BMW iX1 vs Kia EV4

The BMW iX1 costs £2,320 more than the Kia EV4. For that premium it adds 50 miles more WLTP range and 55 litres more boot space. The Kia EV4 is not just cheaper - it also offers a 1.1s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Kia EV4 comes out ahead overall.

The Kia EV4 is £2,320 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £136 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Kia EV4 comes out roughly £2,280 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 267 miles for the BMW iX1 and 226 miles for the Kia EV4 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The BMW iX1 goes roughly 41 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 29-31 minutes.

The two are within 15 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 555 mm of total clearance for the BMW iX1 and about 540 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV4. The Kia EV4 also turns in a 1.0 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the BMW iX1 and 89% for the Kia EV4. That gives the Kia EV4 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.