Electrics come in all styles and sizes these day, but nothing else from this age shakes its booty quite like this one.

Price: $75,990

Powertrain: 150kW/283Nm front drive electric motor with 81.4kWh lithium ion NMC battery;

How big: 4730mm long; 1860mm wide; 1480mm tall; 2820mm wheelbase.

We like: Impressive powertrain and driving range; decent dynamics; quality features.

Not so much: Over-wrought styling; compromised cabin and boot design; priced above some strong competitors.

WHEN electric cars first came into mainstream choice, they tended to look like nothing else, and inevitably that caused many people to have a bit of a moment.

Now there are lots of EVs in circulation, in all shapes and sizes, and quite a few have adopted far more orthodox stylings. That’s also been divisive. Turns out having originally been a bit stand-off-ish about electrics because they were too different, people are now critical because some are just not characterful enough.

Kia clearly took this on the chin when it decided on its styling pathway. The first car availed in volume, the EV6, was very edgy.

Almost everything since has been steadfastly boxy, with just dimensional difference to separate them. Naturally, because we’ve proven to be awfully picky and always dis-sastified, none have won universal appeal.

So be it. That hasn’t stopped this Hyundai Group brand from pushing more electric cars into our market than almost any other make. Certainly far more than Hyundai itself.

Even though the electric car sector is proving to be something of a roller coaster ride, Kia NZ is sticking to its schedule.

Soon we will have the PV5, a really exciting electric van that, while initially only sorted for commercial use, will inevitably start to roll out in a passenger configuration. That’s a big news story all in itself.

Right now, the latest entry into the passenger line is the EV4, which is basically a half-sibling to the EV3 already here, with the same electric motor and battery pack.

However, instead of being yet another SUV, Kia’s fifth dedicated EV takes a passenger car shape.

Landed in just two trims, a Light LR and the $12,000-dearer top-tier GT-Line delivery tested here, it’s categorised as a sedan and aims at the sort of buyer who might otherwise be swayed by a Tesla Model 3, a BYD Seal or perhaps the impending Mazda 6e.

Either way it delivers with a single electric motor driving the front wheels, generating 150kW and 283Nm, feeding from a 81kWh (gross) lithium ion NCM battery.

Driving-wise the EV4 very much conforms to Kia formula. You get a car that while not outright aggressively fast as you might think the ‘GT’ designation deserves is nonetheless easily swift enough.

Same story with the dynamics. If you want ‘edgy, exciting and all but hyperactive’, it’s not here. GT-Line means sharp looks and a relaxed demeanour. Which also means a car that feels fundamentally well-balanced, with a good combination of comfort, refinement and precision. Pleasant, in short.

All Hyundai Group cars have a common E-GMP architecture, in two intensities. Unlike the EV6 and EV9, which have 800-volt electrical architectures, the EV4 is like the EV5 and EV3, with reliance on a simpler 400-volt system.

The main difference comes at replenishment time; on the right size of charger, the 800v cars will be done and dusted in less time than the 400v, though in managing 128kW of DC uplift it’s no so bad in its own right.

In respect to how quickly it expends electricity, the news is also good. Any EV with a range starting with a ‘six’ is in a special class here. The GT-Line claims a WLTP-certified 612kms; the LR Light can go a bit further still.

And not just in the lab. We’ve become used to Kias doing a better job than most EVs when it comes to living up to the official one-charge ranges in the real world.

The interior styling and instrument layout is teleported from the other 400 volt cars, which means a suitably techy screen-dominated dashboard with plenty of physical controls, including a gear selector on the steering column stalk, and a chunky steering wheel.

All this means it should stand good chancer of being one of the electric cars that makes swapping from petrol or diesel power spectacularly easy. But, of course, it won’t.

Because? The exterior styling. EV4’s bodystyle comes in hatchback and fastback. We only see the latter. It’s a variation of the hatch, but far more radical. As said, Kia categorises this car as a four-door sedan. But that’s not what your eyes tell you. You’re basically served a three-box body onto which an extended, separate boot stretches out … and out … and out …

If you are of belief that EVs should be statement cars that push the envelope, then this car won’t disappoint. There’s more than just a faintly sci-fi edge to its highly distinctive, highly distended 'aero' style.

You might also think you’ve never seen anything quite like it before. But little in car design is new. Automotive history buffs will recall a pre World War II make, not to be confused with India’s Tatra. It Czechoslovakia’s ‘other’ car brand that, unlike Skoda, did not survive first German then Soviet control.

A shame, because Tatra in the 1930s produced a series of futuristic-looking aerodynamic passenger cars that today stand as icons of design. Volkswagen was influenced by their short front overhang, long tail look and it seems highly likely Kia’s stylists also referenced the Tatra T77 and T87.

Kia’s car is striking and blending, into the lowest slung setting yet, every element of Kia’s latest EV look has been skilful. Those flat-faced there-spoke design alloy wheels are a suitable finishing touch for something so extrovert, likewise the , the slim upright LED headlights. The flanks are clean and neat, and kept aerodynamically efficient by flush-fit pop-out door handles.

But to me, it just doesn’t quite gell. Too fussy from the C-pillar back? Just a bit. Tatra’s cars were elegant. That’s not a word I ever heard from the many compelled to comment on the EV4. But I heard a few ‘big bootie’ jokes.

Speaking of. Sacrifice for this artfulness is also perhaps a bit too plain. As much as it is a more truncated car, that DNA-sharing EV3 is also a taller one, and simply because of that offers more useable interior room, which is a shame, as the EV4’s 2820mm wheelbase is almost limo-like for floorspace. It’s genuinely feels so spacious, for leg room at least. But not so much for headroom.

If anything, Kia makes it feel tighter than it might have needed to be through two factors; using the same, slightly raised driving position as the SUVs and including a sunroof, something requisite at this level of spend but also a fixture that further erodes the available roof height.

The combined influence of both is that it was barely tolerable for my 1.6 metre frame no matter where I sat. To achieve a reasonable driving position required angling the seat back a bit further than I generally like.

The back seat waivers between cosy and cramped. For anyone of my height sitting right behind, the challenges began with achieving a graceful access - while it has wide-opening doors, the aperture is oddly shaped - and once in place, they’ll find the rear seat base is also elevated.

End result, your head is also brushing the roof lining and those beyond certain height will find their eyes are at the level of the window tops. That the part-mesh front-seat headrests were shaped to allow light in and passengers to see out is a reminder, perhaps, that Kia realised what sort of space it had created.

The luggage compartment proper is deep and space-wise not too bad, with 490 litres’ capacity. There is stowage space beneath for your charging cables, but no spare wheel set, of course. Instead, you get some tyre sealant and an electric pump. With a motor under the bonnet, there is no frunk.

The body shape dictates a weird boot design that, when flicked open, has a narrow opening, so slotting in big luggage items might require some lateral thinking. There are handy release pulls to drop one or both of the 60:40 split and fold rear seats, and with those down cargo capacity expands to 1435 litres. A pity there's no load-through facility for long, narrow items.

The front part of the cabin is as you’ll find in every Kia EV. The dominating feature is a widescreen that houses both the infotainment touchscreen and the driver's dial set.

To provide a clear view of the latter, the fully adjustable steering wheel is fairly large. As in the EV3, it has the same issue in that what you don’t easily see is the 5.0-inch heating, ventilation and air-conditioning touchscreen sandwiched between the two 12.3-inch LED screens.

The steering wheel obscures it for the driver. Yes, there are physical 'piano key' buttons for temperature and fan speed on both sides of the dashboard, but it’s still an anomaly for a brand that generally does so much better with its ergonomics.

On each arm of the wheel are controls for the audio functions and adaptive cruise. Easily overlooked is a driving mode button on the centre spoke, which allows you to cycle through the various modes.

A set of paddle shifters are for shifting through the four levels of available battery re-gen. It also has an effective one-pedal mode, but the variable braking of the auto mode is brusque.

The screen system includes inbuilt navigation, wired and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, AM/FM and DAB radio and a Harman/Kardon audio system. There are front and rear USB points. Dual-zone climate control includes rear vents located in the centre console. All EV4s come with vehicle-to-load (V2L) power and facilitate over the air updates.

Powered front seating, with both chairs heated and ventilated, artificial leather seat trim, two-tone interior trim, a head up display, a heated steering wheel, ambient lighting, a wireless phone charger and a power-operated boot are all part of the GT-Line buy-in.

It’s fairly practical and fairly upmarket, but not overtly so in either case. The front chairs look special with a nice two-tone finish with distinctive 1970s-style ribbing, and neat wing-shaped headrests, but equally of note is how Kia’s eco-mindedness comes into play, with extensive use of recycled and bio-based plastics.

This deserves credit, but it’s a shame most of that delivers as hard finishes. The bins would benefit from soft inserts.

There are good storage options too, with a large open space in lieu of a centre console, which features a wireless phone charger, plus two cupholders, the arms of which rotate out of the way if you need more flat storage. While the cabin furnishes fairly well, there’s missed opportunity in the boot lacking pockets or nets to help store small items; let alone bag hooks.

Intelligent LED headlights that strive - and mostly succeed - to block glare for oncoming traffic, an electro-chromatic rear view mirror, a surround view camera, blind spot monitoring and reverse parking collision avoidance package in as well.

Autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with intelligent speed limit assist, rear cross traffic braking, lane keep assist, blind spot detection, driver monitoring, a reverse camera, front and rear parking sensors and seven airbags including centre-front are all standard fare.

Being a Hyundai Group car, you’re stuck with having to either put up with, or disable, the very zealous bing-bong overspeed and driver monitoring. You can hasten the disabling process by setting up a shortcut, but that’s only for the duration of that specific drive. As soon as you stop and turn off, the car is ready to start up its annoyances all over again. I’m all for keeping drivers safe, but there are better ways than this.

The springs, shocks and electric-assist steering maps were all tuned by Kia in Australia for what’s defined as local conditions.

Not every suspension tuning undertaking ‘over there’ is a good fit for our roads, and Kia - in its pitch to be seen as the sportier, younger person’s brand - seems to have habit of making its electric car suspensions a little less compliant than you get in equivalent Hyundais (not that there is one in this case).

But EV4 genuinely breaks away from that habit. It’s a car with confident body control and good over bumps and proves to be a pretty easy-going car.

The ride comfort on 19-inch alloys shod with relatively low profile rubber is absolutely fine. Steering that offers a modest 10.9m turning circle is light in urban manoeuvring, but firms up nicely at open road pace.

Like almost all EVs, it feels noticeably quick off the mark, and the 7.8 seconds 0-100kmh time is wholly respectable, but it's no sports car in disguise, not that this bothers me.

More important than the outright speed is the delivery of the performance, which is measured and smooth. If the steering wheel were a fraction smaller in diameter, the EV4 might feel slightly sportier, but overall there’s plenty of good going on here.

This wasn’t a test for efficiency, but as said Kia does seem to have a handle on this. Kia placing the charging port on the front right wheelarch means it needs to be nosed into charging bays, which not everyone might like given the view out the rear glass is fairly poor, but it has an excellent reversing camera and a wide array of sensors.

Going by tenor of overseas’ tests, the alternate hatch is a far more convenient car. Aside from sake of obvious flamboyance, why the fastback was preferred for here might seem odd.

The back story is there was no choice. We have it because Kia builds it in South Korea, whereas the hatch is solely produced in Slovakia. It’s easier and cheaper to take the car from Seoul than out of central Europe.

Styling so distinctive is stops a whisker short of OTT will keep the EV4 from being universally appealing. Kia can rightly argue that, for those who crave inoffensiveness, there are other choices either behind its badge, or within the broader Hyundai Group family, that offer less-challenging designs.

I’m also reminded of a well-known designer of controversial products who reputedly said “if I asked people what they wanted, they still wouldn’t be happy with it”.

You might very one day get used to it. Let’s not forget how controversial the original BMW i3 was when it showed. But now, at least to my eyes, it fits in beautifully. Still, getting use to something is not the same as saying you will expect to ever come to like it.

What also makes it hard to pigeon-hole this car is its price. The LR Light version seems more comfortably-sited than the flagship, whose sticker is hefty enough to perhaps demand comparison with premium brand products.

As said, many could well compare to Tesla Model 3 in its Premium rather than Performance guise, the Mazda 6e, which releases in September in an equitable Takami specification for $58,990, or the increasing count of electric luxury sedans from Chinese makes. Perhaps also the updated Hyundai Ioniq 6 should it show up.