There’s something wonderfully subversive about driving a fast electric Kia. Take the 2025 EV6 GT, for example. The latest one brings 601 horsepower (up to 641 hp with full boost), and that should make it good for a zero to 60 mph run of around three seconds. Trust me when I say it’s fun to be able to dust supercars in, again, a Kia.
Now let’s imagine the same kind of approach to an affordable electric sedan. Could a new Kia EV4 GT give the Tesla Model 3 Performance a run for its money?
I’m eager to find out. And spy videos out of Korea’s Healer TV YouTube channel indicate we all will soon.
Like the closely related Kia EV3 crossover, a performance-focused GT variant is expected for the new EV4 sedan. Korean Car Blog indicates the go-fast tweaks seem to include 19-inch wheels, a more aggressive front bumper design and likely some other aero bits.
In terms of power, we don’t know what Kia’s up to here. The EV4 GT would almost certainly have a dual-motor all-wheel-drive setup (it’s nominally front- or all-wheel-drive, unlike the EV6 and EV9) but their output is unknown. To keep up with the Model 3 Performance, it would need to be in the neighborhood of its 510 hp and 554 lb-ft of torque, but even with 400 hp this thing would be no slouch.
Additionally—and take this rumor with a big grain of salt for now—Carscoops reports that per an inside Kia source, all variants of the EV4 sedan will get simulated electronic gear shifting a la the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and new EV6 GT. I’m slightly skeptical of that claim, but the outlet does say that the GT will get a “fake rev limiter” complete with a simulated RPM redline to force you shift gears when in full manual mode. That’s how the Ioniq 5 N works, so if the GT gets that system, don’t expect hand-holding when you want to grind it out on a fun back road.
We know that Kia believes “all our EV models will have GTs,” and the EV9 GT is the latest one to show up. Expect more news on the EV3 GT and EV4 GT in the coming months. Are you excited for a more affordable performance electric sedan with manual gear shifting? Let us know in the comments.
