Kia EV4 Earth review: Daring medium sedan shakes things up

The Kia EV4 isn’t exactly a wallflower. The fifth electric vehicle from the Korean brand (and the first that’s not an SUV) cuts an imposing figure from any angle.

A medium sedan in an age where the breed is on life support is certainly a bold move from Kia. But then, everything about the Kia EV4 is daring, not least of all its polarising styling – all angles, flat planes and an unusually long rear overhang.

The EV4 joins a growing list of medium electric sedans in Australia, a segment long headlined by the Tesla Model 3. Mazda recently launched its 6e while the Polestar 4 and BYD Seal 6 bolster a segment long thought to be on its way to extinction. But now, the Kia EV4 is the latest green shoot in the once-dominant medium sedan field.

Three variants make up the range, priced from $49,990 for the entry-level Air to $64,690 for the bells-and-whistles EV4 GT-Line.

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But it’s the mid-spec Earth on test here that is arguably the sweet spot in the range. Its sticker price of $59,190 before on-road costs plonks the Earth in the middle of the fight, more affordable than similarly specced Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 4, but more expensive than Mazda 6e and BYD Seal, all of them, arguably, more conventionally attractive.

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the saying goes. It’s what’s underneath that counts, right? And it’s under its angled skin where the EV4 brings its conventional electric car A-game.

Built on the brand’s E-GMP platform, the EV4 Earth packages an 81.4kWh nickel-cobalt-manganese (NMC) battery with a single 150kW/283Nm electric motor driving the front wheels.

Driving range is a claimed 612km, which is more than handy, although a maximum DC charge rate of 135kW and 31 minutes for a 10-80 per cent top-up feels a step behind.

The EV4 Earth’s list of standard kit is healthy, with a few notable omissions. Highlights run to 19-inch alloy wheels, heated front seats, striking cloth and faux-leather seat trim, the now obligatory array of screens and phone-mirroring options, dual-zone climate control, inbuilt sat-nav and a comprehensive suite of advanced driver assist and safety technologies.

Inside, the Earth’s cabin is in stark contrast to its bulbous body. It is, in a word, sensational, and especially in this mid-spec trim.

The light-grey synthetic leather seats contrasted by dark fabric inserts and lime green accents look stunning and lend the cabin a light and airy ambience.

Only the driver’s seat is power-adjustable which seems like penny-pinching in a car costing almost $63,000 on the road. But the seating position is good, and the seat itself is comfortable, nicely supportive and cushioned for longer drives.

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Kia’s single wide-frame screen dominates the beautifully cloth-trimmed dashboard. It hosts the EV4’s infotainment system, a separate – small – panel for climate controls, and the digital driver display.

Kia’s tech setup is a good one, easy to navigate and responsive to inputs. I’d love a bit more configurability for the driver display and the small section of the screen reserved for climate controls is partially obscured by the steering wheel, not ideal for adjusting on the move. But points to Kia for a small array of shortcut buttons (and a volume scroller) on the dash giving easy access to the most commonly used functions.

Second-row comfort is excellent, with a nice amount of room down low for feet, knees and legs. Headroom can be a bit tight for taller occupants, a combination of the high set of the back seats and the EV4’s sloping roofline. But visibility is good and the overall ambience remains breezy thanks, again, to the lovely two-tone interior trim.

Boot space is generous at 490L with a low load lip providing easy access. There’s space under the floor for charging cables but you get a tyre inflation kit instead of a spare wheel. There’s no extra under-bonnet storage, owing to the EV4’s lone electric motor living up front and driving the front wheels.

And it’s in the driving where the EV4 deserves high praise. This isn’t an electric car that accelerates away at warp speed. Instead, acceleration is spritely without being breathtaking. A 0-100km/h claim of 7.8 seconds isn’t especially quick, but it’s enough to ensure the electric sedan easily keeps up with the flow of traffic. Arguably, it’s how it moves from 0-60km/h that’s more important, and here the EV4 is no slouch, moving away briskly from standstill before settling into an easy lope.

The star of the EV4 show is unquestionably its excellent ride and handling package. Kia’s local suspension tuning division, led by Graeme Gambold, has done a remarkable job in fettling the chassis for our conditions. Ride comfort is excellent, the 1912kg sedan gliding over everyday road detritus with composure and grace.

Kia’s tinkering has resulted in a chassis that absorbs bumps and lumps with alacrity while remaining nicely composed during cornering.

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The steering is accurate, if a little on the light side. Some heft can be added by selecting Sport (one of four drive modes available, plus an individual setting) which also brings more urgency from the throttle, giving the EV4 a sportier mien than it says on the spec sheet. The brakes do a good job of retarding speed with no discernible transition between regenerative and friction braking. There are several levels of regeneration, including single-pedal driving, that harvest the energy from braking to pump back into the battery.

The EV4’s safety systems are well-calibrated with no overly eager intrusions. The over-speed warning can chime away a little too eagerly, but it can be silenced with a long press on the steering-wheel-mounted volume dial. If only other carmakers would follow Kia’s lead.

The EV4 Earth is frugal too. Kia claims the mid-sizer will use its electrons at a rate of 14.9kWh/100km. After a week tackling everyday driving scenarios from peak-hour traffic to weekend urban driving and a decent stint on the motorway at 110km/h, we returned an indicated 13.4kWh, giving credibility to the Kia’s 612km driving range claim. It’s not often we get to say that.

So there’s plenty to like about the Earth. Sure, its design won’t be to everyone’s taste, and for many buyers how a car looks is just as important as how it drives. But get past its angular profile, the EV4 makes a decent fist of being a mid-sized electric car without trying to rewrite the rulebook.

Not especially fast, nor slow, the EV4 trades the breakneck acceleration of headline-grabbing electric cars for things that really matter – composed road manners and a real-world driving range that does, at least from our testing, what it says it will.

And it’s the mid-spec Earth variant here that’s our pick of the three-model line-up, its genuine 600km-plus of driving range married to a well-resolved chassis and an interior that feels properly special. It’s a welcome addition to the slowly swelling ranks of medium electric sedans in Australia.

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Specs

This story first appeared in the October 2026 issue of Wheels magazine, now on sale. Subscribe here and gain access to 12 issues for $109 plus online access to every Wheels issue since 1953.