Is Kia's Electric Oddball EV4 the Future or Just Plain Weird?
Kia has finally unveiled their latest electric contraption, the EV4, and it's… well, yes. Not often, I'm stuck for words, but this time, I struggled a bit when I first saw it. Thankfully, Kia is releasing two different body styles - a sleek hatchback and a rather unfortunate-looking sedan. One's a beauty, the other... let's just say it has a face only its mother could love. Actually - it's not its face that's the problem. But at least they're giving us options, right? When it comes to choosing between a supermodel and a character actor, I know which one I'd go for.
Kia's being all coy about the nitty-gritty details, like horsepower, battery size, and how much this electric dream (or nightmare, depending on which version you're looking at) will set you back. They're saving that juicy stuff for some fancy EV Day shindig in Spain later this month.
Image Credit: Kia.
As much as I would rather ignore it, my job description says clearly what I'm supposed to do - so let's talk about the looks. The front end of both the sedan and hatchback versions sports these vertically stacked headlights and daytime running lights that stretch up the nose like a pair of eager beavers. A blacked-out grille completes the picture, giving the EV4 a sharp, futuristic vibe. So far, so good.
Then, you get to the side profile of the sedan. And, oh boy, where do I even begin? It's like Kia's designers raided the archives of automotive history and decided to Frankenstein together the most… "interesting" design cues. They call it a "long tail," which is a fancy way of saying the rear window slopes down like a ski jump, and the back end sticks out like it's trying to make a break for the border. Add a glass roof and some thick black pillars, and you've got a car that looks like it's trying to be a supercar, but ended up looking more like a… well, unique. It's not really the word I'm looking for, but for the sake of keeping this article polite, it'll have to do.
Image Credit: Kia.
The hatchback, on the other hand, is a different story altogether. It ditches the "long tail" nonsense for a more conventional, and rather attractive design. It's got a different pillar design, a smaller, more upright rear window, and a rooftop spoiler that adds a touch of sportiness. It's the sensible sibling, the one you'd actually want to take home to meet your parents.
Both versions will be available in a GT-Line trim, which adds some aggressive styling touches like unique 19-inch wheels and redesigned bumpers. It'll be the sporty spice version, for those who want to pretend they're not driving an electric car designed by a committee.
Kia hasn't shown us the inside yet, but it's a safe bet it'll follow the brand's current EV design language. Expect a widescreen panel housing both the infotainment system and the digital gauge cluster, since screens are the future. Or something.
Kia's bigwigs are waxing lyrical about how the EV4 is a "reflection of their commitment to rethink mobility" and "expand the boundaries of what design can achieve." Which is PR speak for "We threw a bunch of ideas at the wall, and this is what stuck." They're also saying the sedan and hatchback versions cater to different lifestyles. Which is code for "We made two versions, one for people who like weird cars and one for people who don't."
Oh boy. The Kia EV4. It's electric, it's… different, and it's coming soon. Is it a stroke of genius or a design disaster? That probably depends on how bad your eyesight is. What is unquestionable is that the EV4 definitely will turn heads. Whether those heads are turning in admiration or confusion is another question entirely.
