Kia EV4 GT review

£49,345 is the steep, steep asking price for the EV4 GT. Kia is yet to publish finance details but given the top-spec hatch is more than £700 per month over three years, you can guarantee that the performance model will add a sizable premium on top.

That said, you get rather a lot of kit thrown in. As well as the GT-specific all-wheel drive, six-speed virtual gearbox and active sound design, additional driving modes, ECS, dynamic torque vectoring and launch control, you also receive those 20in alloys, neon brake calipers and interior flourishes, plus those bucket seats and three-spoke heated steering wheel clad in artificial leather.

Standard gear also includes LED headlights, heated outer rear seats, automatic air con, a powered tailgate, alloy pedals, the dual 12.3in screens and 5.3in climate pad, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a wireless phone charging pad and four USB-C ports, a head-up display, 360-degree camera and virtually every active safety system known to humankind.

The blue and dark grey paint options shown above are £600 extra; only white is free.

The EV4 GT gets Kia’s standard seven-year/100,000-mile warranty, while the battery is covered for eight years. As an electric car Benefit-in-Kind is a lowly four per cent, rising to five next year.

Which might sway you away from internal combustion. But a Born VZ is cheaper and at the time of writing Cupra is offering deposit contributions of more than £5k and very attractive monthlies too. That makes this a really tough sell, despite the absence of any other real competitors.