Kia EV4

Kia EV4 at a glance

The EV4 sits between the smaller EV3 and the larger EV5 in the Kia catalogue. It is Kia's first electric car with a conventional low roofline rather than a crossover stance, and it is aimed at buyers who would otherwise look at a Volkswagen ID.3 or a Tesla Model 3.

Generations and versions

There is one generation so far. Kia showed the EV4 Concept at its EV Day on 12 October 2023 and again at the Los Angeles Auto Show the following month. The production car was presented in February 2025, alongside the PV5 van and a preview of the EV2. Korean orders opened in March 2025 and deliveries started in April; in May 2025 the EV4 was South Korea's best-selling electric saloon, with 1,373 registrations.

The two bodies are very different cars in practice. The saloon, sold in Korea, Australia and other markets, is 4,730 mm long with a long rear deck. The hatchback, which Wikipedia describes as a Europe-only body, is 300 mm shorter and was the first battery-electric Kia to be built in Europe: production in Žilina started on 19 August 2025. ADAC also lists the saloon in Germany under the name EV4 Fastback.

Plans for North America changed late. The EV4 was shown at the New York International Auto Show in April 2025, but in October 2025 the US launch was postponed indefinitely after the end of the federal tax credit and new import tariffs. Canada was due to get the car in 2026. In January 2026 Kia added a performance EV4 GT; ADAC lists it separately, but we could not confirm its output from our sources, so it is not included in the tables below.

Motors, batteries and performance

All European launch versions use a single permanent-magnet motor on the front axle. ADAC lists the following data for the hatchback:

The long-range battery adds about 85 kg (1,896 kg against 1,811 kg EU kerb weight), which explains why the bigger battery version is slightly slower to 100 km/h. Both packs use nickel-cobalt-manganese chemistry; ADAC gives the 81.4 kWh pack a weight of 475 kg.

Charging is where the two batteries differ most. The 58.3 kWh car accepts up to 101 kW at a DC charger, the 81.4 kWh car up to 128 kW. ADAC quotes 29 and 31 minutes respectively to reach 80%. On AC, both charge at up to 11 kW three-phase, which fills the larger battery in about 7 hours 15 minutes (435 minutes).

Dimensions, space and boot

The 2,820 mm wheelbase is long for a car of this length: it is 70 mm longer than that of the larger EV5 SUV. The hatchback's 435-litre boot grows to 1,415 litres with the rear seat folded. We did not find a confirmed boot figure for the saloon in our sources. Width including mirrors is 2,115 mm, worth knowing if you plan to check your garage.

Energy consumption and running costs

WLTP combined consumption is 14.7 kWh/100 km for the 58.3 kWh hatchback and 14.6 kWh/100 km for the 81.4 kWh car (ADAC). That is low for a 1.8-tonne car and comes from the long, low body. In the WLTP city cycle ADAC lists 542 km and 799 km of range for the two batteries.

At 14.6 kWh/100 km, 15,000 km a year needs roughly 2,200 kWh at the socket, before charging losses. The actual cost depends on your tariff and how often you use rapid chargers.

Trims, prices and equipment

In Germany the EV4 hatchback is sold in three trims. ADAC lists these prices for cars built from October 2025:

The Air, Earth and GT-Line names are used in most markets; New Zealand calls the entry trim Light. The 81.4 kWh battery costs EUR 5,650 more than the 58.3 kWh pack in the same Air trim.

Safety: Euro NCAP

Euro NCAP published the EV4 result on 10 December 2025. As standard the car received four stars; with the optional safety pack it reaches five stars. The standard car scored 84% for adult occupants, 85% for child occupants, 77% for vulnerable road users and 67% for safety assist. The safety pack lifts safety assist to 78%, which is what moves the car over the five-star threshold. The weakest single area was car-to-car autonomous emergency braking (5.4 of 9 points); the child seat installation check scored the maximum 12 of 12. Ratings for other models are collected in our safety section.

Reliability and known issues

The EV4 has been on sale for too short a time for meaningful reliability data, and we found no recall or breakdown statistics in our sources. Kia sells it with the same warranty structure as its other electric cars; check the terms in your country, as they differ between markets.

Rivals

Rival figures are manufacturer data for the main European versions; prices change too often to list reliably, so compare current offers with our comparison tool.

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