The EV’s driver’s seat is comfortable and supportive, and materially interesting enough even in the cloth trim of Air specification. But the first disappointment is that it doesn’t feel particularly low. When you’re sat in it, you’re still aware of the presence of the battery pack displacing your backside upwards by three or four inches.
It’s not a deal-breaker, though. Even sitting as you do, you find plenty of room at the controls and, even if you’re long-legged, a typical setting for the driver’s seat leaves generous space for adults in the row behind. Our tape measure confirmed big advantages for the EV4 compared with a Renault Megane E-Tech and Cupra Born on second-row leg and head room, as well as more loading width and length in the boot than either rival. The whole package feels more Octavia- or Civic-adjacent than Golf- or Astra-sized; fairly generous and family-appropriate.
For material quality and fit and finish, the EV4 sets a high standard. The driving environment is smartly presented, with materials and switches that both look and feel solid and hefty rather than in any way plain or cheap; even in entry-level Air models. The brushed aluminium – ahem, plastic – and fabric or faux leather trim on the dashboard is attractive enough, and the ratio of soft to scratchy plastic is appropriate for the class. The cabin’s not short of storage space either, even if items do rattle around in the unlined plastic cubby bins.
Although Kia’s familiar side-by-side instrument and multimedia displays sits atop the dashboard, some adjacent physical controls (heating and ventilation, audio volume control, infotainment menu shortcuts) are retained. Working in tandem with a generous number of similar controls on the steering spokes and door consoles, they make top-level usability of the car easy without constant reliance on the touchscreen system.
Being capacitive ʻkeys’ rather than proper buttons, the main infotainment shortcut controls are a little too easy to brush accidentally with a passing hand, but otherwise the system is about as easy to use while driving as any without a separate physical cursor controller.
It also mirrors your smartphone well, making passing back and forth to the native software easy; and Kia’s star-marked driver-configurable shortcut buttons, on the steering wheel and nav bar, improve quick-fire usability no end.
