The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Daring style
- Tech-laden standard model
- Roomy back seat
- Clean interior design
- Great warranty
Dislikes
- Rear quarter window design
- Modest base content
- Lacks a hybrid
- Coarse base engine
Buying tip
features & specs
The 2025 Kia K4 tempts with a different style and a wall of screens uncommon for the entry-level car.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Kia K4? What does it compare to?
The 2025 Kia K4 replaces the Kia Forte. It competes with a small but robust batch of compact sedans including the Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic, and Toyota Corolla.
Is the 2025 Kia K4 a good car?
The new 2025 Kia K4’s is appealing for its roomy interior, long warranty, and its easy-to-use technology, but its look polarizes. Kia’s fourth-generation compact sedan earns a TCC Rating of 5.6 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Kia K4?
The fourth-generation compact sedan from Kia is mostly new, but it looks nothing like the Forte. It’s 2.7 inches longer and nearly two inches wider, which makes it roomier than its predecessor, but its fastback profile sports some awkward lines. The face marks a fairly radical change, mostly due to new headlights and running lights inspired by the electric EV9 crossover. They stretch from the front to the sides of the car and drop down as well to create a disrupted triangular shape. They flank a wider, thinner version of Kia’s customary grille. The real change, however, is to the profile, where the fastback shape is disrupted by a vertical rear window line that lacks any sense of flow. The fenders suggest haunches up front and especially at the rear and the side surfacing is restrained, but we just can’t get past that window line.
Inside, the big news is an available 30-inch digital display that incorporates a 12.3-inch instrument cluster with a 5.0-inch climate display and a 12.3-inch center touchscreen. The touchscreen is standard even on low-end trims, but lesser models have a 4.0-inch digital information center. The rest is rather traditional, with a center console that makes room for an available wireless phone charger, a shifter, and a useful bin.
The larger size gives the K4 good room for four 6-footers thanks to 38.0 inches of legroom and 37.3 inches of headroom. A 14.6-cubic foot trunk is about average for the class, though the fastback shape limits the size of its opening.
The base 2.0-liter inline-4 carries over from the Forte, making 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. It uses a continuously variable transmission to send power to the front wheels. This powertrain is rather dull in its responses, and isn’t very quick. It’ll keep up with traffic but plan before you pass. The noise and transmission stay mostly in the background until pushed when the CVT sends the revs high and the engine drones and becomes coarse.
The GT-Line Turbo uses a 1.6-liter turbo-4 making 190 hp and 195 lb-ft; the previous turbo-4 made 201 hp. It has an 8-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel paddles. It’s stronger, though not quick, and its transmission feels more natural. Fuel economy tops out at 34 mpg combined for the base engine, and the turbo gets 29 mpg combined.
Both the GT-Line and GT-Line Turbo swap out a torsion-beam rear axle for a multi-link independent suspension that settles the rear more. The front axle is bound by struts. The two GT-Line models also have an available acoustic windshield to limit wind noise, and acoustic tires for less road noise. These are the models we’ve driven, and they provide a pleasant driving experience thanks to a comfortable ride and some nice steering heft for mid-corner stability.
While crash testing isn’t complete yet, Kia equips the K4 better than most offerings in this segment. Standard driver-assist features include adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitors, and active lane control.
Options include two levels of highway driving assist systems, intersection assist, blind-spot cameras, and a surround-view camera system.
How much does the 2025 Kia K4 cost?
Kia offers the K4 in LX, LXS, EX, GT-Line and GT-Line Turbo trim levels. The LX starts at $23,145 LX (including a $1,155 for destination) and comes equipped with manually adjustable front seats, cloth upholstery, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and 16-inch steel wheels.
Prices range up to $29,245 for the GT-Line Turbo, and options can push it past $30,000. All models carry a 5-year/60,000-mile warranty.
Where is the 2025 Kia K4 made?
In South Korea and Mexico.
—Senior Editor Robert Duffer contributed to this report.
2025 Kia K4 Styling
The K4 is bigger than the Forte but it has some awkward lines.
Is the Kia K4 a good-looking car?
Not really. The nose sports a modern look inspired by the latest electric SUV, but an abrupt rear rear window line disrupts what could otherwise be a stylish fastback shape. We call it a 5 here, adding a point for its interior but subtracting one for that odd rear end.
Compared to the stylish Forte, the brand’s dog-bone grille stretches thinner and wider, and sits over a blockier lower grille. The headlight housings wrap around the fenders and over the front wheels, and the amber running lights make it look like a bird in flight, with its wing as the vertical part. Kia said it borrows from the flagship EV9 three-row electric SUV, and that continues with the vertical element of the taillight that cuts 90 degrees across the trunk. Rear fender lines sweep up to the rear, but that sleek rear third comes undone at the quarter window behind beyond the rear door handles recessed into the window frame.
The interior looks more conventional. The dash sits low and stretches end to end with a band of vents separating climate and fan speed buttons from a menu bar operating the centerpiece of the new interior: an available 30-inch digital display stretching from the driver nearly to the passenger side. It consists of a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 5.0-inch climate display that can get blocked in part by the steering wheel, and a 12.3-inch center touchscreen. It doesn’t overwhelm like some tablet-sized touchscreens, and there’s still a mechanical shifter in the center console, which has two deep adjustable cupholders. The base version has a 4.0-inch digital information center, but the big infotainment screen is standard. An available smartphone charger sits in front of the shifter and below a small panel of ports.
2025 Kia K4 Performance
Buyers have to go to the top of the lineup to get decent power in the Kia K4.
Is the Kia K4 4WD?
No, it only comes with front-wheel drive.
How fast is the Kia K4?
In its base form, it’s slow, but its turbocharged engine makes it fairly quick. That base engine is a 2.0-liter inline-4 that makes a modest 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. It’s hooked to a continuously variable transmission. We’ve driven this in the prior Forte, and been unimpressed. The duo is largely inoffensive in traffic or city driving, but push it for freeway speeds or passing maneuvers and the high revs make the engine drone and feel coarse. The 0-60 mph sprint takes a leisurely 9.6 seconds, which makes it one of today’s slower cars.
The top model gets a 1.6-liter turbo-4 that spins out 190 hp and 195 lb-ft. Its 8-speed automatic transmission doesn’t make the engine rev so high, so it never gets as intrusive as the base engine. The 0-60 mph sprint is around eight seconds, or perhaps less, which gives it better passing power, though it’s still no world beater, or even a Civic Si.
Kia also offers two levels of suspension tune. The bottom three models get a solid rear axle that can transfer the effect of bumps from side to side. Opt for a GT-Line model and you get an multi-link independent suspension that settles the rear end for a smoother ride. We’ve only driven the two GT-Line cars and both had a comfortable ride, though coarse Texas hill country pavement caused some tire thrum, even though those tires are also acoustically treated.
Handling isn’t a plus or a minus for the K4. While we like the way the steering firms up for stability at speed and the way the size lets it scoot through traffic, this isn’t a sport-tuned car. It’s controlled and comfortable, but it doesn’t have particularly agile moves.
2025 Kia K4 Comfort & Quality
It’s better than the Forte, but the K4’s still on the small side of compact.
The K4 grows larger than the Forte it replaces and this gives it a better back seat. We rate it a 6 here for good front seats, but the K4 isn’t wide enough to fit five comfortably, which would garner an additional point.
The front seats have manual adjustments in the base version, but they have good headroom and legroom. With 38.0 inches of legroom and 37.3 inches of headroom, a pair of 6-footers can fit in the back, even behind a pair of 6-footers in the front. Don’t expect to fit three across back there, though, unless they’re preteens. The trunk has a class-average 14.6 cubic feet of cargo space, but the fastback design limits the size of the trunk aperture, so larger boxes may not fit.
Interior materials quality is appropriate for the prices. Kia goes with harder plastics on lower line models and only upgrades to soft-touch materials on the EX model and above.
2025 Kia K4 Safety
The K4 has lots of standard features but no crash-test ratings yet.
How safe is the Kia K4?
As a newly redesigned car, the K4 doesn’t have crash-test ratings yet, and we can’t give it a score here until those results come in.
However, it comes with a lot of standard safety equipment, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control, active lane control, automatic high beams, rear occupant alert, and a driver-attention monitor. Also available are rear cross-traffic alerts, a safe-exit warning system, navigation-based adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, blind-spot monitors, a surround-view camera system, two levels of highway-driving assist that follow vehicles ahead but require hands on the steering wheel, and advanced automatic emergency braking with intersection assist and evasive steering assist.
2025 Kia K4 Features
Priced right, the K4 can come bare-bones or well equipped.
The K4 is one of few cars priced in the low $20,000 range, though it’s sparsely equipped at that price. However, Kia offers a varied lineup with plenty of features and a good warranty of 5 years/60,000 miles. Those strengths plus a good infotainment system earn it an 8 here.
Standard features of the $23,145 LX (including a mandatory $1,155 destination fee) include a cloth upholstery, manual seat adjustments, 4.0-inch digital instrument cluster, a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and 16-inch steel wheels.
The LXS costs $1,000 more and adds a Sport drive mode, alloy wheels, and a 60:40 split-folding rear seat.
For $25,145, the EX adds 17-inch wheels; a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster; soft-touch trim on the door panels, steering wheel, and shift knob; dual-zone automatic climate control; and a wireless phone charger.
Which Kia K4 should I buy?
The $26,245 GT-Line adds a multi-link independent rear suspension, firmer suspension tuning, steering wheel paddle shifters, 18-inch wheels, synthetic leather on the door panels, cloth and synthetic leather upholstery, a 10-way power-adjustable driver seat, heated front seats, navigation, and an AI voice assistant.
How much is a fully loaded Kia K4?
At $29,245, the GT-Line Turbo gets the more powerful turbocharged engine and an 8-speed automatic transmission, plus alloy pedals, an acoustic windshield, a sunroof, synthetic leather upholstery, and an eight-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system. Above that, Kia offers a GT-Line Turbo Technology Package that adds ambient lighting, a digital key, cooled front seats, driver-seat memory, a surround-view camera system, front and rear parking sensors, and the advanced automatic emergency braking system.
2025 Kia K4 Fuel Economy
The K4 goes pretty easy on gas, but it lacks a hybrid.
Is the Kia K4 good on gas?
Yes, it’s pretty good, but it doesn’t offer a hybrid version like its rivals. With an EPA rating of 30 mpg city, 40 highway, 34 combined for the base engine, it earns a rating of 4 here.
Go for the turbocharged engine and the ratings are still pretty good at 26/36/29 mpg.