Hyundai IONIQ Electric vs Kia EV4

The Kia EV4 costs £4,195 more than the Hyundai IONIQ Electric. For that premium it adds 77 miles more WLTP range, 77 kW faster peak rapid charging and 78 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Kia EV4 comes out ahead overall.

The Hyundai IONIQ Electric is £4,195 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 Hyundai IONIQ Electric comes out roughly £4,235 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 161 miles for the Hyundai IONIQ Electric and 226 miles for the Kia EV4 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Kia EV4 goes roughly 65 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 57 minutes in the Hyundai IONIQ Electric and 31 in the Kia EV4, so the Kia EV4 loses less time at each stop. That makes the Kia EV4 the stronger long-distance car.

The Hyundai IONIQ Electric is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 40 mm narrower than the Kia EV4. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 580 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai IONIQ Electric and about 540 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV4. The Hyundai IONIQ Electric also turns in a 0.3 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 Hyundai IONIQ Electric 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.