ABM Q4 - Flipbook - Page 49
REVIEW
KIA EV2 GT-LINE
daily commute and the odd longer haul,
it is more than enough.
Power comes from a single motor
on the front axle producing 133bhp in
this Long Range form, 11 down on the
standard-range car in the name of
efficiency, along with 250Nm of torque.
On paper, that sounds modest, and
0 to 62mph in 9.7 seconds on the way
to a 100mph top speed will not trouble
anyone’s pulse.
In practice, it feels perkier around town
than the figures suggest. Instant electric
shove makes it genuinely nippy away
from junctions.
Charging is where the clever
engineering shows: it will take up
to 118kW on a rapid charger and go
from 10% to 80% in about half an
hour. For a small, affordable EV, that is
very respectable.
For the far more common overnight
charge on a home wallbox, it simply does
the job while you sleep.
Out where I live, with a box on the barn
wall and no public chargers for miles,
that home-charging life is the whole
model, and the range comfortably covers
a rural week.
Delivering on the drive
To drive, it turned out to be a
genuine pleasure, in a quiet,
undemanding way that crept
up on me over the day. The
steering is feather-light
and the turning circle
tight,
which makes it a doddle to place on
a narrow lane or reverse into a village
parking space, and the boxy body gives
you huge glass and excellent visibility,
with rear windows that – delightfully –
still wind all the way down, a small thing
that has become weirdly rare.
The soft suspension is tuned for
comfort, and it delivers, smothering the
potholed edges of country roads nicely,
while around town, it’s genuinely nippy
and good fun.
Ask it to hurry down a good B-road
and it wobbles and leans a little, and the
light steering tells you almost nothing
about the front wheels, so it is no hot
hatch and never pretends to be.
But driven the way it wants to be
driven – easily and calmly – it’s thoroughly
enjoyable, and the faint high-pitched
motor whine that I suspect only dogs
and the under-30s can hear did nothing
to spoil it.
Smart on the inside
Here is where the EV2 punches above
its price: the cabin is smartly done, with
three screens laid side by side in a single
panel, a responsive main touchscreen
with wireless smartphone mirroring,
and, mercifully, a row of physical toggles
for temperature and fan so you are
not diving into menus, even if the little
climate display is tucked somewhere you
have to crane your neck to read.
The GT-Line I drove had comfortable
two-tone faux-leather seats, a mix of
fabric and textured plastics that feel
chosen for durability rather
than penny-pinching,
heated seats
and wheel,
a wireless
charging
pad and a
solid suite of
driver aids as
standard. →
