Compare the2025 Audi Q4 e-tron SportbackVS 2025 Kia Niro EV

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Niro EV doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q4 e-tron Sportback and Niro EV have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q4 e-tron Sportback has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Niro EV’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Niro EV doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Niro EV doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback offers an optional Top View Camera System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Niro EV only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the Q4 e-tron Sportback and the Niro EV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.

The Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback weighs 953 to 1129 pounds more than the Kia Niro EV. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Niro EV has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s corrosion warranty is 7 years and unlimited miles longer than the Niro EV’s (12/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s electric motors produces 134 more horsepower (335 vs. 201) and 313 lbs.-ft. more torque (501 vs. 188) than the Niro EV’s electric motor.

As tested in Motor Trend the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback is faster than the Kia Niro EV:

The Q4 55 e-tron Sportback can travel longer on a full charge than the Niro EV (258 miles vs. 253 miles).

For better stopping power the Q4 e-tron Sportback’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Niro EV:

The Q4 e-tron Sportback stops shorter than the Niro EV:

For better traction, the Q4 e-tron Sportback has larger tires than the Niro EV (F:235/50R20 & R:255/45R20 vs. 215/55R17).

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s standard 235/50R20 front and 255/45R20 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series front and 45 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Niro EV’s standard 55 series tires. The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s optional 235/45R21 front and 255/40R21 rear tires have a lower 45 series front and 40 series rear profile than the Niro EV’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q4 e-tron Sportback has standard 20-inch wheels. Only 17-inch wheels are available on the Niro EV. The Q4 e-tron Sportback offers optional 21-inch wheels.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Q4 e-tron Sportback’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Niro EV (108.7 inches vs. 107.1 inches).

The Q4 e-tron Sportback handles at .81 G’s, while the Niro EV Wave pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Niro EV Wave (26.3 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 27.3 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has .4 inches more front shoulder room and .3 inches more rear legroom than the Niro EV.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has a much larger cargo volume than the Niro EV with its rear seat up (26.1 vs. 22.8 cubic feet).

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Q4 e-tron Sportback. The Niro EV doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has a 2650 lbs. towing capacity. The Niro EV has no towing capacity.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Niro EV’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. With the Niro EV Wave’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Q4 e-tron Sportback the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Niro EV can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Niro EV’s standard projector halogen headlights and light instantly. LED lights also last over twenty times longer than halogen.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q4 e-tron Sportback Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Niro EV doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Niro EV offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Q4 e-tron Sportback has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Niro EV.

To keep a safe, consistent following distance, the Q4 e-tron Sportback has a standard Adaptive Cruise Control, which alters the speed of the vehicle without driver intervention. This allows the driver to use cruise control more safely without constantly having to disengage it when approaching slower traffic. The Niro EV doesn’t offer an adaptive cruise control.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi Q4 e-tron Sportback and the Kia Niro EV, based on reliability, safety and performance.