It Looks Like The Kia EV4 Is Almost Ready, But Where Is It Going?

CarBuzz spy photographers have caught a new electric Kia test mule on camera, and it appears that this may be the EV4 that the South Korean automaker teased back in 2021.

We cannot say for sure because, since that teaser, almost nothing more has been revealed. We also cannot say if this new offering will make its way to American dealers. Still, the signs are positive, as a report from two years ago claimed that the EV4 would be underpinned by Hyundai's E-GMP platform, which has already been homologated for use in our market in cars like the Kia EV6.

The EV4 has been touted as a rival to the likes of the Mercedes EQA and the BMW iX1. Neither of these is sold here, so either the EV4 would enter the US with little more competition than the Volvo C40 Recharge, or it will not arrive at all.

Either way, the design cues that are evident under the extensive camouflage suggest that it will look like a downscaled version of the Kia EV5, itself a mild reinterpretation of the EV9's body shape. The former was revealed in concept form earlier this year and is expected to be sold in the US, although Kia would not confirm this to us at the time.

Some reports say this car will be the size of a Kia Soul, while others say it'd be a little bigger, like the Sportage.

An electric vehicle the size of the Kia Soul could be very popular here, but we already have an EV version of that, albeit with only 110 miles of range. The 2020 model was supposed to more than double that, but it never arrived.

With the options of 58-kilowatt-hour and 77.4 kWh battery packs, EV4 driving range should be in the region of 300 miles. If dual-motor powertrains are offered, it could produce as much as 321 horsepower, and 800-volt charging will enable one to recharge the car from 10-80% in around 18 minutes on a 350 kW charger. That being said, it may be more feasible for Kia to equip the EV4 with 400V tech in an effort to reduce costs and simplify the architecture.

We'll just have to wait and see but don't expect to learn anything concrete before the end of the year.