It’s 2026 and it finally feels like inexpensive EVs are genuinely getting good in North America. The Chevrolet Bolt is back with faster charging, the Nissan Leaf offers 300 miles of range for about $30,000, and the Subaru Uncharted has some serious promise on paper. However, this segment certainly isn’t done yet. While a wave of cancelled incentives and changing emissions strategies has led to several cancellations, Kia is taking a slightly more pragmatic approach of wait-and-see. The Kia EV4 has been delayed, held back until the time is right, but a look north of the border reveals intrigue.
Not only is the Kia EV4 already on sale in Canada, it’s one of the least expensive new EVs you can buy in the Great White North and promises some serious range from its optional big battery pack. So, assuming this indefinite delay for the U.S. market lifts reasonably soon, is the EV4 worth the wait? I spent a week in one to find out.
[Full disclosure: Kia Canada let me borrow this EV4 for a week so long as I kept the shiny side up, returned it reasonably clean with more than 70 percent state-of-charge, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
Battery Pack: 58.3 kWh lithium-ion standard, 81.4 kWh lithium-ion available.
Drive: Single-motor front-wheel-drive.
Output: 201 horsepower, 209 lb.-ft. of torque.
Range: 391 kilometers (243 miles) for the standard-range model, 488 to 552 kilometers (303 to 342 miles) for long-range models.
Charging: 125 kW DC fast charging, NACS port.
Base Price: $41,145 Canadian including freight.
Price As-Tested: $54,395 Canadian including freight and premium color charge.
Why Does It Exist?
Despite the current dominance of the crossover utility vehicle, there are still drivers from Busan to Berlin who buy sedans for their efficiency, reasonable cost of entry, or even just how they sit on the road. When you’re building an EV lineup, it makes a whole lot of sense to include one sedan and that’s exactly what Kia’s done with the EV4.
How Does It Look?
In a word, weird. From the droop-snoot front to the Bonneville SSEi-reloaded wheels to the bluff rear end, the EV4 simultaneously looks like a Kia and looks like nothing else on the road. Is it a good kind of weird? I’m still not sure yet. The mail-slot trunk opening is a bit of a pain and there’s just so much visually going on, but I reckon the end result is bonkers. We need more bonkers, it makes life more interesting.
What About The Interior?
Slide behind the wheel of the Kia EV4 and it’s laid out a lot like the K4 combustion-powered compact sedan, only a bit nicer. There are plenty of soft-touch materials, a volume scroll wheel, rocker switches for key climate functions, and a big screen setup with top-level secondary climate controls sandwiched between the instrument cluster and infotainment. It’s normal 2026 car stuff, except EV packaging pays some huge dividends.
While some cars have a center console only big enough to store a pair of cups, a phone, and a box of Tic Tacs, the EV4 offers almost an overabundance of multi-tier storage. We’re talking a huge wireless charging pad with a bump so your phone stays flat on the charger, Kia’s signature rotate-out cup holders, a tray behind that large enough for a big takeaway box, and a few storage compartments above that. The lower portion of the console sits properly low too, so you can manspread to the max when you’re stuck in traffic. Really the only downsides over the front seat in a regular car are capacitive touch keys for infotainment shortcuts instead of physical buttons, and a tilt-and-telescoping steering column that could telescope out more.
Come to think of it, the EV4 would also make a pretty sweet Uber ride. Although rear passenger foot space underneath the front seats is tight, legroom is anything but compact. We’re talking roughly two-tenths of an inch more rear legroom than a Toyota Camry, 38.2 inches in total. Every seat in the house is properly comfy too, with the right sort of balance between supporting decrepit backs and granddad’s armchair-plushness.
How Does It Drive?
Contrary to popular belief, not all modern EVs are capable of homogenizing your spleen during a zero-to-60 mph run. The EV4’s single motor pumps out just 201 horsepower and 209 lb.-ft. of torque. That’s less power than a new Toyota Camry Hybrid, and you know what? It’s fine. Abundant, even. Mashing the skinny pedal produces little twinges of torque steer drama, much more torque and you could really light up the fronts. If you’re coming from something like a Tesla Model 3, you might find the pace of the EV4 underwhelming, but the general response is far more immediate than in a combustion-powered normal sedan.
As for ride and handling, lest I remind you that we’re looking at a softly sprung sedan that in its top single-motor trim, carries a maximum curb weight of 1,906 kilograms, or 4,202 pounds. Sure, the low center of mass means it can take a corner competently, but the EV4 is really a cruiser. It soaks up potholes and frost heaves with beautiful damping, the generally uncommunicative steering finds a solid heading on the highway, and this compact sedan makes life on the road feel remarkably easy.
Speaking of being on the road, let’s talk real-world range. This GT-Line Premium model is rated at 488 kilometers or 303 miles of range, but I saw around 539 kilometers or 334 miles of range during a somewhat brisk Spring week. On winter tires. With the climate control set comfortably and the stereo blaring and the sunroof frequently open. Beyond putting the EV4 in Eco mode, I didn’t even try and it still blew the rated figure out of the water. Sure, 125 kW DC fast charging will be a limitation on a road trip, but the sheer range might actually be a fair trade.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
Every single EV4 gets wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but the real fun starts once you load it up. I’m talking a big moonroof, heated and ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, surround view cameras, ghostride-the-whip mode to squeeze into tight parking spots using the key fob, a full driving assistance suite that works remarkably well, dual-zone climate control, the works.
Speaking of toys, this top-spec EV4 came equipped with a Harman/Kardon sound system with genuinely solid quality for the money. The use of laminated windows to shut out road noise certainly helps, but Kia’s paid for some great digital signal processing here to make the system sound enormous. Sure, it scoops the mids at a neutral equalizer setting, but you can easily pull the bass and treble a touch to compensate.
Three Things To Know About The Kia EV4
- It actually has the interior volume of a midsize car.
- The ride quality’s genuinely excellent.
- Tick the box for the 81.4 kWh battery pack and you’re looking at nearly 350 miles of real-world range in decent weather.
Does The Kia EV4 Fulfill Its Purpose?
You bet it does. Sure, it looks outlandish, but it’s living room-comfy, hugely spacious, has largely normal controls, offers serious range, and strikes the cue ball in the middle when it comes to entry-level EV competence. The one thing we still don’t know is exactly where pricing will fall when it arrives in America. Obviously, directly converting Canadian pricing has some asterisks due to tariffs and whatnot, but the cheapest big battery pack-equipped model stickers for $45,145 Canadian including freight, with converts out to $33,207 in greenbacks. That’s bang-on mid-range Camry money for a properly long-range EV that offers roughly the same interior room as Toyota’s familiar midsizer. Mind you, in Canada, the cheapest long-range EV4 is a few grand more expensive than a Camry SE, so we’ll just have to wait for pricing to settle. Still, the delta’s small enough that the fuel savings should close the gap over a few years of ownership.
So how does it compare to other EVs already on the market? Well, it’s made of nicer stuff than a Nissan Leaf and blows that Japanese entry out of the water when it comes to range, but a traditional trunk is a limitation compared to a practical hatch. At the same time, a base Tesla Model 3 is quicker, more dynamically accomplished, and boasts a DC fast charging advantage, but it isn’t nearly as roomy and rides noticeably firmer. For the average sedan shopper, the EV4 is probably the move.
What’s The Punctum Of The Kia EV4?
It’s a great regular car that happens to be electric.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
This thing makes the Ionic 6 look like a beauty queen. Woof.
That back quarter is especially egregious, more so when i saw that it had a mail slot trunk opening and not a liftback, which would have been far more practical.
This car seems adequate – probably even fine or cromulent. Styling is in the eye of the beholder, as always. I personally wouldn’t give it high marks for style, but it is great if others like it.
I’m a bit surprised at the price, though. Maybe I misread something, but this 51,000 loonie model is the smaller battery version, right? That seems expensive for a medium range EV ($37k in freedom bucks). Does Canada offer incentives like the US used to? If not, I can’t see this thing being a big seller.
I am also curious about the real-world fast charging experience as well as range in hot and cold temperatures. On paper, this thing seems like a reasonable (but expensive) choice, but in my experience charging a non-Tesla EV isn’t always easy and I would like to get a better idea of highway range at various speeds and temperatures.
At this point, the on-paper EV experience is more than adequate for me go EV only, but the delta between real-world performance and on-paper performance can still be fairly extreme in EVs. At least with hybrids/ICE vehicles you can have a good idea of what to expect based on published specs and reviews like this one.
I think the 51K price is the “as tested” price, with the big battery
I think that is the case, but I’m not 100% clear since it doesn’t give the trim level. The pricing seems to be consistent with what Kia Canada shows for a non-base trim one of these, though, and only the base models get the small battery.
Assuming this is a high-spec model with the big battery, 51k CAD probably is a reasonable price. I still wouldn’t call it cheap.
This thing should qualify for some kind of ZEV rebate up here. Maybe not the full $5K based on its country of origin, but close to it.
Its like if the person that has been designing all these weirdo EV door handles was allowed to design the whole car.
Like the Ionic 6, the EV4 sedan trades a practical hatch for better aero and efficiency.
But it would have been nice for KIA to make it a long hatch like the Integra or Tesla Model S.
While this review has a lot of great info, I’d like to see more information given about how easy or hard route planning and Battery preconditioning are for road trips.
because all of that being baked in and easy, is part of why Tesla eats everyone else’s lunch in the EV space.
To the people who say this looks weird or bad, I say STFU. I’m so sick of every vehicle looking like every other vehicle in its class. I miss the days when you could tell who built a vehicle without checking the badges. Kudos to KIA.
Not crazy about the vertical light trend Kia has gone for lately but eh, I can excuse a lot at the price. I presume this is on H/K’s 400V architecture?
yes, it’s 400V not 800V
WHY DO WE NOT GET THE HATCH?!?!?!?!?!?
Yeah, I’m frustrated here, Kia. What the fork are you doing?
This is a promising EV: one hits price ranges in a size that could work for families. But they compromise it for America with the absurdity of the mailslot on the back where Europe gets the proper hatch. WHY?
No car with a trunk is in the running for me. Total dealbreaker.
Sounds nice but I can’t see any reason for a BEV on a dedicated platform to be FWD.
It’s certainly a bit of an oddball but the packaging and range sure seem impressive
What an awkwardly styled vehicle.
One of the few positives I’ll say about Tesla is they had the sense to release the Model S, which was a legitimately handsome car in its day, when every other EV was a bit fugly for novelty’s sake. This led to generally better looking EV options on the market.
Kia has apparently taken that bit of knowledge and said “nah…”
This is Rodius levels of ugliness. Not sure what’s wrong with these designers, they keep bringing back the multistacked butt every change they get.
You’d think the Tasman would teach them something, but nope.
This will not be pictured or described in this article.
It’s so absurd that anyone with practical experience loading large things, like luggage, into the back of a car should have said “no” to.
Is Canadian range calculated the same as EPA ratings?
The interior is handsome, clean and practical.
The exterior… isn’t.
In a word, it’s fugly
Everyone: we hate piano black interiors
Kia: We’ve heard you loud and clear, the piano black is now on the exterior.
I would think part of “The Basics” would be weight. even in kilograms.
In the body of the article: “in its top single-motor trim, carries a maximum curb weight of 1,906 kilograms, or 4,202 pounds”
too bad it looks a mess… come on KIA, you’ve done so much better previously.
That is a genuinely ugly car, like properly terrible to behold.
They put black plastic all over it, but then they took cladding a step further into trash town by making it piano black cladding. Are they brain dead??
Bury it in two feet of snow and all you’ll get is the world’s ugliest white lump.
Is it piano black or is it just painted gloss black? The latter is no less durable than other exterior painted plastic surfaces like fascias and valances on a black car.
I sincerely hope it is painted flat black and clearcoated, because this is what happens to Kia’s “piano black” trim when exposed to the elements.
https://i.imgur.com/GkD2wyE.png
I keep looking for something, anything positive to say about the exterior styling and I just draw a blank. It’s truly gobsmacking.
Pro: When you’re inside it, you can’t see the exterior.
Con: every time you approach it, you’re reminded it’s ugly.
So which way do you spend most of your time with the car?
You just need to practice walking backwards to your car.
I kind of liked it in-person and think it’s a bit better. It is a bit more stub-nosed than I expected it to be, but it’s an EV so doesn’t need to hide an engine in there.
But the rear is really oddly proportioned and really doesn’t do it favors, probably due to the weird choice of bringing over the trunk rather than the hatch version.