Kia has revealed its new small electric car: meet the chonky, 278-mile EV2

No surprises as to where this one slots in the range. Welcome, one and all, to the Kia EV2: the EV3, EV4, EV6 and EV9’s baby sibling. Except, it’s not really a baby, Kia insisting it’s actually capacious and competent enough to become a household’s main car.

So, all hail the small (ish) car! It’s a supermini, but with more crossover, meaning it’ll rival stuff like the funky Renault 4 and Ford Puma Jenny – sorry, Gen-E. It’s a bit shorter than both of those, with a length closer to the Peugeot e-208, but can be specced as a five-seater, or a four-seater with sliding/reclining rear seats. Fancy.

Big boy stuff in a small boi car. That’s the pitch, anyway. “By bringing upper-segment features into an entry electric model, the EV2 broadens the appeal of electric driving,” said Kia’s European COO Sjoerd Knipping.

Speaking of driving, you get two battery choices: a 42.2kWh unit offering 197 miles of range, and a 61kWh unit allowing up to 278 miles. Both these ranges are WLTP pending, but that’s a decent slog of driving in one hit.

And recovering it should be quick, too. The EV2’s built around a 400V architecture, so if you find a fast enough DC charger, you can go from 10-80 per cent in half an hour. It supports home AC 11kW/22kW charging too, though this naturally takes longer.

Like the list of driver assistance bundled inside. There’s a lot of stuff to help make piloting the thing easier: highway assist, collision avoidance tech, cruise control, blind spot monitoring, surround view, and park assist, to name six.

Interestingly, Kia hasn’t made any mention of dynamism, suspension or how it’ll feel, pointing instead to its practicality (lots of leg- and headroom, a 403-litre boot with the rear seats slid forward, a 15-litre ‘frunk’), its triple-screen infotainment setup (12.3in driver display, 5.3in climate control screen, 12.3in central touchscreen), and of course, design.

A big, chonky, blocky unit that diligently toes Kia’s EV model line design language. Vertical daytime running lights, an upright, SUV-esque stance, and wheels ranging from 16in to 19in. GT-line cars add ‘lifestyle’ in the shape of high-gloss black accents dotted around the exterior.

“As our most compact EV, it blends bold design with cutting-edge advancements in charging, connectivity, and safety,” said Kia Europe boss Soohang Chang. “Building the EV2 in Slovakia reinforces our commitment to Europe and ensures this model reflects the needs and expectations of drivers across the continent.”

Prices will be announced in due course – consider the EV3 starts at £33k for the entry-level 58.3kWh battery version, and you’ll get some idea as to this EV2. All hail the small (ish) car, right?