New Kia EV4 GT is ready for launch, and it fancies a fight with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N

This is our first official look at the new Kia EV4 GT – an all-wheel drive hot hatch that’s set to arrive next year and pack quite a punch, making it a rival to the mighty Volkswagen Golf R.  

With the reveal of the electric hot hatch still a way off, Kia has covered it in a ‘GT Wrap’ to conceal some of the styling details from us. But there’s no hiding the car’s neon green brake calipers or unique 20-inch rims, plus what look to be new front and rear bumpers. 

The standard EV4 uses a single 201bhp electric motor to drive the front wheels. With an extra e-motor mounted on the rear axle, not only will the EV4 GT get all-wheel drive, we expect it’ll produce between 300bhp to 400bhp. For context, the latest Golf R has 328bhp on tap, while the Audi RS 3 spits out 394bhp. 

Considering a top-of-the-line Kia EV4 costs nearly £45,000 – although you can save nearly £3,000 on the new electric hatchback through the Auto Express Buy A Car service, or lease a car from £326 per month – we assume the EV4 GT will be over £50,000. 

Beside power, what other upgrades will the EV4 GT get? 

We suspect the EV4 GT will inherit the Virtual Gear Shift system (VGS) from the EV6 GT and new EV9 GT. It’s designed to mimic the sound and feel of a petrol car with a V6 engine and an eight-speed transmission. This should help deliver a more engaging driving experience than electric hot hatches such as the Volkswagen ID.3 GTX and MG4 XPower. 

But as well as software tweaks and trickery, we have been informed there will be some mechanical changes for the EV4 GT. Hopefully that includes the electronic limited-slip differential the EV9 GT features, plus its adaptive dampers. A bigger set of brakes and retuned steering also seems likely. 

In an exclusive interview with Auto Express, Kia’s marketing director for Europe, David Hilbert, said the EV4 GT is “about showing what we're capable of in terms of delivering a great vehicle that you can use every day, but also have that kind of fun factor.”

What separates Kia GT cars and Hyundai’s N cars?

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We recently learned that in the coming years Hyundai will be launching its own electric hot hatch, the Ioniq 3 N, which will be based on the same underpinnings as the EV4 GT. So naturally we asked Hilbert what will differentiate these two cars? 

“When we brought out the Kia Stinger GT, or even before that, the ProCeed GT, it wasn't all about straight-line speed,” he said, “I remember, in fact, that Peter Schreyer – who was our designer at the time – said it was all about the thrill of the journey.

“You know, it's not about being the fastest to the destination, it's about having a great driving experience. So our GT philosophy is much more about that kind of driving pleasure, having great times.

“It's not just purely about adrenaline or straight-line speed. I guess N is much more that kind of extreme, racing focus, whereas ours is more about everyday driving, but with a bit of, you know, edginess.”

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