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
How is that rear end even legal? The tail lights are on the sides, not the rear.
the shape is just weird as hell, they are on the back just as much as the headlights are on the front, and the angles are just kaleidoscopic.
Great specs, but think how many more sales they would have if the car didn’t look this bad? Try being normal for once Kia.
How ironic. Everyone hated Kia back when they were normal, too…
A 1970’s vibe to that trunk/backend.
Yep. Reminiscent of the Datsun f10 and b210 sedan, neither of which were pleasant to look at then, and they haven’t aged well since.
The styling is unfortunate and that trunk is a crime against humanity.
Otherwise, the specs seem decent and a 240mi range for the standard would be good enough for light road-tripping nowadays.
Very unfortunate design.
Frunk under the snout? Or is it too piggy for that?
In general when an event is sold w/o a frunk or a super tiny frunk it is most probable it is due to packaging constraints caused by a predominantly ice auto manufacturer that is maximizing thier use of their existing supplier based products.
Multiple events only auto makers of course have proven trunks/ ‘froots’ if you prefer are very achievable.
One of my favorite ‘lack of frunk’ has to be MB with the EQS, front of car packaging so bad they dont even want the vehicle owners to know How to open the frunk
I suspect with it being front-wheel-drive, there’s just no room.
Combine this with the not-actually-a-hatch back end, the storage space options SUCK.
Honestly, I would be more inclined to trust Korean EVs rather than ICE cars. They seem to be doing well in that area, Hyundais horrible engines back in the day really killed them for me along with the whole steal the car with a usb thing.
I had an excellent 2007 Elantra experience before newer tech, but I distrust any of their recent 4-cylinder motors now
Yeah they had nasty oil consumption issues. That alone, makes me nervous.
funny, my parents had a disastrous 2007 Elantra. it started falling apart within 2 years, I got rid of that for them as soon as I could.
Perhaps. Hoping their electrical/electronic industries can carry forth and influence their automotive sector with some good reliability.
You have forgotten about their faulty Integrated Charging Control Unit, which like their engine disaster can require months of waiting for a replacement.
At least on the 800v versions the battery controllers ICCU are failing at an appalling rate. I hope they get that resolved as I wouldn’t mind a EV from them at somepoint.
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.
Yeah, the Ionic 6 is just odd looking in a French sort of way. This is just fugly…
This one is also inspired by French design. Unfortunately the inspiration was the Avantime.
The Avantime is a great car. Maybe not conventionally beautiful. It is more like an SZ I guess.
I also don’t dislike this.
Damn.
I will not stand for Avantime slander. It’s a great design and they must all be preserved.
I actually don’t mind the I6 at all, especially in it’s N configuration. I know folks like to dump on the design but to me it’s just fine.
I don’t dislike it, I just find it a bit odd looking in a classic Citroen or Peugeot kind of way and there’s nothing wrong with that. None of them are ugly, just different in oddly specific ways.
In the case of the EV4, I’m not sure exactly what they were going for there but I’m pretty sure they didn’t pull it off…
What’s not to love about having three asses and shoulder pads on your hips and a cowcatcher chin?
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.
Also, I would add that this discussion highlights my concern about EVs. After reading this I am still not sure if this car can go 250 miles or 350 miles under ideal conditions. I have absolutely no idea what to expect from this vehicle at 70 mph in 40 degree weather. That is a big problem.
$51K in Loonies is $37,440 Freedom bucks, which is way under the $50k Average Transaction Price for new cars in the US.
It is still a hell of a lot more expensive than a Corolla hybrid.
Yes it is.
But just imagine the high resale-trade in value will be worth it….
/s
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.
Styling is what initially sells cars, not the specs. They missed an opportunity here for maximum sales by letting someone on acid draw the car.
Styling is what initially sells cars, not the specs.
I couldn’t disagree more. Most EV ads have three elements:
If styling sold cars, EV ads would focus more on the car and less on tech features, youthful hipsters doing youthful hipster activities, and dubious claims about range and charging time.
This car might have been styled by a dude on a bad trip, but it has CarPlay and dubious claims about range and charging time so it’ll be fine.
Its like if the person that has been designing all these weirdo EV door handles was allowed to design the whole car.
Right here is the reason not to do drugs kids.
Makes finger gun and shouts “pew pew…pew!”
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.
There’s original, and daring, and creative, and artistic, and then there’s stupid. This is the latter.
You should take your own advice on the matter. This thing is ugly, as noted by a growing number of posts.
After all these years I still can spell “Youabian Puma” without Googling. It’s distinctive, alright.
I also don’t get the hate I’m seeing here. It’s weird without being too “cyberoque” and angry like the 4th gen prius
I don’t dislike it. Maybe it is not traditionally beautiful like an Alfa Romeo 159, but it is indeed distinctive.
Well done Kia.
there is absolutely a way to do that and not be ugly, KIA has literally done that before (and they looked great!) but this is just all over the place in a bad way.
“Sometimes bad is bad.” – Huey Lewis
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.
A traditional hatch shape would certainly solve a lot of the visual weirdness that this thing has going on, in addition to the obvious added utility. I don’t understand why this doesn’t look like a smaller EV6.
Sounds nice but I can’t see any reason for a BEV on a dedicated platform to be FWD.
It makes packaging easier. People transitioning from ICE vehicles are used to FWD for the most part so less adjustment needed. RWD and rear biased AWD do handle slightly differently.
RWD vehicles handle better – full stop. They also have a clear advantage in not losing steering with tire spin.
ICE vehicles moved to FWD to save weight and eliminate the drive tunnel taking up passenger space. These are not an issue for BEV.
FWD still has some packaging advantages even with EV architecture, and apparently better regen performance.
Better regen yes. The tradeoff is poor winter traction because unlike ICE FWD vehicles most BEVs have near 50 / 50 axle weights.
That leads to backing up hills, even with snow tires.
Yep. IIRC the power electronics can be stacked on top of the motor rather than broken up into modules that need more heavy/expensive cables to transmit power. Chasing the lowest CoG wouldn’t choose this approach but penny pinching for cheap cars could have some benefits.
IDK. BEVs should be FWD or AWD imo.
I agree, it’s a huge frustration with some of these EVs. Particularly when they start out RWD and revert back to FWD (The early VW Id. cars were RWD and the new Polo will be FWD).
Give us the proper driving dynamics now that it comes with almost no compromises.
I regret having only one upvote to give.
The EV6 is RWD; she’s a bigger girl than the EV4 for sure but I’m 100% certain she’d be more fun to hustle down a winding road.
Both have the battery-skateboard low center-of-gravity but I bet the EV4’s weight-distribution is considerably more front-biased because *everything* is up-front.
I would have thought that almost all Autopians would rate the driveability and entertainment of RWD above “packaging” and “snow-compatibility”, but even in this thread we see disagreement. FWIW, I think Polestar did the right thing flipping the 2 from FWD to RWD
The ID.Polo is too small to waste its limited rear interior space (rear sest positioning, on making it RWD instead of keeping it FWD where all the components are out of the way of anything and people are used to it. Larger vehicles like crossovers tend to have excess underfloor space which makes FWD vs RWD trivial, but smaller and lower vehicles can still be compromised by RWD.
In a smaller car like this EV4, putting the motor and power electronics in the rear would either compromise rear seat positioning (bad for critical aero) and/or eat into the already small trunk space. Better to put it all under the hood where it isn’t in the way of anything and is easier to service.
The EV4 is about the size of a Model 3
It has the same rear headroom but less front headroom despite being almost 2 inches taller.
It’s certainly a bit of an oddball but the packaging and range sure seem impressive
What an awkwardly styled vehicle.
It’s awkward but in an endearing way(?) I actually kind of like that mess of an ass, at least fender benders won’t damage the taillights.
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.
Rodius is still a bit worse IMO. But, this seems to have nailed the design brief of “take the ugliest generation of Prius and make it a full EV.”
Styling aside, the actual experience of using the car sounds all right.
It’s just that there’s some genuine issue with corean designers and car rears. It keeps reappearing since the early 2000s – it will get suppressed, then flare like pimples. And it will look like actually good looking cars annoy them, because they’ll always flare up the epidemy of ugliness after a series of good looking ones. And there’s no transition.
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?
Yes. We share many standards, from crash testing to emissions to fuel economy ratings. More specifically, Canada uses California emissions requirements.
Thank you, thought so but appreciate the confirmation.
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
Oohhh noooooooo nope no.
Yes, but that’s a trim insert piece; those aren’t usually painted. My CX-30 has gloss black pillar treatments which are not painted but are gloss acrylic (and do not suffer those effects). They are swirl magnets though!
That piece isn’t a fender or bumper piece (which are the pieces in question on a K4) and I would expect fender / bumper pieces to be painted and clearcoated just like if they were color keyed or it was a completely black car.
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.
You know that feeling you have when you are leaving your car in a parking lot, but can’t help but turn around and admire it as you walk away?
I suppose this car would induce the opposite of that.
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.
I kind of can’t wait to see one in person. It’s rare that modern “normal” cars inspire much reaction from me, good or bad, but this will certainly inspire one.