- The Kia EV4 hatchback was spotted while testing around the Nurburgring Norschleife.
- Kia will offer the EV4 with both hatchback and sedan body styles.
- This video gives us our best look yet at the EV4.
Even though future owners of the Kia EV4 will never take their car to the track, the manufacturer is making sure the model can still hold its own on a circuit. One EV4 hatchback prototype was recently spotted doing laps of the Nurburgring Nordschleife, and even though it looked a little out of its element with its skinny tires and pronounced body roll, we’re happy to see it’s being tested here.
Even though James May famously said that testing a car on the Nurburgring ruins it, referring to the fact that it will end up having too stiff a suspension setup. We can see in this video from CarSpyMedia that it’s not the case with the EV4, whose suspension looks to be on the soft side, primarily designed to provide comfort.
Kia tests all its EVs on the Nurburgring, even its largest offering, the EV9, which is getting a hot GT variant. There will also be an EV4 GT, but since it’s based on the more affordable front-wheel drive and 400-volt version of the e-GMP platform, it will not offer the same level of performance as the larger EV6 GT and EV9 GT.
Kia really wants to broaden the EV4’s appeal by offering two body styles. The EV4 hatch like the one in the video will likely serve as the de facto replacement for the electric Niro, but it’s the sedan variant with its unusual rear end that will likely get the most attention. It retains a lot of the design of the Concept EV4 that previewed it, which caused quite a stir when it was revealed.
Looking at the camouflaged hatchback prototype in the video, its rear end appears much more traditional, although psychedelic camo like this does a great job of hiding details, so there may still be some surprises lurking underneath. This prototype also gives us the best look yet at the EV4’s front end, which appears to retain a lot of the concept’s design, right down to the pattern of the air intake in the lower part of the bumper.
The headlights also have the same shape, with two stacked beams on each side and vertical LED daytime running lights that should give the EV4 quite a dramatic and futuristic face.
The EV4 will sit between the smaller EV3 and the larger EV5, both of which have more traditional SUV bodies but are still underpinned by the same 400-volt e-GMP lite platform. The base version’s battery will likely be the same as in the EV3, which has 58.3 kilowatt-hours, while the larger optional pack has 81.4 kWh, which can charge at 102 kW and 128 kW, respectively.
Kia probably won’t unveil both EV4 body styles simultaneously, and since the preview concept was a sedan, we expect it to be the first to arrive early next year. Both will be likely shown sometime in 2025.
