Kia's smallest-ever EV, the B-segment EV2, now comes in a Long Range version: a 61 kWh battery good for up to 453 km (281 miles) WLTP, starting around €33,490 in Europe. It's one of the most efficient, well-equipped small EVs on sale anywhere — and Kia has no plans to bring it to the US.
Kia's smallest EV just got a longer-legged version. The EV2 Long Range pairs a 61 kWh battery with an EPA-style WLTP rating of up to 453 km (281 miles) — enough to put this subcompact SUV near the top of Europe's small-EV segment for range. Pricing starts around €33,490 in Germany and £30,000 in the UK. There's just one catch for American readers: Kia has no plans to sell it here.
The EV2 launches with two distinct powertrains rather than one battery with software-limited trims. The base Standard Range uses a smaller 42.2 kWh LFP battery paired, somewhat unusually, with the more powerful of the two motors. The Long Range swaps in the bigger 61 kWh NMC pack but drops motor output slightly — Kia is clearly prioritizing efficiency and range over outright quickness.
| Spec | Standard Range | Long Range |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 42.2 kWh (LFP) | 61 kWh (NMC) |
| WLTP range | 317 km (197 mi) | 453 km (281 mi) |
| Power | 108 kW (145 hp) | 99.5 kW (133 hp) |
| 0–100 km/h | 8.7 sec | 9.5 sec |
| DC fast charging (10–80%) | ~29 min | ~30 min |
| AC charging, 10–100% (11 kW / 22 kW) | 4h05m / 2h35m | 5h34m / 3h00m |
| Starting price | from €26,600 | from €33,490 |
Both versions are front-wheel drive, electronically limited to 161 km/h (100 mph), and use a CCS Combo 2 charge port with standard Plug&Charge support. DC fast charging tops out at 118 kW on both battery sizes — not class-leading, but competitive for a 400-volt architecture in this price bracket.
The small electric SUV segment has gotten crowded fast, and the EV2 Long Range's range figure holds up well against it. The Citroën ë-C3 tops out at 322 km with its larger 44 kWh battery; the Renault 4 E-Tech reaches 409 km with a 52 kWh pack; the Fiat 600e and Opel Mokka Electric, both around 51 kWh, land at 403-406 km. Volkswagen's upcoming ID. Polo is expected around 455 km with a 52 kWh battery — similar territory, but not yet confirmed. On paper, the EV2 Long Range's 453 km sits at or near the top of this comparison set.
WLTP figures are a lab test, and European outlet Electrive's first-drive review of the EV2 offers a useful reality check: testing a Long Range model through a mix of city, country, and motorway driving at near-freezing temperatures, the onboard computer showed energy use of 16.2 kWh/100 km — implying a real-world range closer to 260 km (162 miles). Without motorway driving, consumption dropped below 15 kWh/100 km, pushing achievable range just over 280 km (174 miles). That's a meaningful gap from the 453 km WLTP figure, though far from unusual for any EV tested in cold weather.
A well-equipped EV2 is more likely to be priced between €30,000 and €35,000 — the low starting price is only part of the overall picture.
Reviewers have flagged one real downside: Kia locks several genuinely useful EV features behind higher trims and bundled option packages rather than offering them à la carte. Built-in navigation with EV-specific route planning — including automatic charging-stop scheduling and battery preconditioning — only arrives from the second trim level up. The heat pump and a "Winter package" are bundled together as a prerequisite for that navigation system, so buyers who want one but not the other are out of luck. The optional 22 kW onboard charger and V2L functionality are restricted to the top "Earth" trim and above, each carrying its own added cost.
The EV2 is built at Kia's plant in Žilina, Slovakia — the automaker's second European-built E-GMP model after the EV4 — and Kia has positioned it squarely as a European answer to a European trend: a wave of small electric SUVs (the Fiat 600e, Alfa Romeo Junior Electric, Jeep Avenger, Opel Mokka Electric, Citroën ë-C3, Renault 4 E-Tech, and soon the VW ID. Cross and Škoda Epiq) built for cities and roads that simply don't exist in most of the US in the same way. American buyers have shown limited appetite for genuinely small cars of any kind, gas or electric, and Kia's US EV lineup is built around larger, higher-margin models instead. There's no announced plan — and no strong signal — that the EV2 is coming stateside.
The bottom line: The Kia EV2 Long Range is a legitimately impressive small EV — efficient, well-packaged, and priced competitively against a deep field of European rivals, with real-world range that holds up reasonably well even in cold weather. It's also a useful data point on how differently the small-EV segment is developing outside the US: while American automakers chase bigger trucks and SUVs, Europe is getting genuinely compact, sub-$40,000-equivalent electric cars with real range. Whether that gap closes depends less on what Kia builds and more on whether American buyers ever start asking for it.
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