00:00most people don't like cars can't drive them and don't really care about the driving experience
00:05they want the cars to be silent and odorless maybe waymo should finally come to europe and
00:13put us out of our misery this is the kia ev4 but if i told you right now it was
00:20a
00:21bmw1 series you'd probably believe it with enough blur in the background the modern shape
00:29and the color similar to portimao blue scream bmw and now things get complicated because in
00:35terms of size performance and price kia's compact ev competes with well which models exactly in this
00:44review i'll try to answer that question and along the way i'll also tell you if the kia ev4 is
00:50worth
00:50considering so let's get cracking on wait do evs crack or do they just buzz
00:59let's buzz along then shall we
01:09hello i'm feeling so good
01:40so
01:42kia k4 which looks almost identical to the ev4 but has a 10 centimeters shorter wheelbase the ev4
01:50has a 282 centimeter wheelbase which is more than the kia optima and here we come to the second body
01:58style the fastback which in a sense is a replacement for the optima but actually it's more of a k4
02:05sedan this gets complicated so let's just focus on the ev4 in the launch presentation kia states the
02:12ev4 is better than the vw id3 cupra born peugeot e308 and the opel astra e and indeed the kia
02:23is
02:24larger than these models and offers a longer range however the presentation conveniently omits compact
02:30evs like the mg4 or the renault omegaan e-tech the ev4 may be larger than these two but they
02:38offer
02:38better range the tesla model 3 was also conspicuously missing and so was the mercedes-benz cla which may
02:47be a premium model but along with tesla is a much more interesting proposition than the ev4 fastback
02:54that doesn't mean that the kia ev4 is a bad car it's simply debuting in a very competitive
03:00market and even kia offers equally interesting models namely the ev3 and the ev6 although the ev4 is
03:10based on the egmp platform designed for electric vehicles i get the impression that its similarity
03:16to the internal combustion engine powered k4 compromised some of its practicality for example
03:22there is no frunk under the bonnet but that's not a problem since the ev4 has 435 liters of boot
03:32space
03:32right right yes but it's an exceptionally poorly thought out 435 liters i mean we have a double floor
03:43and that's a plus above the floor there's about 330 liters and with the floor lowered we are approaching
03:50435 liters but there's still a bit missing that bit is in the recess under the lower floor but that's
03:59where the optional harman kardon audio system component lives and again many car makers do that
04:05but because of that there is no room for an emergency triangle a repair kit or the charging cable in
04:13the ev3
04:13such items could end up in the front but the ev4 doesn't have one so you'll probably have to install
04:21some kind of mounting bracket for example under the front passenger seat there are shopping bag hooks
04:27but they are so low they're not really useful there are also side niches where i've crammed the fire
04:34extinguisher and the emergency triangle for now but that's not ideal kia still insists on proximity tailgate
04:42opening system meaning when i approach the rear of the vehicle with the key in my pocket the tailgate
04:46opens i prefer swinging my foot under the bumper so i always disable proximity entry in hyundai and kia cars
04:58while the ev4's boot is in my opinion underwhelming
05:04there's so much space in the rear seats that you could think kia is trying to challenge the chinese
05:10brands that prioritize rear passenger comfort until now this much space has only been available in skoda
05:17which has always been slightly larger than its volkswagen counterparts in a given segment
05:25i'm 175 centimeters tall and the driver's seat is set to my driving position the driver could still
05:31slide back a lot more however if i were taller my head would start to touch the ceiling but if
05:38you need
05:38more headroom in the back you can choose the ev3 or the ev5 there are small door pockets they are
05:46enough
05:46for my water bottle but they're small there are also pockets in the back rests of the front seats on
05:52the
05:53sides of these seats are also usb-c ports which i think is a good solution because the middle passenger
05:58won't have their feet caught on cables plugged into the bottom of the center console as is the case in
06:03most other cars also the floor in the middle is flat there are air conditioning vents in the rear but
06:10no controls for the rear zone climate control in the two top trim levels the side seats are heated
06:16there are also coat hooks on the backs of the front seats yes these are those humps here there is
06:22also
06:22an armrest with cup holders but the rear seats split 40 60 and there is no access to the boot
06:28behind
06:29the armrest the backrest angle isn't adjustable and the seat belts get in the way when folding and
06:35unfolding the backrest i get the impression that the goal was to maximize the rear seat
06:39width no matter the cost and isofix anchor points are only on the rear outer seats
06:47in the front we get the full-on new kia cockpit design which means the screen runs about two-thirds
06:53of the width of the dashboard and is divided into three sections the driver's display the infotainment
06:59system and between them is a small touch panel for the ac however key climate controls are accessible
07:06also via physical buttons under the central display if car makers must go the tablet route
07:13they should retain as many physical switches as kia before 2020 i considered volkswagen to be the
07:20benchmark in terms of internal ergonomics today kia's my new favorite in this sphere and no other brand
07:26cheaper or more expensive comes even close
07:32which doesn't mean everything is perfect for example the wireless charger under the display
07:36as is the case in almost every key i reviewed in recent years keeps dropping the connection and no
07:43it's not a problem with my protective phone case because because in the toyota land cruiser for example
07:48my phone charges without a problem with or without the case besides i tried removing the case and it
07:53doesn't seem to change anything other than that the cockpit layout is almost identical to that in the kia ev3
08:00there's an open cubby on the console followed by a small storage compartment under the armrest
08:05below the console behind the charger are cup holders and another open space
08:11now while this lower shelf is lined with rubber so i can toss keys in there for example
08:16the upper cubby is filled with hard plastic so keys or coins will rattle around the glove box is small
08:25the door pockets are okay there are also buttons on the doors for controlling the heated seats and
08:30heated steering wheel as well as to store memory settings for the seats yes kia is the king of
08:37ergonomics these days everything important is accessible via physical buttons there are also physical buttons on
08:43the steering wheel the drive selector joystick behind the steering wheel might not be visible to everyone
08:48but i've seen worse the interior quality is good although i'm not a fan of vegan leather upholstery which
08:55doesn't even remotely resemble leather if this is vegan leather then i had vegan leather in my 1989 fiat 126
09:29at launch the ev4 is available with two battery options 58 and 81 kilowatt hours this is a lithium-ion
09:36battery
09:37regardless of battery capacity the ev4 has 204 horsepower and 283 newton meters of torque and it's a front
09:45wheel drive car eventually a hot hatch with all-wheel drive and likely higher power output will also be released
09:53something like the kia ev6 gt the difference is that the kia ev6 gt or even the standard version
10:01uses an 800 volt architecture and can charge at over 200 kilowatts while the ev4 still has the 400
10:10volt architecture and a maximum charging power of 100 or 127 kilowatts depending on battery capacity this
10:17means charging from 10 to 80 percent still takes about half an hour at least the charging curve is flat
10:24but maybe the 400 volt architecture and low charging power affect the price well keep on watching
10:37this test car has the larger traction battery the promised 0 to 100 kilometers per hour time is 7.7
10:44seconds for the base model on 17 inch rims but the gt line with 19 inch wheels should be a
10:5210th of a
10:53second slower and the version with the smaller battery is even faster because it's lighter anyway i
10:59checked the acceleration and in sport mode i got 7.7 seconds and in normal mode i got 7.6
11:06seconds with 19 inch
11:12energy consumption and range are a sensitive topic when it comes to electric cars as much depends on
11:19the weather sure ice cars are also less efficient in low temperatures but we're usually talking about
11:26temperatures well below freezing point not moderate autumn weather like i'm experiencing during my week
11:33the ev4 during the day it's 10 12 degrees celsius and in the morning it's just about freezing something i
11:42wouldn't even pay attention to in a petrol powered car meanwhile for an electric car it's a challenge
11:53instead of 15 16 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers in the combined cycle consumption reaches 18 19 kilowatt
12:00hours this means that instead of the promised range of around 600 kilometers depending on the rim size and
12:06the trim level the ev4 will only cover a mere 400 something kilometers and that's before we hit the
12:13expressway the colder it gets and the faster i drive the more the range drops of course this is still
12:20a lot
12:20better than a few years ago when in order to drive 425 kilometers without charging stops i had to drive
12:26the
12:26the kia e-nero at around 70 kilometers per hour today i'd be doing 100 110 on the expressway and
12:34probably make it
12:35without a charge stop as well and at least now there are charging stations along my way as well as
12:41at my destination
12:46enough about electric powertrain let's talk about comfort and driving experience and driver aid features
12:53the kia ev4 even on 19 inch rims is an exceptionally comfortable car i remember how 10 or 15 years
13:02ago
13:02most korean cars would bottom out over bumps today this kia handles any imperfections in the road with a
13:11pleasant thump we associate with premium cars i should add that the ev4 weighs 1900 kilograms which
13:20while not really noticeable isn't ideal remember the citroen c6 it weighed less than this kia ev4
13:30in any case the comfort is excellent and so is the soundproofing the driving experience however is
13:37luck luster i realized the kia ev4 is a compact hatchback but after completing my test route i wasn't
13:44really interested in driving the ev4 anywhere else perhaps the gt version will be a bit more exciting
13:51but my expectations are low i'm yet to find an ev other than the porsche tycan or the discontinued jaguar
13:59ipace that makes me feel anything more than sleepy behind the wheel from this perspective i'm not surprised
14:07that lawmakers are forcing car manufacturers to install more and more assistance and safety systems
14:15instead of packing all this electronics perhaps it'd be better to design cars that we focus on driving
14:23rather than focus on screens just an idea but i know all this is wishful thinking because most people
14:31don't like cars can't drive them and don't really care about the driving experience they want the cars to
14:37be silent and odorless maybe waymo should finally come to europe and put us out of our misery
14:51and the driver aids are mostly good after kia ev9 or at least the software version that was in the
14:58ev9 when
14:59i reviewed it about 18 months ago everything has been recalibrated the only system that still
15:04occasionally makes a nuisance is the driver attention monitoring system it can go off when i look at the
15:09road sign for too long other than that it's okay i appreciate that isa can be turned off by long
15:16pressing the mute button on the steering wheel i don't care about the rest it drives it turns it brakes
15:23though it's a gloomy summary of a car that will probably win a ton of awards and if you're planning
15:30on towing the ev4 can tow trailers up to a ton not for long though as it will affect your
15:36range and the
15:38charging is slow as well and now here comes a kick in the crotch though i'm not sure who is
15:53going to
15:53hurt more kia or you prices of the kia ev4 start at 37 590 euro mg4 starts at 35 000
16:03renaud omegon e-tech
16:05starts at 41 000 but offers better performance volkswagen id3 starts at 33k and i'm almost certain
16:12the salesperson will bend over backwards just to push you out of the showroom with an electric vw product
16:19and that's before we get to the kia ev6 which starts at 45 000 euro this is the gt line
16:26model with the
16:26bigger battery with options it costs 53 700 euro
16:34when you consider the liftback starts just two grand below the ev6 which offers faster charging
16:42the ev4 is really a hard sell so i suggest starting your visit to the dealership with a question about
16:48the end of year sale because at its current price the ev4 is good but not that good and what
16:56do you
16:56think about the kia ev4 let me know in the comment section below if you like my sarcastic down-to
17:04-earth
17:05and possibly mildly amusing car reviews join me every friday at 3 pm central european time and don't forget
17:12to subscribe and like this video as it helps me move the youtube algorithm thanks for watching and i will
17:18see you in the next one
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