2026 Kia EV4 first look: Affordable style redefines compact EVs at the NY Auto Show

USA Today

25-04-2025

2026 Kia EV4 first look: Affordable style redefines compact EVs at the NY Auto Show
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New York International Auto Show celebrates its 125th anniversary
The New York International Auto Show is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. "The New York Auto Show really got things started for the auto industry back in 1900 at the old Madison Square Garden," said Show president Mark Schienberg.
The regulatory climate surrounding EVs might be in flux, but Kia is pressing forward with an aggressive expansion of its electric vehicle offerings regardless. And why not? Kia doesn't seem to need government help building appealing EVs such as the big new EV9 three-row SUV, sporty EV6 crossover or forthcoming EV5 compact SUV. Next to be flushed down the product pipeline — er, zapped across the wire? The super affordable (and small) EV3 SUV, though it might not make it stateside, and these, the all-new 2026 EV4 sedan and hatchback models.
The EV4 made its official debut at what Kia is calling its "2025 EV Day," an EV-focused event in Spain, with the U.S.-spec version landing at the 2025 New York auto show. And while we were also shown the EV4 hatchback, we'll pop your balloon up front: Only the sedan is coming here in early 2026 . The bigger news, however, is the expected price: Kia suggests the EV4 sedan will cost about $37,000 bucks when it lands stateside — and it made no carve-out for the $7,500 EV tax credit in that price, which we're taking to mean $37,000 will be the MSRP. Any government incentives would just be gravy on top, if they're still around in a year, of course...
Trust us, it's mostly conventional
In case you're staggered by the EV4's wild, concept-car looks, allow us to ground you somewhat with its (actual) size. The EV4 is a compact car, though it's notably smaller than the Ioniq 6 electric sedan built by Kia's corporate cousin, Hyundai, measuring a few inches shorter in length, about an inch narrower, and half an inch shorter in height, with a significant 5.1-inches-shorter wheelbase. This does not mean the EV4 is "small," though — it simply places it in line with conventional compact cars you're familiar with, namely the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, as well as Kia's own gas-fed K4.
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Another differentiator? The EV4 is front-wheel drive, with a single front-mounted motor spinning out 150 kW of power (that's 201 hp); the Ioniq 6 is offered in both single- and dual-motor (all-wheel drive) configurations, but the two-wheel-drive version has its more powerful (225 hp) motor mounted arrears, driving the rear wheels. Other than their arrangement beneath the EV4's bodywork, the primary electric components — drive motor, battery, etc. — are shared with other E-GMP platform cars, including the Ioniq 6, Kia's own EV6 and EV9 and others.
In America, the EV4 will come in three trim levels to start: EV4 Light, EV4 Wind and EV4 GT-Line. The Light model comes with the smaller of the EV4's two battery options, a 58.3-kWh unit good for a claimed 235 miles of range.
The larger 81.4-kWh unit comes with the EV4 Wind and EV4 GT-Line models. Range estimates for the GT-Line (which also rides on larger 19-inch wheels than the Light or Wind, both of which use more modest 17-inchers) are TBD, for now, but Kia says the Wind, with its large battery and normal-sized wheels, should deliver 330 miles of range, best of the EV4 bunch.
With either battery, the EV4 utilizes a 400-volt setup, a step down from the Ioniq 6's 800-volt architecture; this impacts charging times, if only slightly. The EV4 Light can be DC fast-charged from 10 to 80 percent in 29 minutes, while the big-battery Wind and GT-Line need 31 minutes. Equivalent Ioniq 6s can do the same deed in as little as 18 minutes. Interestingly, the EV4 Light's battery pack is smaller than the equivalent Ioniq 6's, while its bigger pack is larger, though the Ioniq 6 still beats the EV4 either way — small-battery 6s are good for 240 miles on the low end while big-battery models net 361 on the high end.
But that stuff's boring — look at it!
When the EV4 goes on sale next year, unless another automaker debuts a wilder-looking compact car, the EV4 will be the show-stealer in its segment. It even makes the Hyundai Ioniq 6, itself a vaguely Porsche-esque design with lots of crazy aerodynamic add-ons and wings — recently jazzed up for 2026, too — look normal. A Tesla Model 3 will fast become automotive wallpaper. After first seeing the EV4 in photos, we thought it seemed interesting, if a little awkwardly detailed. In person, the EV4 tries stealing the glances of everyone nearby with its angularity, snub-nose posture, and wide-set vertical LED lighting. We bet Cadillac designers are eating their hearts out right now — that's how successful the EV4's tall headlights are.
Approach the EV4 from the front, and those LED slashes placed way out at the corners and the stubby, plunging hood make the car seem very wide. Walk around to the sides, and the Kia seems to stretch on and on — a clever visual trick of the tapered rear end, since, again, the EV4 is about the same size as a Civic. There is still a lot going on in the details, with intersecting cut lines, odd mixes of body-color and black-painted elements — especially around the roof — but the effect is more successful here than on Kia's conventionally powered K4 sedan, which is essentially this EV's gas-fed analogue.
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While some might lament the hatchback's exclusion from the U.S. market (for now), we think the sedan wears this styling better. The hatch is over eight inches shorter than the sedan, with all of that chopped from behind its rear wheels. As such, it suffers a severe case of pancake butt, and its T-shaped taillights seem ripped off the newest Chevy SUVs. And the sedan's long booty affords it a roomy boot, er, trunk — while the hatch's stunted length leaves its cargo hold relatively shallow front-to-back, though of course there is more vertical space than in the sedan. Eyeballing the two cargo areas, they seem about the same in size, just with the sedan's laid down and the hatch's standing upright. The hatchback also loses the EV4 sedan's more interesting double-bubble roof spoiler — yes, the four-door has winglets over the rear glass! — and width-emphasizing vertical taillights. Kia also claims the sedan wears the more slippery shape, slick enough for a super low 0.23 drag coefficient.
Clever parts sharing
While in Spain to meet the EV4, Kia let us loose on local roads in the new EV3 — which we previously drove in Korea — giving us a great opportunity to preview the EV4's cabin, as the two models share a lot. The centerpiece is a pair of 12.3-inch digital displays sandwiching a vertical 5-inch screen for climate controls, combined into one unit and perched atop the dashboard. It's the same as the gear installed in the EV3 (and a host of other recent Kia products), and it both looks great and works well (aside from the smaller HVAC screen's visual blockage by the steering wheel rim). But peer closely at the photos of the EV4's cabin here, then check out the EV3's — and you'll notice a lot of the same bits, just arranged on a slightly different canvas of door panels and dashboard components.
Perhaps because all of these pieces look and operate so well, you won't notice or care that they also appear in other Kias. In fact, you'll appreciate the economies of scale they bring to the EV4's price tag, which Kia is claiming will be around $37,000 to start when it goes on sale here in America. With no mention of asterisks like "with the $7,500 EV tax credit included," we're taking that to mean the actual MSRP will be $37,000 and up. That's mega affordable for an EV in this class, with this much style. Hyundai's Ioniq 6 costs a little more, as does Tesla's Model 3 (though it qualifies for the tax credit, for now). We're genuinely excited to drive this EV4, and to see whether Kia eventually adds a second motor to the mix. Hey, it showed off the car in regular and sportier-looking GT-Line trim, though for now that GT-Line gets no extra performance, and we'd love to see the EV6 GT's 576-hp dual-motor arrangement in this smaller, lighter and even wilder-looking EV4.
Photos by MotorTrend