Audi E-Tron vs Kia Ev4

What's the difference?

The e-tron S looks mean, feels premium, and blends serious power with surprising grace under pressure. I still can’t shake the feeling I had with the standard e-tron, though, that this car is an Audi sports SUV first and an electric car second, and its weight holds it back from being as fun to drive as I think some rivals are.

If you love Audi and you want to go electric without stepping into something too unfamiliar it’s a great option. If you want an electric car which takes full advantage of what the next generation of technology can offer, keep an eye out, there’s plenty of fresh metal on the way.

An electric sedan is really shrinking the buyer pool, which is why Kia has such gentle expectations for the EV4 in Australia. But it's a lovely driving EV with plenty of perks, and the design alone will brighten up Australia's roadways. For my money, I'd either be going for the cheapest one that's sharp value with plenty of kit, or the flagship GT-Line that gets the big battery and the works in terms of equipment. The Earth for me sits in no-man's land.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number of automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics, and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

The e-tron S looks properly mean, with its adjustable ride-height suspension and enormous wheels combining nicely with the extra subtle sporty highlights to make for a squat SUV which clearly means business.

The width is especially evident with those accentuated wheelarches and the lines set by the lower wing to draw your eyes out to its edges. In profile it's easy to see its long wheelbase and tapered rear roofline, giving even the SUV a slinkier frame than you may be used to when looking at the comparatively boxy Q5.

The thing that strikes me about Audi’s e-tron range, though, is how little a departure it is. It ambiguously slots somewhere above the Q5 and below the Q7, but sticks very closely to the German brand’s styling script.

Sure, it looks a bit lower to the ground, and a bit meaner than you might expect for an EV, but it’s not as much of a departure as Jaguar’s I-Pace or BMW’s iX.

I suppose the biggest advantage here is nobody is going to say the e-tron’s overall visage is controversial, and certainly, it will appeal to existing fans of Audi’s design.

Inside it follows much the same theme, with all the key touchpoints and styling elements nearly identical to other Audis in the range, if not very similar.

It feels like a sensible, refined place in the cabin, with the only whacky pieces being the extra touchscreen for the climate unit and the strange thumb-operated shifter mounted on a floating piece which looks and feels like it could be the throttle control for a jet engine.

The dash is a bit more integrated and modern than in the conservative Q5 or Q7, with the air vents leading to the digital instrument cluster as part of an aesthetic three-terrace design which runs across the entire dash and into the doors.

The screens which appear in place of wing mirrors take a bit of getting used to. Aside from those notable departures, the interior continues the theme of sticking closely to the Audi formula, providing a more modern space which will still be familiar to existing fans of the brand.

The slippery-looking unit that adorns this page is the EV4 sedan. There’s also a hatch, but it comes out of Europe, while this one comes out of Korea, and that would likely make the hatch far more expensive than this bad boy. It's under study, apparently, but yet to be confirmed.

Anyway, to steal a hackneyed football analogy, for mine this is a game of two halves. I actually really like the front end. It looks sleek and slippery and there’s a real presence from the swollen arches.

I am, however, a little less sold on this rear end, which looks sharp and blocky and almost like it has been bolted on. Also annoying is the fact that it looks like it should be a liftback, with the boot hinged up above the rear windscreen. But nope, it's hinged below it, so you still get a dinky little opening to squeeze your stuff through.

Kia's international designers are pushing the boat out at the moment, and they deserve credit for making things different. Whether it sinks or swims with the general public, though, will be the real test.

Inside, it's all pretty traditional Kia, with all three models sharing the twin 12.3-inch digital displays, along with the little climate panel in the middle. Kudos to Kia for keeping some physical buttons, too. I'm less sold on the use of some cheap, hard plastics, even in the top-spec cars.

As an electric vehicle, the e-tron has certain advantages over its combustion equivalents, and overall makes for an accomplished family-sized SUV. But there are areas where more could be done to take advantage of its high-voltage features and abundant footprint.

Up front in the cabin is a good place, with both occupants treated to lavish seats with plenty of head and legroom, great adjustability, and plenty of width in the cabin.

The finishes are beyond premium with thick chunks of well-padded leather meeting your elbows, hands, and knees at every point. As always the lovely Audi switchgear exists in most places, but the removal of solid toggles and buttons in favour of an extra touch panel feels unnecessary.

There’s still a physical volume knob, and while the climate touchscreen is plenty large enough to have a shortcut button for every function without needing a sub-menu, it feels like you have to move your eyes too far from the road to know you’re going to jab it in the right spot.

Even the main touch panel has an interesting haptic feedback effect for each press, designed to mimic the solidly-sprung button hardware the brand has used in the past.

The screen looks amazing and is fast and sharp, key hallmarks of computer hardware that's up to the task, although the resolution is so high the touch elements when using Apple CarPlay end up being a little small and hard to stab at while you’re trying to keep your eyes on the road.

For storage there’s a big bottle holder and bin in the doors, a large cutaway with a storage tray, dual bottle holders, and power outlets in the centre, with a further smallish storage area under the armrest console.

Unlike some EVs there’s no huge cutaway under what was traditionally considered the transmission tunnel, although there is a small bay with the USB-C ports.

The rear seat feels good for space, with an almost flat floor and decent legroom and width, although headroom could be better.

There are netted pockets on the backs of the front seats and decently-sized bottle holders in the doors, with a further set in the drop-down armrest.

The quad-zone climate with its own touch panel and adjustable centre vents is a nice touch in the rear, as is the set of USB-C ports below. The hard backings to the front seats and built-in sun blinds our car had will even be great for kids.

The boot measures in at 660 litres, which is high for the segment. It fit our three-piece CarsGuide demo luggage set with room to spare, and that's despite the massive battery pack under the floor.

There’s auxiliary storage, too, with a further bay under the boot floor and a second small tray situated under the bonnet, both useful for keeping your charging paraphernalia.

At 4730mm long, 1860mm wide and 1480mm tall, the EV4 sits between the Model 3 and the Seal in terms of its outright dimensions. Kia says the EV4's wheelbase and interior packaging has been designed to maximise backseat space, which I must admit, there is plenty of.

Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had miles and miles of leg room, and enough head room, though there is some kind of optical illusion that occurs in the backseat of the EV4 – even though you definitely have enough space, the dark materials of the GT-Line still leaving me feeling a little claustrophobic somehow.

Something else not to be sneezed at is the inclusion of the household-style power plug in the back. My laptop died while I was taking notes on my test, and I plugged it straight in and powered it up. Super handy.

At the back, there is 490 litres of boot space, which is about middle ground. The Seal is more like 400 litres, but the Model 3 offers more.

Sadly the EV4 is yet another EV that does not have a spare wheel of any kind. Instead you have to make do with a tyre repair kit.

In modern Kia EV style, the EV4 arrives in three trim levels — the Air, Earth and GT-Line — and then in Standard Range or Long Range battery sizes.

The range opens with the Air, which is a pretty sharp-feeling $49,990 before all of your on-road costs. Kia says drive-away pricing is coming, but how much it will be is still to be figured out.

That money buys you the Standard Range battery, which we will come back to in a moment, along with 17-inch alloys, flush-finishing door handles, LED lighting, rain-sensing wipers and heated wing mirrors.

Inside, there are two-tone cloth seats, an artificial-leather steering wheel and dual-zone climate with rear vents, while tech is handled by Kia’s loveable dual 12.3-inch screens (one for your entertainment, and another for your diving info), with a smaller 5.0-inch screen between them that handles climate settings. There’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a six-speaker stereo and four USB-C connections, too.

All EV4 model grades get two vehicle-to-load (V2L) connections (so you can plug things in with a normal household plug), with one in the backseat and the other as part of the exterior charger – though the latter is an accessory on the Air. All also get access to the Kia Connect app and over-the-air updates, too.

Stepping up to the Earth ups the spend to $59,190, which is a gigantic financial leap, but you’re mostly paying for the bigger battery and longer driving range, as well as 19-inch alloys, cloth-and-synthetic-leather seats, a powered seat for the driver, and Kia’s very cool and comfortable mesh headrests.

Finally, the GT-Line tops the range, and is yours for $64,690. It gets a more polished look, courtesy of the exterior plastics being swapped out for gloss-black detailing, and it rides on its own 19-inch alloy design. It also gets a sunroof, a powered boot, dynamic welcome lights and projection headlights.

Inside, there’s a heated steering wheel, full synthetic-leather seats, relaxation seats to get comfy when charging, and ambient interior lighting. You also get ventilated front seats, a better eight-speaker Harman Kardon stereo and wireless device charging.

That is a big, broad pricing spectrum, and something tells me Kia has worked very, very hard to get that entry-level model below $50k, where it can compete with the likes of the BYD Seal ($46,990) and Tesla Model 3 ($54,900).

The S-branded e-tron sets itself apart from the rest of the range with a seriously powerful set of three motors. There are two on the rear axle, and one on the front axle.

The total combined output of this collection is 370kW/973Nm, which for a combustion car, would be unprecedented.

To be fair, these figures are under a ‘boost’ mode, with the car generating a still strong 300kW/800Nm in most situations.

The three motor drivetrain allows for an electric version of Audi’s ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive system which the brand says can react to changes in 30 milliseconds and move torque appropriately.

The system is rear-biased, and in the name of efficiency the front motor is only used when required under acceleration or cornering.

All EV4 models are front-wheel drive, with a single front-mounted motor producing 150kW and 283Nm, fed through a single-speed gearbox. That’s enough, Kia says, to knock off the sprint to 100km/h in around 7.5 seconds. The Air is the fastest, at 7.4s, while the heavier Earth and GT-Line claim 7.8s. Top speed is a claimed 170km/h.

The e-tron may be electric, but it’s also a performance car. To that end, its energy consumption, relative to the field, is behind the pace.

In fact, at a whopping 27.8kWh/100km, driving the e-tron around feels like the electric equivalent of steering a big V8.

It produced one of the highest consumption numbers I have seen from any EV during my time with it. Considering this number is even below the WLTP consumption number, which is 28.4kWh/100km, that's not great.

For comparison, the Mercedes-Benz EQC's official number is just 20.8kWh/100km, while the Jaguar I-Pace consumes 21.2kWh/100km according to the WLTP procedure.

Yes, they aren’t performance cars in the same sense, but it’s still a big difference.

I made sure to take it out and stretch the e-tron’s legs to assess its performance in its more sporty driving modes, but the majority of my time with the car was spent in a more comfort-oriented setting and with the regenerative braking set to maximum.

Possibly as a result of its real-world consumption, my car was showing about 350km of range on a full charge, a little below the official WLTP number of 364km, although it is worth noting the enormous 21-inch alloys do their part to reduce the range. The car ships with 20-inch wheels in Europe.

The good news is the e-tron is capable of charging fast, with its max DC charging speed set at 150kW (allowing for a 5.0-80 per cent charge time for its 95kWh battery of 30 minutes), and its AC charging speed set at 11kW, which allows a slow-charging time of around seven hours.

If you intend to park on the street or live in a unit where installing charge infrastructure is impossible, I would strongly recommend you consider the 22kW AC charging upgrade which will cut the AC charge time in half.

While there are few public stations currently capable of the full 22kW in Australia, it will future-proof your car for ideal convenience charging for when they're more commonplace. 

Let’s talk about range for a moment, because it's bloody impressive. Not quite the best out there, but the furthest any electric Kia has ever travelled between charges.

There are two battery options, a 58.3kWh NCM battery in the Standard Range, and a 81.4kWh unit in Long Range models. The Standard will deliver 456kms in driving range, but the Long Range ups that to 612kms, both on the WLTP cycle. 

The EV4’s 400-volt architecture does slow down charging a little, though, with DC fast charging capped at 128kW. That means going from 10 to 80 per cent in around 30 mins when using the fastest chargers. If you’re using a 50kW charger, it’s up to almost an hour and 20 minutes for the bigger battery, which is a long coffee stop.

Plugged in at home, provided you have an 11kW wallbox, it’ll take just under five and a half hours, or just over seven hours, to go from 10 per cent to fully charged, so an overnight charge no matter the battery size.

Does the e-tron live up to the promise set by sporty Audis which have come before it? The answer is interesting.

There is no doubt the e-tron S is rapid, at times absurdly so. If you stick it in the required S mode and hunker the suspension down, planting the accelerator makes its claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 4.5 seconds suddenly very real.

It lurches ahead without so much as a squeak from its enormous tyres, grabbing the road with its front axle as it warps you forward.

So yes, this electric performance car is no doubt quick. It is also heavy. Weighing in at a tare mass of 2830kg, the e-tron S is quite literally massive.

The trouble is, while its powerful electric motors are great at overcoming this gravitational obstacle in a straight line, it’s in the corners and at low speeds where you feel every bit of it.

The e-tron crashes over larger bumps, it’s suspension struggling to deal with the combination of its weight and low-profile tyres, while it can also feel cumbersome in the corners around town.

The suspension is better at levelling things out once you gain a bit of pace, and the tyres work with the all-wheel drive system to put in a Herculean effort when carving up bends at speed, but there’s the ever-present lurch of weight always working against you.

This feeling isn’t helped by the steering tune, which even in its most comfort-oriented setting feels hefty and slow to turn. In the default sport mode, ‘dynamic’, it takes effort to push this car around corners.

Despite the unsettling feeling of it, though, the car holds on for dear life, and I never once felt as though the tyres were remotely in danger of breaking traction when put under pressure.

Is it a performer, then? Absolutely, there’s something mind bending about a vehicle so heavy going so quickly.

Does it feel fun to drive? Less so. I enjoyed the connectivity of the Porsche Taycan offers at speed more than I enjoyed the e-tron S, and its weight and girth demand a nice wide piece of tarmac for you to really wring it.

It’s far from a darty and engaging car like the Q5 can be despite its mammoth power outputs.

Elsewhere, the drive experience feels very Audi, though. The touchpoints and feedback are mostly familiar, as are the software and ergonomics.

The virtual wing mirrors are more of an inconvenience than anything else. This car is already hard to see out of, with big C-pillars and a tall belt line, and the digital exterior mirrors offer what feels like a limited angle of vision and make it extra hard to see out at night.

Some things fall to the wayside a little. The e-tron’s drive system almost hides the regenerative braking setting several menus deep, which, once activated, allows you to set it using the paddle-shifters on the wheel.

Audi says the regen will account for nearly 30 per cent of the car’s range, which is odd because even at the highest setting it feels a bit mild, relying on the user to manually operate the brake for a ‘blended braking’ mode to make up the difference.

It’s a bit of a stretch from the single-pedal driving modes offered on some rival cars.

My theory here, as with this car’s look and feel, is the e-tron is primarily designed to be familiar to an existing Audi customer, or someone coming out of a purely combustion premium rival.

I learned something new and exciting (well, to me, at least. You might be very bored) from Kia's ride and handling guru on this launch. And that is that the tuning frequency for common city road imperfections, like bridge expanders, is actually the same as for the bigger, bouncier undulations you get on country roads. And so you can tune to prioritise one or the other, not both.

In real terms, it means a car that feels custom-built for the city, gliding over urban roads with mega comfort (which is exactly what the EV4 does), feels slightly less at home out of town, where there is more obvious movement in the cabin.

Bored yet? Ok, the point is that, while never uncomfortable, the EV4 feels right at home in the city, which is where it's expected to spend most of its time, but weirdly firmer on longer adventures. 

This really is easy, city EV motoring, done well. There's no alienating floatiness to the ride, no lifeless lightness to the steering, it's comfortable, quiet and – despite no headline-grabbing power figures – more than potent enough to get you up and moving.

There's nice weight to the steering, and though the front tyres gave up their grip a couple of times when pushed with some steering lock on, there isn't much in the way of aggressive body roll, and it all feels pretty confidence inspiring. 

The power is most effective from around 10km/h to 80km/h, before the urgency starts to fall away – it's slower to respond at freeway speeds – but that too just leans into its city credentials.

There's really not much to complain about here. It feels well sorted, and quite fun to drive. There is nothing that really stands out as spectacular about the drive experience, but nor is there anything to complain about. It's just really solid motoring, which isn't always guaranteed these days.

There’s no ANCAP rating on the EV4 yet, but the brand says it's confident it will adopt the five-star scores issued in Europe. All models get seven airbags, like active cruise control, AEB autonomous emergency braking (meaning it will anchor up if it senses an accident), front and rear parking sensors, an active blind spot monitor that will take evasive action if it senses a collision, and lots, lots more.

Only the GT-Line switches up the standard safety kit offered on the other two grades, adding a surround-view monitor, a camera that shows what’s happening in your blind spot, powered child locks and a reverse parking aid that will brake for you if it thinks you're going to hit something.

Audi has followed its Volkswagen parent in upgrading its warranty to five years and unlimited kilometres, finally leaving BMW and its three-year warranty behind.

The e-tron’s high-voltage battery components are covered by a separate eight-year and 160,000km warranty, but the big win, especially in this premium segment, is the first six years of servicing (covering three 24 monthly or 30,000km visits) is free.

Oh, and your public charging is largely free for the same period too, as Audi throws in a six-year ChargeFox subscription.

Six years pretty much cost-free? Audi, how far you’ve come.

Kia ownership proposition is simple, and pretty strong. You get a seven-year warranty no matter how far you travel, an eight-year warranty for the high-voltage systems, again no matter how far you travel, and capped-price servicing. Pre-paying your service costs will set you back $688 for three years, just over $1300 for five years, or just under $2000 for seven years.