Kia revealed the U.S.-spec EV4 sedan at the New York International Auto Show last week, but it only displayed and released photos of top-of-the-line GT-Line models. The EV4 is a zany design no matter what, and the GT-Line has the most dramatic bumper styling and some really killer three-spoke wheels. Kia has been absolutely crushing the weird wheel design game lately, especially when it comes to styles with fewer than five spokes. But as I discovered when taking a look at the EV4 configurator on the Korean Kia website â the car is already on sale there â the EV4’s base 18-inch wheel design is easily its wackiest.
In fact, I think this might be the coolest and most outlandish wheel design on any new car, and that’s because it doesn’t even look like a wheel. I don’t even know if I’d call this a one-spoke wheel or a two-spoke wheel. It’s like something out of a Syd Mead painting, or like what the artists working on “Cyberpunk: 2077” or “Blade Runner” would come up with. They don’t look like a base wheel, either. This is so much better than steelies or a more traditional wheel design. This will be the design for both the lowest Light trim and the mid-range Wind model, and it makes me so happy that affordable cars with this sci-fi styling will be running around. I can’t wait to see how they look in motion.
All of the wheels are wild
On the Light and Wind you’re able to upgrade to 19-inch wheels, and those have an amazing design as well. While it’s actually a four-spoke wheel with a design similar to other ones that Kia has recently come up with for cars like the Carnival and EV6, polished silver accents around the rim give it a directional two-spoke-y look. These also suit the EV4 really well, and are vastly more interesting than some normal wheel design other economy cars get. I mean, with a car that looks like the EV4 does, boring wheels just wouldn’t work anyway.
In addition to the three-spoke wheels that the GT-Line gets, camouflaged EV4 prototypes have been spied with an even wilder three-spoke design that looks like there’s a huge triangle in the center of the wheel, kind of like the ones on the large EV9 SUV. There have also been prototypes with an even smaller wheel than at the top of this story that has its own unique two-spoke (or one-spoke?) design.
The EV3 gets two-spokes too
As long as the tariffs and other Trump administration decisions don’t screw anything up, the U.S. will also be getting the teeny EV3 hatchback next year, which just won World Car of The Year, presumably because it also has a bunch of great wheel designs. The base 17-inch wheels have a great four-spoke design that could also be considered a two-spoke design, while the larger 19s are more obviously a four-spoke wheel but have an even wilder design that also could be argued is a two-spoke wheel. Regardless of spoke count, neither of them really look like wheels for a car, and I think that is just awesome.
It’s not just Kia’s more concept-like electric cars that are getting bananas wheel designs, either. Super mainstream best sellers like the K4 sedan, Sportage crossover and Sorento SUV all have fascinating wheel designs, and all of the brand’s next-gen models are gonna get even weirder. Thank God, finally a car company that’s having some fun!
Kia
