One of the many remarkable things about Tesla is that so much of its growth has been built on a bodystyle that had seemingly long since gone out of fashion.
The success the Tesla Model 3 has had as a fairly traditional – perhaps even old-fashioned – low saloon defies logic when every other car maker is packing its range full of crossovers and SUVs, backfilled by evergreen hatchbacks.
There have been other electric saloons, most notably the BMW i4, but among a sea of electric crossovers and hatchbacks flooding the market, the number of true Model 3 rivals barely makes a puddle.
The Kia EV4 is the brand’s first electric saloon and, as a global model from a car maker with one of the industry’s better electric car ranges in its breadth and quality, its big range and attractive price allow it to be considered a true Model 3 rival.
Even so, given Kia’s global footprint and the need to tailor models to different markets, the company hasn’t gone all in on the EV4 as a saloon and is also offering it as a hatchback. This will be built in Europe, the first Kia electric car to do so at its Slovakia plant.
Kia UK recognises that the Model 3 is very much onto something, so this saloon version of the EV4 will be offered in the UK as well to make sure Tesla doesn’t have the electric saloon segment all to itself. It’s the saloon we’re testing in Kia’s native Korea, where the EV4 has gone on sale first.
