Kia EV4 Review 2025

Introduction

Kia is no novice when it comes to developing electric vehicles that tick all the right boxes and go on to be instant hits with buyers as well as scooping a wealth of industry awards. Most recently, we have had the EV3, EV6 and EV9 which all feature SUV styling traits, but now we are introduced to the all-new EV4, which is sold in hatchback guise or Fastback, which basically means saloon to you and I.

With a driving range of up to 391 miles on a single charge, the EV4 has the greatest range in the company’s EV line-up to date and it comes with a competitive starting price of £34,695 too, which is reduced further thanks to Kia’s own electric car grant.

As well as the two distinctive body styles, customers can choose between two battery sizes – 58.3kWh and 81.4kWh – and there are generously-equipped trims to select from called Air, GT-Line and GT-Line S. The EV4 Fastback is only available with the larger battery and in GT-Line or GT-Line S grades.

And it was the range-topping GT-Line S models we selected to test drive in both the hatch and Fastback body styles.

At a glance

The Kia EV4 is launched in two distinctive body styles, a hatchback or Fastback, with both boasting eye-catching design cues with sweeping lines and signature lighting. Offering a Fastback version is a clever and bold move by the Korean carmaker as saloon models are very popular outside of Europe, whereas it is likely to be a minority seller here in the UK. But that makes it extra-appealing to anyone who likes to stand out from the crowd.

The five-door EV4 hatchback features Kia’s innovative Tiger Face design with upright headlights, a floating roof design, flush door handles, black vertical C pillars, a rear spoiler and tapering rear window. Our GT-Line S model boasted lots of gloss black trimmings to give it a sportier extra edge, such as gloss black door mirrors, side sills, wheel arches and window surrounds. It also had a sunroof and 19-inch GT-Line alloy wheels.

By contrast, the EV4 Fastback is a sleek four-door saloon. It is longer than the hatchback and slightly lower so has an elongated, coupe-like silhouette. It also gains all the GT-Line S gloss black trimmings and distinctive front and rear lighting. It’s a car that may divide opinion with it’s more unique styling, but we liked it.

The hatchback is offered with a choice of five colours increasing to six for the Fastback.

Key features

All Kia EV4 models are well equipped as standard and feature the likes of heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, a 12.3-inch driver display screen, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with navigation, a 5.3-inch climate control panel, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth with music streaming, four USB-C ports, automatic air conditioning, electric one-touch windows and lots more besides.

The Air trim includes 17-inch alloys, body-coloured door mirrors, manual flush door handles, black side sills and wheel arches, grey upholstery with grey headlining, a two-spoke artificial leather-wrapped steering wheel, manual driver and passenger seat adjustment and a six-speaker sound system.

The EV4 GT-Line gains lots of model-specific exterior styling, 19-inch gloss black wheels, privacy glass, GT-Line interior styling with two-tone artificial leather upholstery, alloy pedals, black headlining, a three-spoke steering wheel, electric fronts seats with lumbar adjustment, a wireless phone charger, customisable ambient lighting, one-touch rear windows and plenty of gloss black exterior design cues.

Finally, the GT-Line S model, as tested, adds LED headlights with a small cube design and adaptive driving beam, a wide front sunroof, heated outer rear seats, ventilated front seats, a powered tailgate, Vehicle-to-Load capability with an adapter, an eight-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and customisable head-up display.

Range and batteries

The Kia EV4 hatchback is sold with the choice of two batteries – the smaller 58.3kWh unit is available on just the entry-level Air model and this can deliver a combined driving range between charges of 273 miles.

Alternatively, the EV4 Air can be specified with the larger 81.4kWh battery, which is the standard unit on the GT-Line and GT-Line S models. The range varies slightly depending on the trim with the EV4 Air (with smaller wheels) able to deliver 388 miles, a range that drops slightly to 362 miles on the other grades.

The EV4 Fastback is only sold with the 81.4kWh battery and in GT-Line or GT-Line S specification, with both delivering a combined 380 miles of range. Want to know more about EV range? Check out our guide explaining electric car range.

Performance and drive

Each of our EV4 hatchback and Fastback models featured the long-range 81.4kWh battery with single electric motor delivering 201bhp, 283Nm of torque, and a driving range of 362 and 380 miles respectively.

With 0-62mph sprint times of 7.9 seconds and a top speed of 105mph, the front-wheel drive EV4 isn’t the fastest kid on the block, but the all-round performance and handling is truly impressive. And if power and pace really is your thing, there will be a faster, dual motor, all-wheel drive GT model arriving next year.

The acceleration via the single-speed transmission is smooth and responsive with ample power on tap for instant bursts of pace. This helps make light work of overtaking slower vehicles or when joining a fast-moving motorway from a slip road.

Comfort levels are exceptionally good with a soft-ish suspension set-up cushioning the ride and smoothing out most of the uneven road surfaces along the way – and that was on the larger 19-inch wheels. Refinement levels are enhanced by the excellent insulation that protects occupants from outside noise, apart from a little road surface sound at higher motorway speeds, but that’s all.

On twisting country lanes, both cars handle sweeping bends well with impressive grip. There is a little body sway if bends are attacked too eagerly in the hatchback, but the steering is perfectly weighted with bundles of driver feedback.

And there are paddles which adjust the strength of the regenerative braking which, in its strongest setting, can be used for single-pedal driving. This is really beneficial in busier towns and cities with lots of stop-and-go driving.

There are drive modes to change the characteristics of the car called Eco, Normal, Sport, MyDrive and Snow. And, in addition, Kia has introduced two new comfort settings to the EV4 line-up, designed for use while the car is charging. The Rest mode reclines the seats, turns off the displays and deactivates any dynamic ambient lighting to create a calm, relaxed cabin environment, which is ideal for 40 winks. Then there is the Theatre mode which makes full use of the optional entertainment packages. This allows occupants to access the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and YouTube to kill time while the battery levels are boosted.

To be honest, the driving experience is almost identical between the hatchback and Fastback, but the latter was a little more dynamic in its handling and felt more grounded when fizzing down narrow lanes with less sign of body movement.

Charging

The most convenient and cost-effective way to charge the EV4 will be via a home or work-based wallbox. It takes 7 hours, 15 minutes to gain a 10 to 100 per cent boost from an 11kW unit. At times it will be necessary to use a pubic fast charger, which will be more expensive, but is very quick. If using a 50kW unit it takes 1 hour, 19 minutes to go from 10 to 80 per cent, but the same percentage of charge can be achieved in just 31 minutes via a 350kW port.

With an EV, having the right charge access is crucial, so be sure to check out our guide to picking your ideal electric car charger.

Running costs and emissions

The EV4 line-up is competitively priced with the entry-level Air model featuring the 58.3kWh battery starting at £34,695. The Air with an 81.4kWh battery increases to £37,695. Step up to GT-Line, which is only sold with the larger battery, and it costs £39,395, while GT-Line S costs £43,895, or £44,795 with an optional heat pump.

The EV4 Fastback costs £40,895 for the GT-Line trim or £45,395 for the GT-Line S (£46,295 with the heat pump). And to keep costs low, the vehicles are available with Kia’s Electric Car Allowance which varies dependent upon the model.

When it comes to the day-to day running costs, a number of government incentives for EV owners were cut back or withdrawn completely this year, but there are still a number of benefits. While owners now face a road tax bill, it is just £10 for the first year, increasing to the standard fee of £195 after 12 months. And the car has an attractive Benefit in Kind rating of just three per cent for any potential business owners.

However, much of the line-up is priced above the government’s Expensive Car Supplement threshold of £40k and that will result in an extra tax bill of £425 from years two to six.

Insurance-wise, our EV4 GT-Line S hatchback is in group 36 with the Fastback classed as group 38.

Shopping around for the most cost-effective energy supplier will help save the pennies, especially as some offer reduced tariffs for overnight charging. And, additionally, learning how to make full use of the steering wheel-mounted paddles on the EV4 models will also have financial gains. These control the strength of the regenerative braking with four settings and a single pedal driving mode. This works really well on the move and helps capture energy that would otherwise be lost when slowing down.

Kia has an enviable record for reliability, but for added peace of mind, the EV4 comes with an eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty package that also includes complimentary roadside assistance for 12 months across the UK and Europe.

Interior and tech

Every EV4 model from Air to GT-Line S is well kitted out with an exceptional entertainment set-up within a classy cabin that is packed with high-end fixtures and fittings.

All versions benefit from an infotainment system that spans almost 30 inches across the dashboard, with a central touchscreen that offers access to the many on-board features, a climate control panel and crystal clear driver display that can be fully customised.

The two-tone, artificial leather upholstered seats offer excellent levels of comfort and they can be powered, heated or ventilated. The steering wheel can also be warmed against the winter blues.

All dials and readouts are easy to operate on the fly and there are plenty of physical controls to help avoid driver distraction. That’s far more practical and safer than having to constantly navigate over-complicated touchscreen menus to complete simple tasks. Then there is Kia’s AI assistant powered by ChatGPT that is activated by saying “Hey Kia” and this can help with planning travel routes with suggested points of interest and stop-off points, as well as more general information and answering technical questions from the vehicle manual.

The level of tech as standard is always impressive on a Kia and the EV4 is no exception to that rule. Our GT-Line S cars featured a pitch perfect eight-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, built-in sat nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth, a head-up display, and plenty more besides.

But I think what impresses me most about the interior of the car is its comfort and ease of use. It’s a vehicle that you can feel at home in within seconds and not be overwhelmed by tricky technology.

Practicality and boot space

Design and practicality are the two key areas where the EV4 hatchback and Fastback differ the most. One has hatchback proportions which is certainly more practical while the other has saloon styling, which may appeal to some buyers.

The EV4 stretches 4,450mm in length, is 1,860mm wide, 1,485mm tall and has a wheelbase of 2,820mm. By contrast, the EV4 Fastback is longer at 4,730mm and slightly shorter at 1,480mm giving it that stretched appearance especially with a larger rear overhang too.

Both vehicles have the same 2,820mm wheelbase which results in a spacious cabin, but rear passengers in the hatchback are treated to considerably more headroom. This is due to the tapering roofline design of the Fastback which eats into the interior space slightly.

It also impacts upon the boot capacity with the EV4 hatchback able to swallow 435 litres increasing to 1,415 litres with the split-folding rear seats lowered. In typical saloon fashion, the Fastback has a deeper boot which can hold 490 litres of luggage (there is no official figure of what this expands to with the rear seats dropped down). The boot opening is smaller on the Fastback with a lid rather than tailgate, making the hatch more practical if you are regularly carrying prams, bikes or bulkier items.

Both cars boast lots of handy storage compartments throughout the cabin with a glovebox, central cubby, door bins, seat back pockets, large storage area beneath the centre console, a wireless charging pad and USV-C ports for four devices.

Another plus point is the Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability which is only available on GT-Line S cars. This allows you to power up external devices such as laptops, camp lighting, BBQs, air pumps and other electrical appliances directly from the car.

Safety

To date, the Kia EV4 has not been tested for its Euro NCAP safety rating, but the cars are packed with safety systems and driver assistance aids to help protect occupants as well as other road users.

All models have anti-lock brakes with emergency stop signalling, downhill brake control, electronic stability control, forward collision avoidance, highway driving assist, blind spot collision avoidance, hill-start assist, intelligent speed limit assist, lane follow assist, multi-collision brake assist, vehicle stability management, safe exit warning, tyre pressure monitoring, smart cruise control, front and rear parking sensors with reversing camera, six airbags, impact sensing automatic door unlocking and Isofix child seat anchors to the outer rear seats.

You need to step up to high-end GT-Line S to gain any additional features such as a blind spot view monitor, 360-degree surround view monitor, parking collision avoidance assist and remote smart park assist.

Additionally, it’s worth noting the car’s structure is optimised with advanced passenger and battery safety designs, strengthened panels to protect occupants in a side-impact collision, and the roof is capable of withstanding more than five times its total weight.

Options

The Kia EV4 is generously-equipped as standard with optional extras few and far between. It’s the Kia way that customers simply choose the trim that suits them best and it will have all the kit they will need.

However, it is possible to add a heat pump to the GT-Line S models which adds a further £900 to the cost. This will improve efficiency during the winter months. Additionally, if you want any colour apart from Fusion White, it will add £650 to the bill.

There are also some more tech-based options available to customers with a variety of entertainment packages that require an additional monthly subscription fee. These offer access to music streaming via Amazon Music and Soundcloud with links to Netflix, TikTok, Disney+ and YouTube. There is also the option to create a personal Wi-Fi hotspot for the car too.

Rival cars

The Kia EV4 hatchback will be competing with the Vauxhall Astra Electric, Volkswagen ID.3, MG4 and Citroen e-C4 amongst others.

The EV4 Fastback will be vying for sales against the Polestar 2, Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal.

Verdict and next steps

To date, Kia has struck gold with its EV line-up scooping a wealth of awards for its EV3, EV6 and EV9, as well as the Niro.

While SUV styling, albeit sporty at times, has been the norm until now, the EV4 branches out into proper hatchback and saloon territory. In fact it’s the first saloon Kia has launched since the Stinger.

Although the Fastback will probably sell in fairly small numbers here in the UK and its elongated design will likely divide opinion, it will definitely appeal to anyone wanting to give hatchbacks and SUVs a swerve. And it will have a unique-ness about it with low volume sales expected.

The Fastback is also slightly more dynamic to drive, but the hatchback has the edge on practicality with extra rear passenger space and a larger boot.

All in all, with an attractive asking price for the Air grade, Kia seems to have all bases covered with the arrival of its EV4 line-up.

Where to next?

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**Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top leading independent car website reviews of the Kia EV4. 

**Correct as of 11/11/2025. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles annually, over a 48 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments, or £2,978.64 (Plus admin fee) Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.