Its dynamic personality is more Golf R than Golf GTI, not just owing to the technical fact that it has four-wheel drive (thanks to an additional 94bhp motor for the rear axle) rather than front-wheel drive (the 194bhp motor from the standard EV4 remains at the front) but also in how it goes down the road.
The suspension makeover from the standard EV4 feels significant: the GT does a Golf R impression in offering superb comfort and compliance alongside plenty of grip and stability when being pushed. It uses the clever system we have seen before on Hyundai Group models, whereby a front-facing camera scans the road ahead and prompts the suspension to adjust in milliseconds for any bumps ahead. The steering feel is also much improved, addressing a particular Kia weak point.
The EV4 GT seems like a car set up almost exclusively for road use, rather than track use, as I suspect it would feel a bit stodgy and heavy on the smoothest surfaces with only cornering speeds and trying to slide around to think about. The EV4 GT can still put a smile on your face around a corner as well as impress you with how it is able to handle a bumpy road, being capable of searing cross-country pace, and unlike many fast EVs it has far more in its repertoire than rapid standing-start acceleration.
Still, it is quick: a 5.6sec 0-62mph time is claimed and a 120mph top speed estimated, although according to the performance data logger you can view on the central touchscreen, someone had got the former down close to 5sec dead. The virtual gearshift function made famous by the Ioniq 5 N also features, and among the driving modes is one labelled GT (enabled by a button on the steering wheel) that makes everything as fast or as stiff as it goes.
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