Kia EV4 Fastback Review & Prices

The Kia EV4 Fastback is an electric saloon aimed at buyers who want something low-slung, comfortable and refined, without following the SUV crowd. It offers strong range and plenty of interior space, though that sleek shape does bring a few compromises.

It’s a bit like when you’re at school and you proudly support your local football team, rather than one of the big Premier League teams like all your classmates. Sometimes it’s nice to go against the grain.

If you’re looking at the EV4 Fastback, there are several convincing alternatives. Cars such as the Tesla Model 3, BYD Seal, MG IM5 and Hyundai Ioniq 6 all offer a similar recipe of four-door saloon styling and electric power. Kia also sells the EV4 as a more conventional hatchback, which may appeal if you’re unsure about the Fastback’s stretched profile.

The EV4 Fastback certainly doesn’t blend into the background. The front end looks sharp, with vertical headlights and crisp, angular surfacing, but the rear design is more divisive. The long tail and sloping roof give it unusual proportions, and it looks less put together than some of its sleeker alternatives. Still, that bold look will appeal to buyers who want something a bit different.

Kia EV4 Fastback: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 380 miles
Battery size: 81.4kWh
Max charge speed: 127kW
Charge time AC: 7h 15mins, 0-100% @ 11kW
Charge time DC: 31mins, 10-80% @ 127kW
Charge port location: Right front
Power outputs: 201hp

Inside, the EV4 Fastback is far more universally appealing. The cabin design is clean and modern, with a wide, flowing dashboard and a chunky steering wheel. Unlike cars such as the Tesla Model 3, Kia has kept proper physical buttons for the climate controls, making them simple to adjust without taking your eyes off the road. The materials feel posh and the whole dash is well put together, and overall it’s a calm, pleasant place to spend time.

Passenger space is a strong point. Rear-seat kneeroom is generous, so adults and bulky child seats fit easily, and headroom remains acceptable despite the sloping roofline. Storage around the cabin is less impressive, though, with fewer useful cubbies than you might expect.

The boot is a highlight. Although the saloon opening isn’t as convenient as a hatchback, the EV4 Fastback offers 490 litres of luggage space. That’s more than you get in a BYD Seal or Hyundai Ioniq 6, though the Tesla Model 3 still has the edge for outright carrying capacity.

Unlike the EV4 hatchback, which can be had with a smaller battery, the Fastback comes exclusively with the larger battery pack. This delivers an official range of up to 380 miles, comfortably beating the BYD Seal and Hyundai Ioniq 6. A long-range Tesla Model 3 can travel further on a charge, at up to 436 miles, but costs similar money.

Charging performance is broadly in line with most alternatives, with a 10–80% top-up taking roughly 30 minutes on a rapid charger. That’s perfectly acceptable, though it feels less impressive when compared with Kia’s own EV6, which uses more advanced charging technology for quicker stops.

On the road, the EV4 Fastback majors on comfort and refinement. It suits long motorway journeys well and remains settled over broken urban roads. The main downside is its physical size, which can make narrow streets and tight car parks feel a bit more stressful than in smaller electric cars.

If you can look past the awkward proportions there’s a fantastic electric saloon car here, so get a great price with Carwow’s Kia EV4 Fastback deals or EV4 Fastback lease deals. You can also browse used Kias from our network of trusted dealers, and when the time comes to sell your current car, Carwow can help with that, too.

The Kia EV4 Fastback starts at around £41,000 in GT-Line trim, rising to just over £46,000 for the range-topping GT-Line S with a heat pump fitted. That pricing puts it squarely alongside the Tesla Model 3. Cheaper versions of the Tesla don’t travel as far between charges, but for roughly £45,000 you can step up to the long-range Model 3 with its 436-mile claim.

The BYD Seal looks relatively expensive by comparison, starting near the upper end of the Kia’s price range while offering a shorter driving range. The Hyundai Ioniq 6 sits higher still on price.

GT-Line versions of the EV4 Fastback come with 19-inch alloy wheels, artificial leather upholstery and sportier exterior details than the standard EV4 hatchback. GT-Line S models add heated front and rear seats, blind-spot monitoring, a 360-degree camera system and a high-quality Harman Kardon sound system.

It’s disappointing that the heat pump costs close to £1,000 extra and is only offered on the top trim. This system helps preserve range in cold weather and comes as standard on some alternatives, including the BYD Seal.

The Kia EV4 Fastback is a relaxing car to drive long distances, though it’s anything but fun on a twisty road

In town

We tested the Kia EV4 Fastback on Spanish roads at the car's launch in Marbella, and it proved incredibly comfortable around town. We also spent a week with the car in the UK on our much more stubbled Tarmac, but even when we searched out speed bumps and potholes the suspension handled it remarkably well.

Rear visibility is pretty poor with a small rear window, but there’s an extra window in the rear quarter that means you do get some visibility over your shoulder, and this is where GT-Line S models’ surround-view cameras come into their own.

On the motorway

Motorways are where the Kia EV4 feels at its best, because it's a quiet, comfortable and refined way to eat up miles. There’s very little wind and road noise, despite the large alloy wheels.

All models have adaptive cruise control, with semi-autonomous driving assistance that can nudge the wheel to keep you centred in your lane. Top-spec versions also get Kia’s cool blind-spot monitoring tech, which displays a camera feed showing your blind spot in the instrument screen to help when changing lanes.

On a twisty road

Comfort and relaxation are the order of the day, so it’s no surprise that the Kia EV4 Fastback isn’t the most engaging car to drive on a twisty road. It’s not bad, soaking up bumps nicely, but it’s certainly not fun. If that’s what you’re after, the Tesla Model 3 is your best bet. It’s more jiggly over bumps most of the time but the trade off is a genuinely enjoyable car on a country road.

Decent interior space and a big boot are let down by some underwhelming storage

Space in the front is really good, but the driving position is slightly awkward, particularly if you’ve got long legs. The pedals are a bit close to the seat and the steering wheel doesn’t come too far towards you, so there’s some compromise to be had.

Interior storage is hit and miss – overall there’s a lot of storage space thanks to a large area under the centre console that’s big enough for a small bag. However, the cubby beneath the armrest is quite shallow and the door bins will barely fit a reusable water bottle. At least you get wireless phone charging on all trims, as well as a pair of USB-C slots.

Space in the back seats

Rear seat space is limo-like, which means it’s perfect if you carry friends and family around in the back or you have a bulky child seat to fit. And despite the sloping saloon roof, headroom isn’t noticeably worse than it is in the hatchback.

It’s not perfect, because the floor is quite high in relation to the seat cushion, so you don’t have loads of under-thigh support, while storage isn’t great here either – the door bins, in particular, are tiny. There are two more USB-C slots in the back, too.

Boot space

Boot capacity is really good at 490 litres, comparing nicely with the BYD Seal’s 400 litres and Hyundai Ioniq 6’s 401 litres. However, the Tesla Model 3 beats all with its 594-litre capacity.

The downside to buying a saloon is that you get quite a small boot opening – the EV4 Fastback actually has a fairly wide aperture, but the lack of height means it’s still not ideal for bulky items. You’re better off considering a hatchback or SUV instead. Underfloor storage is good enough for lesser used items such as your tyre repair kit.

High-tech yet functional cabin is great, but there are some ergonomic frustrations

While the outside of the car has an in-yer-face ultra-modern design, the interior is much more laid back and simple. That’s not to say it’s plain – there are layers to the dashboard and a pleasant mix of materials that give off a relaxing vibe.

The dashboard is dominated by three screens that sit ahead of you, with the typical infotainment display in the centre and instruments behind the steering wheel. There’s a narrow third screen that sits between the two for your climate settings, but your hands block the view. Fortunately there are physical temperature switches so this isn’t as annoying as it could be, though still not ideal.

The infotainment system itself is easy enough to use, once you get your head around the slightly complicated menu layout. You get wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard for seamless smartphone integration and everything responds quickly to your touches.

Two neat features are theatre mode and rest mode. The former lets you use streaming subscriptions to play films and TV shows while you’re not driving, while rest mode switches off the displays and adjusts the ambient lighting to create a relaxing atmosphere.

Interior quality is pretty good, and because the Fastback doesn’t get the EV4 hatchback’s entry-level trim, all models come with artificial leather upholstery. That said, if you go looking for cheap scratchy plastics you will find some, such as on the door bins.

The Kia EV4 Fastback is only available with an 81.4kWh battery that provides an official range of up to 380 miles in both trims. During our test of the car on routes that included a mix of city, motorway and mountain roads, we saw efficiency of 3.9 miles per kWh, which would equal a real-world range of almost 320 miles. That’s about 85% of the claimed figure, which is a respectable return.

The Tesla Model 3 rules if you want the maximum distance between charges, because the long-range version can go up to 436 miles officially. However, the EV4 Fastback is still comfortably above average among alternatives as the maximum range from a BYD Seal is 354 miles, or 339 miles in the Hyundai Ioniq 6.

Maximum DC charging speeds of 127kW are good but not exceptional – again the Tesla wins here – so it takes about half an hour to complete a 10-80% top up at a public charger.

Being an electric car means you’ll pay the lowest Benefit-in-Kind if you’re a company car driver, and it’s also eligible for the lowest Vehicle Excise Duty for private buyers, though you do have to pay the expensive car supplement in years two to six.

The EV4 range as a whole was awarded five stars by Euro NCAP when it was tested in 2025, with scores of 84%, 85%, 77% and 78% in adult occupant, child occupant, vulnerable road users and the safety assist category. Though those aren't the highest scores, the five-star rating is up there with its closest alternatives.

You get loads of assistance kit as standard, from a reversing camera and parking sensors front and rear, to adaptive cruise control with a semi-autonomous feature that helps keep you in your lane. Top-spec GT-Line S models add a parking collision avoidance system, a 360-degree camera and blind-spot monitoring.

Given that the EV4 is a new model, its reliability is yet to be determined. However, the lack of reported issues with Kia's other electric vehicles is a positive sign. Kia's performance in the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, placing 18th out of 31 manufacturers, isn’t fantastic, with brands like Peugeot and Renault achieving higher rankings within the top 10.

A significant advantage of owning a Kia is the seven-year or 100,000-mile standard warranty. This offers considerably longer coverage compared to the three-year warranties typically provided with vehicles in the UK, though BYD offers six years of coverage, Hyundai provides five, and Tesla four years, so there’s not a lot in it among electric saloons.