People say that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, whilst expecting a totally different outcome every time.
According to that definition, I seem to have gone insane. Only a couple of months after the Kia e-Niro defeated the Volkswagen ID.3 in a comparison,
I'm putting the exact same e-Niro next to another electric Volkswagen. In this case, it's the ID.4. And it shares a lot of technology, however...
they're very different cars as my colleague Jan recently proved. It's much more premium. Also, the Kia e-Niro is one of the very few...
natural competitors that are available right now. I dare you to name a big electric crossover with more than 204 horsepower,
with a big battery pack and for less than €60.000. I don't think you can name a lot. That's why we're giving the ID.4 a try.
Like I said, the ID.4 shares a lot of technology with the ID.3. They're on the same platform and they even share the same wheelbase.
However, this ID.4 is a lot bigger, which means there's much more space available. It all starts in the boot, which isn't as big as you'd expect...
if you look at the car. That's because the whole electric drivetrain, consisting of the electric motor and transmission are under there.
Despite all that, it can still hold 590 litres. That's 90 litres more than in the Kia. Also, the rear seat is much more spacious than in the Kia.
The seats are nicer, there's more legroom, there's more headroom, space everywhere around you. It feels much more grown-up.
If you look at the front, it stands out that Volkswagen and Kia have both chosen different approaches how to design their dashboards.
Volkswagen has gone with their new styling philosophy. It's very minimalistic with nice materials. It looks a lot better than in the ID.3,
and it looks better than in the e-Niro. It has a head-up display with augmented reality, there's a big multimedia system with all kinds...
of effects and movements, which looks very fresh. However, it's not a big ergonomic success to be completely honest.
There are too much things which need more steps than necessary. If you want to change your heated steering wheel or heated seats,
you first have to enter this menu before you can actually change something. Or if you want to lower the rear windows. You've got two buttons...
over here which control the front doors. If you want to operate the rear windows, you have to press 'Rear' first, only then you can lower...
the rear windows. And that's just unnecessary. It distracts you too much from the road and it's a tad difficult, despite looking very good.
If we look at the Kia's interior, it's the complete opposite. They don't use very nice materials, it's a tad less spacious and it looks like a...
plastic button-grenade has gone off in here. However, that means there are buttons for everything. The moment you want to turn on your...
heated steering wheel, you just have to push a button and it's done. So it might not look as good, but it's a lot better ergonomically speaking.
When you start driving, you'll quickly notice this ID.4 is built on a platform that was specifically designed for an electric car.
You'll notice that immediately when you get in the front seat. The seating position is nicely sunk into the car, instead of on top of a battery pack.
And in the back, you don't get the impression you're in a weird angle. Also, you notice they've paid a lot of attention to noise reduction.
That's partly because of the optional double glass, which is standard on this First Max, but take a double look when you're configurating your ID.4.
Because the wind noises which usually dominate an electric car on the motorway, because there's no engine noise, are filtered out almost completely.
They've really done a good job there. It's an incredibly quiet car. The chassis itself then. It's one that's true to the old Volkswagen-tradition.
It's sturdy, but very comfortable. You'll always know about the state of the tarmac, if there's a lot of potholes or imperfections.
It will never filter everything away, but it does filter a lot of things very smoothly. It easily processes them.
That makes it very comfortable, whilst still being able to tackle all kinds of circumstances.
On a wet surface, it's easily able to use all of its 204 horsepower. It's got rear-wheel drive and that really suits this car.
It'll remain nicely neutral for a very long time, and because there's no driving elements inbetween the front wheels, they can turn in a very...
large angle. So despite this being a bigger, heavier car than the e-Niro, it feels more compact in the city. Because it's got such a small turning...
circle. So to drive it, it's a very good car. It feels like it's one step ahead of the e-Niro already.
However, the only drawback is the range. The Kia has a battery pack with a 64 kWh net capacity, and this Volkswagen has a battery pack with a...
77 kWh net capacity. And I still have to round up all of the numbers and find out what the exact consumption numbers are, so you'll have...
to read AutoWeek 7 in 2021, but I can already tell you that the ID.4 won't get as far as the Kia with a bigger battery pack.
And that's partly because of the fact that this is a bigger and heavier car. I mean, it's 300 kg heavier than the Kia, and that additional mass...
has to moved as well, which costs energy. However, I didn't expect the difference in efficiency to be this big.
Then, the charging possibilities. It's very close, let me tell you. Both can charge up to 11 kW on alternating current,
but when we're talking quickcharging on direct current, the Volkswagen has the edge. That can charge up to 125 kW whilst the Kia has to...
settle for 100 kW.
It's very impressive to see that this Kia e-Niro, which has been around for quite some time now, still offers this much efficiency and range.
If the temperatures are favorable, which they have been the past week, you can easily get more than 400 km on a single charge.
That's kind of the magic number they've reached there, and that's quite the achievement.
What I like as well in this Kia, is that you have much more control over the way it regenerates energy. In the Volkswagen, you have two modes.
D and B, and even in B-mode the braking isn't that strong. In this Kia however, you've got four modes. From coasting to the max,
so slowing down very slowly, to slowing down quite vigorously. You can all control that with the flappy paddles behind the steering wheel.
And if you hold the left flappy paddle, you can bring the car to a total halt. In the Volkswagen however, you always need the brake pedal for the...
final few metres. In this car, it will become a sport to know when to release the throttle to precisely reach the traffic lights.
And if you apply that approach, the efficiency goes even higher. Then, the drive. It's not an annoying car at all. It's very comfortable,
there's enough grip, but you can clearly notice this car is built on a platform that wasn't specifcally designed for this drivetrain.
204 electric horsepower which are immediately available is quite much for only the front wheels. Especially on wet surfaces, you'll see the..
ESP-light a lot. Also, the way it processes imperfections and such isn't annoying, but the Volkswagen just does a better job. It's more quiet...
as well. The ID.4 just feels like it's from a higher segment, and to tell the truth, it actually is.
This Kia e-Niro 64 kWh Executive Line starts at €46.000, but you still have to select the heat pump and metallic paint separately.
That brings the total to €48.000, but you do have literally everything you can have on the Niro. Heated rear seats, cooled seats, all of the...
modern safety systems, you name it. For the Volkswagen, you have to pay an additional €10.000. For a part, you can tell where that extra...
money goes. You've got a head-up display with augmented reality and such, but you won't get cooled seats or a full-leather interior.
So you don't really get a lot more stuff for your money. So despite the Volkswagen feeling like a more refined car, the difference...
on the scorecard is going to be incredibly small again. Stuff to drive you insane, right?