Cupra Formentor vs Kia Ev4

What's the difference?

The Cupra Formentor VZe Tribe Edition offers some great luxury features and is coupled with a plug-in hybrid powertrain that should entice those wanting something more efficient than the standard petrol grade. It's peak efficiency is only available with a fair amount of charging commitment, though, and the driving comfort isn’t always the best but its fun and looks hot. The price point also makes it appealing compared to its rivals.

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 Cupra Formentor sounds like a Transformers name and if it were one, it’d be a Decepticon, for sure. It’s way too sharply styled and sexy to be a good guy. 

The special-edition model sees it paired with black and copper 19-inch alloy wheels and every design aspect doubles down on its sports-car presence from the crisp pleating across the body, to the twin exhausts and shapely grille. And this sporty presence is what its rivals lack.

Head inside and you'll notice the biggest change from the standard VZe model are the sport bucket seats in the front and the blue leather upholstery that has been liberally applied across the cabin.

The dashboard features gorgeous copper accents and contrasting stitching while being headlined with large tech screens that immediately catch your eye.

The interior has a killer design but it's not one you'd call plush as the edges and surfaces are as sharp as they look.

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.

For something that leans more towards a sports car than SUV in its styling, the cabin is still fairly practical when it comes to space and access.

Front occupants enjoy the best of each, though, and it's easy enough for a taller driver to get into a comfortable position.

The rear row offers excellent headroom but the legroom may be cramped for a tall passenger. It's best to think of the car as a four-seater as the middle armrest won't go down when there is a car seat installed.

In terms of seat comfort, fatigue will set in early on a long trip for front rowers as they are decidedly hard under the butt but the padding is a lot better in the rear row.

Overall, storage options and amenities are great throughout the car with the tri-zone climate control, heated front seats and steering wheel functions giving a premium cabin experience.

The glove box is extra large and can easily fit a small handbag and a manual while the middle console is on the small side. There are four cupholders and drink bottle holders (4/4) but the front cupholders need to be spaced out more to accommodate two cups properly. A few loose coffee lids were had!

In the rear you also get two map pockets and the boot has 345L of capacity available which is on the tiny side for a medium SUV! However, the wide boot aperture tricks you into thinking it’s bigger and the powered tailgate is always a handy feature.

Technology looks great but the multimedia system is finicky to use and one that takes a while to get used to. At first it's difficult to recognise what you have to touch to access the different menus available but the screen is responsive and the graphics are clear.

The built-in satellite navigation is easy to use, and the Tribe Edition also has wired/wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four USB-C ports, a wireless charging pad and a 12-volt socket.

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 VZe Tribe Edition is a plug-in hybrid that has an electric motor that produces up to 85kW/330Nm. This is paired with a 1.4L four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine. Together, they produce outputs of up to 180kW and 400Nm.

However, once the lithium-ion battery is depleted, those figures drop to 110kW/250Nm and you notice the difference on the open road. 

The Tribe has a smooth six-speed automatic transmission and can do a 0-100km/h sprint in 7.0-seconds. Not crazy fast but still fun.

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.

Like all plug-in hybrids, you get the best efficiency if you recharge the Tribe often. If you want to get close to the official combined (urban/extra-urban) fuel cycle figure of 1.9L/100km you need to charge it every single time you use it.

Following this procedure over 347km of a mix of open and city driving, saw the real-world usage pop out at 2.3L/100km, which is outstanding.

However, the second half of the week saw 336km travelled and no recharge and the real-world usage stepped up considerably to 6.0L.

With its 40L fuel tank, you have a theoretical driving range of up to 2105km but expect less in real-world conditions. Worth noting Cupra recommends a minimum 95 RON unleaded petrol for this model.

The Tribe has a lithium-ion battery with a usable 10.9kWh capacity and the claimed pure EV range is up to 58km, as well as, a claimed 14.1kWh energy consumption figure.

Over my week with it, the consumption hovered around 22.8kWh/100km when cruising on the highway going 100km/h.

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.

The VZe Tribe Edition is happiest in the city and when you have a full battery. This is when it feels the most responsive with its power delivery. In the city, it’s quick and sure-footed. 

However, once that battery hits empty and you’re on the open road, the power is there but it stops feeling as fun.

The firm steering keeps it nimble and the driver's cockpit makes you feel well connected with what the car is doing but the ride comfort is like the design, not what you'd call plush.

The suspension is firm and you feel every bump in the road. Road and wind noise are also pretty high and in general, you feel a bit weary at the end of longer trips.

The visibility is good despite having narrow windows but a car seat or passenger in the back seat compromises the rear view vision. 

The Formentor shines in a tight car park with its 10.7m turning circle and compact proportions. The 360-degree view camera system is also most welcome but the quality of the feed is reflective of the grade level.

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.

The Formentor has a five-year/unlimited km warranty but it’s becoming more common to see longer warranty periods being offered now.

You can pre-purchase a three- or five-year servicing program. The three-year program costs a flat $990, averaging $330 per service. The five-year option averages costs $1990, averaging $398 per service which is reasonable for the class.

Servicing intervals are good at every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

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.