2025 Kia K4 First Drive Review: The Cool New Kid On The Block

The 2025 Kia K4 is an all-new compact sedan that replaces the discontinued Forte. It’s an attractive, sporty-looking sedan with a roomy rear seat and a spacious trunk along with a good range of features. It’s offered with a choice of two gas engines, depending on the trim. There’s also a hatchback version of the K4 slated for the US, but the timing on that one hasn’t been revealed.

What the K4 doesn’t offer is a hybrid powertrain for those looking to make the most of their fuel economy. It’s also available only with front-wheel drive, which makes it less appealing for those who live where it snows. Despite lacking those features, the K4 offers a solid assortment of standard features with pricing starting at just $21,990, not including $1,155 destination. It’s likely to help Kia continue its recent sales streak alongside top sellers like the three-row Telluride and electric EV6.

First Drive events provide our initial impressions of a vehicle in a restricted environment under certain time constraints. Keep an eye on DrivingOnRoad for our comprehensive Test Drive review which will follow soon.

Exterior Looks: Compact Dimensions With Sporty Style

The K4 is an attractive little sedan with great styling. It’s not often that an affordable, entry-level model gets eye-catching details, but the K4 is quite the looker. Especially up front, with a unique lighting treatment that has become something of a hallmark of Kia design. There are 16-inch steel wheels, LED multi-focus reflector headlights, and a black grille with painted metal trim. The more modest styling of the base trim gets a boost in higher trim levels with the top GT-Line Turbo adding larger 18-inch wheels, LED projector-type headlights, and a unique bumper and grille with chrome trim. One quirk of the design that you’ll either love or hate is the rear door handle placement. It’s up by the side of the rear window and will confuse your passengers.

Interior & On-Board Technology: Not The Fanciest, But Looks Good

The interior of the K4 is surprisingly roomy for a compact sedan with comfortable and supportive front seats. Seating materials ranging from cloth to SynTex imitation leather are attractive with available features including a 10-way power driver’s seat and heated and ventilated front seats to add a premium touch.

Unsurprisingly, the base trim is a bit plain, but it’s still attractive. And the comfort is there no matter the trim level. The improved features as you move up the lineup do, however, make a big difference in the passenger experience without sending the price sky-high. The K4 is an attractive, comfortable, and well-equipped car for the price across the lineup.

Infotainment: Multiple Screen Options

Base trims get a rather small four-inch TFT instrument cluster, but most of the lineup gets a much better 12.3-inch cluster. Standard on every trim is a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen with 4-speaker audio, USB-C ports for front and rear passengers, and wireless smartphone connectivity. Audio gets better with an eight-speaker Harman Kardon system on top trims, which also gets wireless charging. The system works well with key standard features, even on base trims.

How It Drives: Go For The Turbo

We had the opportunity to try both engines at Kia’s first drive event. The base engine was responsive enough, but there is a noticeable difference when you step up to the turbo. Do not, however, think you’re getting a sports car just because it’s turbocharged instead of naturally aspirated. Acceleration is strong, but not aggressive – which is fine for where this sedan is situated in the market.

It’s easy to get up to highway speeds and there’s power enough once you’re there for passing slower vehicles. The eight-speed transmission was smooth with well-modulated shifts for even power delivery.

Ride and Handling

The ride in the K4 is smooth, but there is a bit of wind noise. Rough, uneven pavement is nicely muted and won’t rattle passengers, but the tire noise is noticeable. Still, we found the K4 has a nice ride that won’t have passengers counting the minutes until the end of the trip, and for the driver, it handles well overall with responsive steering, even if it’s not especially crisp. This is a more relaxed, laid back ride, not an engaging one for driving enthusiasts.

Fuel Economy

Those who have long commutes will appreciate the fuel economy of the K4. The base engine gets 30/40/34 mpg city/highway/combined, which is quite good. Go for the more powerful turbocharged engine and the numbers drop to 26/36/29 mpg respectively. It’s a noticeable drop, but it’s not one that’s going to break the bank as fuel prices rise.

Verdict & Pricing: A Fun And Affordable Small Car

The introduction of the K4 to the Kia lineup gives entry-level buyers and anyone on a budget a new option. It has great style, good features, and a strong turbocharged engine option. The base engine is less exciting, but it does offer great fuel economy, so choose your engine accordingly.

Not every affordable car is one that’s nice to drive. It’s a tricky balance to keep pricing down without making a car feel cheap, but Kia does a good job with the K4. It’s not fancy, but it’s not a plain Jane either. Buyers on a budget will find plenty to like about this new compact sedan.