Kia’s EV4 sedan has been spied in prototype form on several occasions, but this time our photographers have sneaked a look inside the upcoming Tesla Model 3 rival. Fresh images of a heavily disguised sedan testing in Europe show the infotainment screen and dashboard of the newest member of Kia’s growing electric family, and they look almost identical to the components fitted to this car’s SUV sister, the EV3. A wide, slim glass panel stretching from the driver’s side to the far side of the center console sandwiches a small 5.3-inch climate control display between a 12.3-inch digital instrument pack with a same-sized touchscreen media system.
The EV3 features ChatGPT AI voice control
so you can ask it a variety of questions with a good chance of it
understanding, and we can presume the EV4 will get the same tech. Wireless
Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will also be part of the package. Mounted below
the floating screen unit is a control panel containing touch sensitive buttons
for main shortcuts including Home, Map and Media, and there’s a revolving
drum-style volume control beneath that with air vents mounted on either side.
The EV4 shares more than interior screen
tech with the EV3. The sedan also rides on the same Hyundai Motor Group E-GMP
electric platform used by the EV3, EV6, EV9 and multiple Hyundai and Genesis
cars. But the EV3 is the only one of those cars to feature 400-volt rather than
more advanced 800-volt electrics. It’s unclear which way the EV4 will swing,
but if we had to call it we’d say it would follow the EV3’s lead in the pursuit
of lower costs.
More synergies between EV3 and 4 would
mean the sedan getting a choice of 58.3 kWh and 81.4 kWh battery packs and base
models coming equipped with a single 201 hp electric motor. A
more powerful dual-motor variant with all-wheel drive is also in the pipes. But
it’s not only batteries and motors that buyers will have to configure. They’ll
also need to decide which bodystyle to have. Kia is also planning to offer
its compact EV with a more upright hatchback tail when it goes on sale next
year.