We have had small electric hot hatchbacks such as the Alpine A290 and large ones like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, but as yet, not a lot in the real heartland of Volkswagen Golf GTI-sized machinery. To be fair, the lack of traditional family-sized electric hot hatches has been due to a near total absence of donor cars. Almost all five-door, five-seat, circa 14-foot-long EVs have been homogenized crossovers, in part because of the need to accommodate the depth of a battery pack. A few years down the line, it's an excuse that is starting to wear a bit thin.
But then the Kia EV4 arrived, as arguably the first electric family hatch in the traditional mold. And now Kia has decided to turn it into the first Golf GTI-sized electric hot hatch as well. The Cupra Born, Volkswagen ID 3, and MG 4 are the closest conceptual rivals, but none dip under the 59-inch mark in terms of height (not even the 'little' Alpine), as the EV4 GT does. It feels like a bit of a watershed moment for the performance EV.
View Price on AmazonSo what exactly is an EV4 GT? Mechanically, it is near-identical to the new EV3 GT crossover, and is one third of a GT-badged offensive that Kia is launching in 2026 (the third car being the larger EV5 GT). Why so many new GT models all of a sudden? Kia R&D chief Manfred Harrer some time ago accepted the notion that the dynamic enjoyment of the company's cars hadn't kept pace with the recent improvements in design and desirability. He told us the GT models would be his starting point in trying to address that, and that is now happening, with the EV4 GT being perhaps the most convincing of the gaggle.
Its dynamic make-up is more Golf R than Golf GTI, not just owing to the technical fact that it has four-wheel drive (thanks to an additional 127 horsepower motor for the rear axle) rather than front-wheel drive (the 261 horsepower motor from the standard EV4 remains at the front) but also in how it goes down the road. The suspension makeover, comprising new springs and new valving for the three-mode dampers, versus the standard EV4 feels particularly significant: the 390 horsepower EV4 GT does a Golf R impression in offering commendable comfort and compliance alongside plenty of grip and stability when being pushed, although its limits reserves of body control, outright grip, and general poise are ultimately lower than the famous German car's.
As with the EV3 GT, because of the arrangement of the motors, the balance gives more of a front-drive hot hatch feel than Kia’s hitherto rear-biased more senior GT creations, so the EV4 GT can’t be steered gently on the accelerator in the way that, say, a Cupra Born VZ can. The less powerful rear motor exists mainly to neutralize the cornering balance, not fundamentally alter it for tail-happy antics. There’s no form of diff lock at the front, either, only a torque-vectoring program that uses both physical and regenerative braking to help the car pivot. Traction is not generally a problem, and in Korea, there was no sign of axle-tramp or torque-steer, but trail the EV3 GT into a tight bend and the attempt at a swift exit can scruffily expose the limitations of the torque-vectoring system.
That all being said, the EV4 GT’s lower center of gravity really tells in the way it gets that Tron-like snout into corners. It doesn’t steer with genuine alacrity, but it is appreciably crisper than the EV3 GT. The steering is also more resolute in its self-centering and has a gratifying elasticity to the pick-up and motion as you load it up into a bend. With the EV4 GT, there simply seems to be more meat on the bone for people who love driving, rather than simply going fast with plenty of security underwheel.
And it is quick enough, with a 5.6-second 0-60 mph time, although according to the performance data-logger you can view on the central touchscreen, in reality, it can manage closer to five seconds dead.
Source: autocar.co.uk
