AUSTIN — Here’s a riddle: what small Kia has four doors, four wheels, and just got a thorough redesign inside and out—and isn’t called the Forte? Why, it’s the 2025 Kia K4, of course. Hey, that rhymed!
Just like it did with the Optima and K5, Kia is once again doing with the Forte and K4: killing off an established, recognizable nameplate, and replacing it with the namesake of R2-D2’s cousin. It’s understandable—in other markets, prior-generation Fortes were called the K4 anyway, so it makes sense to consolidate. Plus, Kia says they updated it so much over the Forte, it may as well be a whole new car. But still, not a lot of cars are named after things anymore, so it stings a little to lose one, you know?
Anyway, onto the car itself. The 2025 Kia K4 is a perfectly good car. Maybe even great!
Obviously the big news here is the new look. Kia says the roofline is inspired by the Stinger. I don’t really see Stinger per se, but I do see a lot of Polestar 2-inspired bits, mainly in the C-pillar and rear section. Up front, the K4 draws a lot from newer Kias; its stacked headlights and pointy orange LED running lights are copy-and-pasted from the Sorento and Carnival Hybrid. They’re connected by a slimmer and edgier evolution of Kia’s “tiger nose” grille. Look lower and you’ll pick out hints of body cladding grounding the K4. It’s subtle and better-executed than a certain other compact sedan out there. New wheels finish off the look; base cars get 16-inch hubcaps, the EX we drove and EX+ trim roll on 17-inch wheels, and the GT-Line wears 18s.
What strikes me the most about the K4’s new look is how much fun Kia seemed to have with it. The Wolverine-ish reverse light has no right to look so cool. The hidden handle for the rear doors is a neat trick, and perhaps an unintentional call-back to the FD RX-7. I like the way the rear fender cuts out, and with the hidden door handle, its hips look coupe-ish. There’s a lot of fun and clever design to the K4, and I’m here for it.
Inside, the 2025 K4 punches in above its weight. A 12.3-inch touchscreen sits front-and-centre, joined with the digital gauge cluster under one glossy black panel. Say what you will about the smudges and fingerprints, Kia did a good job integrating the display into the dash, and the interface is easy to use. Materials feel good, there are still proper physical controls for the climate control and radio, and the heather-grey seats look nice—and the front headrests have a pocket to hang bags or jackets without touching the back of your head. Clever!
Beyond the clever design touches and almost minimalist overall look, there’s good functionality to the K4’s interior. I’m not mad the EX doesn’t have a sunroof; that just means headroom is excellent no matter where you sit. There’s also more legroom—plus USB-C ports and air vents—out back than the 2015 Optima. And way out back, the 413-litre trunk is roomy and on the larger end of the segment.
I did have a couple of nitpicks with the K4, but I wouldn’t consider them dealbreakers. First, the climate control. Only the GT-Line gets automatic climate control; I don’t mind that lesser K4 trims use manual climate control, but instead of a three-dial arrangement like the Elantra, it uses buttons. I dig how slick it looks, but a temperature indicator instead of just blue and red light-up dots would be nice. The GT-Line moves most of the climate controls onto a smaller display, like the EV9, sandwiched between the gauges and main infotainment—and it shows the temperature you’ve set. That said, it seemed like the A/C couldn’t keep up with the Texas heat, even with everything on full-blast and full-cold. Maybe automatic climate control would solve this by having a broader temp adjustment range, but it’s too bad it’s locked behind the most expensive trim level.
Under the hood, the base K4 LX, EX, and EX+ trims come with a normally aspirated 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine. Putting out 147 horsepower, 132 pound-feet of torque, and paired to a continuously variable transmission—Kia’s marketing department calls it an “Intelligent Variable Transmission,” or IVT for short—the base powertrain is about as exciting as a toaster. It’s perfectly adequate around town, where you won’t need to call upon its power too often, but the K4 feels strained when merging or passing. The CVT is predictable, well-behaved and mostly invisible around town, but holding revs high and coaxing an unpleasant groan from the engine when you give it the beans.
If you’d rather not settle, Kia offers a 1.6L turbo-four. The numbers shoot up to 190 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque, and the CVT is swapped for an eight-speed automatic. That’s the good news; the less-good news is, only the most expensive GT-Line trim gets the good engine. Both these powertrain options are carried over from the Forte, and continue to be shared with the Elantra. As such, we found it a little odd Kia isn’t offering a hybrid just yet given the Elantra, Civic, and Corolla all do, but fuel economy is still a strong suit. The base four-cylinder is rated at 8.4 L/100 km in the city, 6.0 highway, and 7.3 combined; we averaged 7.7 L/100 km by the end of our day with the car. Beyond the powertrain, the K4’s road manners are excellent; it rides well, there’s very little wind and road noise, and the easy steering and small footprint overall makes the K4 easy to manoeuvre around town.
Granted for all the improvements inside and out, the K4 isn’t quite the steal of a deal its predecessor was. Pricing ranges from $23,995 for the base LX, to $34,495 for the spicier, range-topping GT-Line Turbo. The EX models we drove sit smack-dab in the middle, at $26,495. Kia anticipates this will be the volume seller of the lineup, offering the best balance of bells-and-whistles, tech, and active safety and driver assists—adaptive cruise control is standard across the lineup—without breaking the bank. It’s still a good value overall, but costs appreciably more than the Forte.
Though it’s not particularly quick in a straight line, the 2025 Kia K4 ticks all the boxes a perfectly good car should. It’s comfortable, good on gas, easy to live with, and still offers good value—at least relative to its competitors. What more could you possibly want out of a perfectly good car? All but the spiciest K4s are in dealerships now; the GT-Line will be hitting dealers in January.
