Overview
I DON’T wear flared trousers anymore for a lot of good reasons, including I’d be laughed off the train and pointed at by fellow shoppers at my weekly Coles visitation.
They were once a fashion statement (the trousers, not Coles) but that was then. Like sedan cars – you know, with four doors, a truncated boot and low silhouette with the lower the better because it was sportier -apparently.
For the past two decades, SUVs are imprinted on our minds as the image of a modern vehicle and sedans drifted into near obscurity on a path trodden by flared trousers.
Other than style, there’s no real reason for the diminished popularity of the sedan. Unless you specifically want seven seats, most sedans have as much cabin and cargo space as an SUV.
Subjectively, sedans are more attractive (and they don’t all look the same) while objectively, they handle better and often are more fuel efficient.
Fortunately there remains a market for sedans and OEMs who pledge loyalty into the EV age include Tesla with its Model 3, BYD Seal, Kia EV4, Polestar 2, IM5, Hyundai Ioniq 6, and upcoming Mazda 6e.
The new Kia EV4 is available in three grades – Air, Earth and GT-Line – priced from $49,990 (+ORC) to $64,690 (+ ORC) and the dollar signs follow the slide up the list of equipment.
As tested in its GT-Line version, it gets a carload of features and costs $64,690 (+ ORC) which is, incidentally, on par with Kia’s own electric SUV, the EV5 Earth at $64,770 plus costs.
The GT-Line gets all the fun bits, including sunroof, a more comprehensive list of safety equipment, the eight-speaker Harman Kardon audio (the mid-spec Earth gets six speaker sound), heads-up display, heated and vented front seats with electric adjustment for both, and 19-inch alloys.
The upholstery is faux leather and looks good, especially with the ‘GT-Line’ tagging.
It scores a five-star crash rating with a strong 84 per cent recorded for adult occupant protection and 86 per cent for child protection.
The safety inventory is comprehensive and includes: AEB with active collision avoidance systems, pedestrian detection, lane keeping and lane following assistance, intersection monitoring and avoidance, and with the GT-Line adding surround view, blind spot view, intelligent front lighting and reverse parking collision avoidance.
Kia has a seven-year or unlimited distance warranty with roadside assistance available free in the first year and up to eight years if the car is returned to a Kia dealer for servicing.
Unlike the ICE and hybrid models, Kia doesn’t have a capped-price service program for its EVs. Instead, it has pre-paid service plans in three, five or seven year terms.
These cost, respectively, $688, $1308 and $1929. Owners have 11 months from purchase date to select one of these. The service plan is transferable to the car’s next owner.
The great thing about the EV4 however, is that it bundles all the tech of its electric SUVs along with definitive styling, low profile sporty shape and the promise of sharp handling but doesn’t look like everything else on the road.
Driving impressions
Kia has taken styling cues from its EV range and applied it over a sedan body, presenting a true family of vehicles but in doing so, makes onlookers question one of the parents of the EV4.
It’s not that it’s ugly, just distinctive. Much of the drama is happening around its rear three-quarter view where it just looks a bit awkwardly stretched. But it’s a shape that grows on you.
The sedan silhouette is typically long and low and that often brings complaints – in older people – about the lack of ease entering and exiting the low seats. This is not the case in the EV4.
The seats are well placed and the door opening wide enough and close enough to make it easy to get in and out.
Typical of the EV trend, the cabin is very well styled, open and airy, clean and bright. The Kia’s dashboard is one of the best on the market with manual switches for the high-use functions (ventilation, for example) and in-screen for lesser functions.
Specifically, the placement of the car locking and seat accessory controls – seat heating, ventilating and steering heating – are on the door card right beneath the side mirror placement so it’s easy to access.
The wide driver’s 12.3-inch information screen and its abutment to the central 12.3-inch (yes, 24.6-inch in total) touchscreen reinforces the streamlined design and produces a really simple and clear panel of information.
The Hyundai-Kia start button is on the right-side stalk, the same one that has the gear selection. Again, simple and easy and one that clears the centre console of the gear shifter.
Acceleration is brisk, quiet and unfussed and although the serenity is enjoyable, any theatre that we may have once enjoyed is gone. Then again, there’s always the eight-speaker Harman-Kardon audio. Get into that and you can quickly forget any buzz from an ICE.
No gears, light steering, no noise and a compliant suspension can lull occupants into lethargy but in reality, it’s the only way to endure the freeway on the way to work and survive the journey home.
The EV4 is always quiet and quick, more than sufficient for traffic – and a run through the hills – which can supersede an urge to opt for a dual-motor rival.
The EV4 is a single motor rated at 150kW and 283Nm, driving the front wheels, which is more than adequate for hauling four people.
It uses an 81.4kW/h lithium-ion nickel-cobalt-manganese (NCM) battery (unlike the EV5’s LFP ‘blade’ battery shared with some BYD models) which is good for an excellent 604km range.
This 81.4kW/h battery is not available in the entry level Air version of the EV4, which gets a 58.3kW/h unit for a claimed 456km range.
Tested in city and country, the EV4 recorded an average of 13.8kWh/100km. Kia says the EV4 GT-Line will charge to 80 per cent in 79 minutes (150kW charger) or 31 minutes (350kW charger) or a bit over seven hours when you plug it in at home.
The EV4 stands 1480mm high which is a bit taller than the Hyundai i30 sedan – with which it shares some dimensions – at 1420mm.
Clearly, the EV4 is no SUV and this aids its sure-footedness through winding roads. In fact, aside from its extra weight (1912kg compared with the 1334kg of the mid-range i30 2.0-litre auto) the EV4 will hold the road almost as confidently as the Hyundai sedan.
Kia has really spent time on the EV4’s suspension, tuning it for Australian road conditions but also honing it to suit the more aggressive style of driving seen in Australia. Apparently, we like to drive and want a car that rewards that desire.
The efforts of Kia’s engineer Graeme Gambold work a treat. He said that the bones were there – sedan design with a low centre of gravity and accentuated by the low placement of the 475kg battery – before he started. He just made it all better.
Steering action is precise, easily controlled, with great balance through the bends and a sense that it will hang like a limpet through the bends. All this while the ride comfort remains pliant and stable and without any scary suspension noises.
It really is a great option to the (now) traditional SUV. The boot is a reasonable 490 litres (bigger than many SUVs) with the only grizzle is that it is accessible through a rather small access point.
Inside, it seats five adults (four is better) with a flat floor for plenty of legroom, while upfront the seats are comfy and legroom good, especially for the driver with a wide foot well and broad left-foot rest.
Overall, the EV4 makes a good argument for buying an electric sedan over an SUV.