After driving the sportier Kia EV4 GT, I think it strikes the ideal balance between performance and practicality

One of the best things about driving an electric car is the zesty performance that, quite simply, most combustion-engined cars can’t compete with. Even in the most modest of plug-in machines, getting away at the lights is quick and easy. Kia is having lots of fun with this thinking and has now delivered the Kia EV4 GT, which sits in-between the more compact Kia EV3 GT and the beefier Kia EV5 GT. It’s an impressive line-up of new arrivals. I’ve just spent time behind the wheel of all three, and the Kia EV4 GT is the ideal sweet spot.

It’s essentially an electric hot hatch, with plenty of family-focused practicality that features five doors and five seats, but with a decidedly peppy powertrain, which offers the same appeal as a traditional ICE car like the Volkswagen Golf R as a quick example. There’s four-wheel drive, tuned and sporty suspension plus plenty of oomph in the get-up-and-go department. Adding extra appeal is virtual gear shifting, synthesised engine noises and fizzy trim touches like dayglo green brake callipers and a dazzling dashboard area.

The Kia EV3 GT is a very similar car, so choosing between one of those and the EV4 GT is perhaps the biggest decision buyers will have to make; for me the latter option is the one to go for due to its more ground-hugging persona. Let’s not forget the Kia EV5 GT either, as the space and comfort levels are more generous plus the engine noises seemed best in tune with the SUV’s dimensions. But I’ll come back to that a bit further down the page…

The styling

I like the way the Kia EV4 GT retains the Korean carmaker’s current design theme. It’s got that blocky, angular look that fits right in alongside the other models in the range. In fact, a cursory glance could leave you thinking you’re looking at the Kia EV3. There’s not a whole lot of difference between them, although space levels are marginally better in the EV4.

Up front there’s a low-slung bonnet line, with plenty of interesting angles going on around the nose area, topped by slick headlight mouldings. My car also benefitted from a two-tone paint job with the black roof working well against the Penta Metal body colour.

Down the sides things are kept smooth, simple and seamless, a look boosted by recessed door handles and door mirrors that are nicely proportioned in relation to the overall design. I liked the 20in alloys on my car, which set off the quite low stance of the car perfectly. Glossy black plastic trims over the wheel arches helped to maintain the boxy theme, while the rear end was pert, topped with an electronically controlled tailgate and more angular taillight work.

Inside, the GT references were a little more pronounced compared to the relatively low-key neon green brake callipers spotted on the outside. The artificial leather and suede trim of my car was impressive, with nicely tailored seats both front and back that featured comfortable contours, plus bright green seatbelts. The colour scheme also reflected the GT persona, while once powered up, the dash delivered plenty of racy graphics once the neon green GT button had been pushed on the steering wheel. I thought it was all very nicely executed and not too over the top or garish.

The drive

For me, smaller EVs are much more fun to drive than many of their lumbering SUV counterparts. There are plenty of examples out there now too, and I’ve had loads of fun in the likes of the Alpine A290, the Renault 5 and the Cupra Raval VZ Extreme. The same goes for the Kia EV3 GT but if a little larger bundle of fun is required then the Kia EV4 GT fits the bill. It’s 4,450mm long and 1.860mm wide, with a roof line that tops out at 1,495mm high all sitting on a 2,820mm wheelbase. I thought it felt very nicely proportioned.

Driven using the everyday Comfort setting, the Kia EV4 GT felt perfectly acceptable. In fact, the drive and ride were very similar to the slightly smaller Kia EV3 GT. However, things changed once the green GT button on the steering wheel was given a push. The driver display changed to deliver more aggressive graphics and neat little icons showed that the ride settings had been altered electronically to make the drive more interesting.

The change in performance was instantaneous and impressive. My car was fitted with quality rubber sitting on 20in alloys and they did a great job of getting the power down. The power output is divided up between the axles with 215kW at the front and 70kW on tap at the back. This dual motor, all-wheel drive arrangement made the Kia EV4 GT feel excellent on great surfaces, although the low-slung stance, harsher feel of the GT mode suspension setup and low-profile tyres did make it feel quite rough and ready on lesser roads.

Although it did feature electronically controlled suspension, the Kia EV4 GT didn’t feel quite as much fun to drive as the Cupra Raval VZ Extreme that I tried a while ago. That benefitted from an electronic slip differential and a suspension setup that felt more suited to the performance. Nevertheless, the Kia EV4 GT felt plenty fast enough and delivered numerous grin-worthy moments during my time with it. I love the way it can work as an everyday motor while keeping plenty tucked behind that cool-looking software façade to call up whenever family members aren’t on board.

The synthetic engine noise works too (it can be toggled on and off using a shortcut button also on the steering wheel), as do the supporting graphics on the digital driver display. However, they were turned up far too loud initially and soon became a little too much. Turned down a little, these act as the perfect supplement when used in tandem with the bright green GT button on the steering wheel and paddle shifters. The whole package comes together to add a boost in performance and upped the fun levels at the same time. A dedicated ‘My Mode’ allowed for further personalisation of my preferred settings too.

Interestingly, having also driven the Kia EV3 GT and Kia EV5 GT at the same time, I thought that overall, the synthetic engine noises worked best of all in the latter. They just seemed better tuned to the larger size of the car. Nevertheless, I did enjoy them in the Kia EV4 GT, but they didn’t feel quite as convincing as they did in the brilliant Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and Hyundai Ioniq 6 N.

The technology

Kias tend to come quite well appointed, even in their more basic variants. My Kia EV4 GT was just as impressive as other cars I’ve tried in the range, with all the everyday essentials. The EV4 GT retained a decent array of physical touch buttons underneath the screen displays, which consist of a 12.3in driver panel and a 12.3in infotainment screen, augmented by a 5.3in panel sandwiched between the two for climate controls. The setup and layout were very familiar to me but even if it hadn’t been, I think Kia usability is generally first rate, including a fault free bespoke sat nav experience.

There was also a very good Harmon Kardon premium sound system, which delivered an excellent soundtrack to my drives even though it had to do battle with those engine noises until I figured out how to tone them down a bit. There were some other neat GT touches too, with puddle-style logo projection under the front doors and LED projection headlamps that included a welcome signature, plus the usual necessities such as wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

My test car also came with some extras, including a head-up display, blind-spot view mirror, 360-degree camera, driver aids including remote park assist and connectors that offered Vehicle-To-Load (V2L) practicality. Twin wireless chargers and a heat pump rounded it all out very nicely indeed.

Kia EV4 GT verdict

Fans of performance variants over and above standard issue electric cars – which are perky enough themselves – now have another option to consider. The Kia EV4 GT is nicely proportioned, practical and comfy, yet adds plenty of sporty credentials that make it a bundle of fun.

A multitude of driving options, more involved transmission modes and synthetic engine noises combine with hot hatch-levels of thrust and a well-sorted ride. It’s almost as much fun as Cupra’s VZ offerings, but can be sensible when it needs to be.

Kia EV4 GT technical specifications