A product of the Eighties, the first hot hatchbacks – high-performance versions of practical family cars – were a phenomenon. The first Volkswagen Golf GTI, which arrived in the UK in 1979, punched out only 109bhp, but it was enough to provide that 810kg machine with zero-to-62mph acceleration of nine seconds and a top speed of 110mph.
Classless, speedy, compact and economical, the first generation of hot hatches were practical and great to drive, although not exactly cheap; the £4,705 cost of a GTI in 1979 would be about £24,050 today. Despite that, British drivers loved them; at one time, GTI models represented more than 10 per cent of all Golfs sold.
Nostalgia is a wonderful thing, especially with Chinese companies breathing down your neck. What was a good idea back then seems an even better one now, and a new breed of battery-electric pocket rockets is being prepared to tempt us out of BYD and Jaecoo showrooms.
New arrivals
There’s the new Peugeot E-208 GTi, VW Polo GTI and ID.3 GTX, the Alpine A290 and A390 from Renault, Cupra’s Born VZ and the MG4 XPower, along with the Tesla Model 3 Performance.
And there’s this, the Kia EV4 GT, one third of a new high-performance product offensive by the South Korean firm, sister to Hyundai, which has enjoyed success with its ultra-rapid N-badged cars.
I much admired the standard EV4 on which this car is based, notwithstanding the erratic ride quality of the first GT-Line cars, with large wheels and tyres. This tweaked GT version starts at £49,345, which is £4,500 above the cost of the lesser GT-Line S and a whisker under the EV luxury car tax threshold.
Under the skin
Your extra money ratchets up the spec by adding a 94bhp rear motor to the standard 194bhp front unit, with the same 81.4kWh lithium-ion NMC battery pack and stepdown gears on both. This means that it’s four-wheel-drive, so perhaps more akin to the all-wheel-drive Golf R than it is the front-drive Golf GTI. With a total power/torque output of 288bhp/345lb-ft, it provides a brisk 5.6-second sprint from 0-62mph and a top speed of 105mph. The quid pro quo is a range of only 313 miles, which I managed to whittle down to 222 miles on fast open roads in the south of France.
Holding up the body is a highly uprated all-independent suspension with new springs and dampers featuring three modes of operation. Larger-diameter disc brakes all round have a special cleaning mode to ensure they engage sharply when you need them.
The electric drivetrain provides various noises and a fake gear-change, but it’s fairly unsophisticated, with wheelspin assuaged not by mechanical differentials but by the individual brakes. So, with limited power directed to the rear wheels, think of this as principally a front-wheel-drive car with a bit more balance and traction if slippery conditions demand.
Inside job
In general, the EV 4 range looks pretty good and this souped-up model is enhanced (or blinged up) with lime-green exterior highlights, brake calipers, seatbelts and interior trim.
As befits a GTI, the facia and digital instrumentation have been redesigned, and comfortable bucket seats hold you snug while cornering.
There’s the full range of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, including easily disabled features such as lane-keeping assistant and speed assistance. Useful stuff, such as all-round parking sensors and cameras, smart cruise control and hill-start assistance, are all present.
On the road
On the renowned roads of the Alpes Maritime, including many famous Monte Carlo rally stages, the first impressions are of speed coupled with weight. With an all-up mass of 2,060kg (the battery alone weighs almost half a ton), the GT feels heavy and a little unwieldy.
The steering seems well balanced, but numb and lacking on-centre response, so you curate the nose into a turn rather than flinging it through as you might with a 1980s hot hatch. However you can balance the car on the brakes into a fast corner and it will slightly readjust its line if you lift off mid-corner. Needless to say, the grip from the 245mm-wide Pirelli P-Zero tyres is phenomenal, but they have a lot of work to do.
The power output is more than adequate, though, with a smooth take-up in normal mode. Do drivers like this new breed of simulated gear-changes (using steering-wheel paddles) and fake engine-type noises? The jury is out. Done well, as they are here, they can add to the experience, and the noises provide an aural impression of speed. But in the end, everything this car does, it can do quietly on its own, without input from the driver. To each their own, you might say (or à chacun à son goût, my fellow French road users might quip), but in the end I drove in normal mode and the experience was more relaxed – and not that much slower.
The Telegraph verdict
Faced with endless, almost identical, bland cars flooding the UK market at low prices, a reinvention of the hot hatchback was always going to be an obvious choice for established manufacturers. Unlike the uncompromising approach sister company Hyundai applied to its rabid N-badged models, Kia has tuned and adjusted its family EV, although it shares much of the same technology.
As a result, the EV4 GT has a gravitas, security and stance that refers to its swift ground-covering rather than full-bore driving. Weight and range are victims, of course, but if driven gently, it should deliver a range in the high 200s. If you can only find a 50kW DC roadside charger, a 10-80 per cent fill should take about 80 minutes.
In an era of battery electric, perhaps we need to forget the acclaimed hot hatchbacks of the Eighties; that was then and this is now. Performance EVs such as this achieve most of what those old icons did, but they do it differently, with less environmental impact and, dare I say it, fun.
The rivals
Volkswagen Golf R
From £46,930
Crushingly effective 4x4 hatchback with a 328bhp/310lb-ft four-cylinder engine (previous V6 versions were nicer). 155mph top speed and 0-62mph in 4.4 seconds. Great to drive, but not everyone loves the seven-speed direct-shift gearbox.
Cupra Born VZ
From £45,995
This surprisingly likeable, high-performance, rear-drive, four-door EV is based on VW’s ID.3 hatchback. A 79kWh battery gives 326bhp and 402lb-ft, with a top speed of 124mph and 0-62mph in 5.6 seconds.