is a kind of semi-autonomous advanced cruise control. GT-Line S models also add parking collision avoidance tech, a 360-degree camera and a blind spot view monitor.

As a new model it’s not clear how reliable the EV4 will be, but we’ve not heard of any issues with Kia’s other electric cars, which is reassuring. Kia’s 18th place out of 31 manufacturers in the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey shows there’s nothing major to worry about, though the likes of Peugeot and Renault performed much better, with top 10 finishes.

Kia offers a very generous standard warranty of seven years or 100,000 miles, which is significantly longer than the three years of coverage provided with vehicles such as the Volkswagen ID3 and Cupra Born.