10 Best Things About the 2025 Kia K4

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Style doesn’t have to cost a lot. And yet, most affordable cars tend to look pretty ordinary. The 2025 Kia K4 compact sedan aims to shake that up. 

Though the all-new K4 uses most of the same mechanical bits as the Kia Forte it replaces, you’ll see no sign of the humble Forte in this wild-looking new model. And yet, even with more style and technology, the 2025 K4 remains one of the least expensive vehicles available in the U.S. For this review, we spent a week testing the new K4 to learn about its pros and cons and to see how it stacks up against fellow economy sedans. Here are our 10 favorite things about this new four-door Kia. 

Low Starting Price

The 2025 Kia K4 starts at $21,990. That’s about $2,000 more than last year’s Kia Forte, but it’s still cheaper than most new cars. The extra money also buys more features: a 12.3-inch touchscreen instead of the Forte’s 8 inches; adaptive cruise control; and keyless entry with push-button starting. 

Most buyers will pay an extra $1,000 for the K4 LXS, which has 16-inch alloy wheels instead of plastic wheel covers; six speakers instead of four; a split-folding rear seat; and blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert. The EX, $23,990, has flasher 17-inch wheels, a bigger digital gauge cluster, a wireless smartphone charger, and automatic climate control. The sport-themed GT-Line, $25,190, brings dressier styling, 18-inch wheels, a revised suspension, a power driver’s seat, heated front seats, GPS navigation, and the opportunity to add a panoramic sunroof for $900 and ventilated leatherette front seats with driver’s memory settings for $1,100. 

The GT-Line Turbo, like our test vehicle, starts at $28,090 with the leatherette and sunroof (but not the ventilation or memory settings) included. It also includes an eight-speaker Harman Kardon stereo, but the bigger difference is the turbo engine, which we’ll discuss later on. Overall, our favorite K4s are the LXS if you want an affordable economy car and the GT-Line (non-turbo) for luxury amenities on a more reasonable budget.

(Note that the K4 is built in Mexico, which means that tariffs would likely raise its price if they remain in place for the long term.)

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Doesn’t Look Cheap

The old Kia Forte was a pleasant car. We happily recommended it to drivers on a budget. But it looked like the affordable small sedan it was, with simple lines and little design flair. That’s not the approach Kia took with the K4. 

Now, we wouldn’t say everyone will like the K4’s looks. To some eyes, it has too many shapes and an oversized trunk. (A five-door hatchback model is on the way.) But other folks will appreciate its aggressive, sporty lines; dressy wheels; hunched-forward stance; and coupe-like hidden rear door handles – all things you won’t usually find at this price point. And the big trunk with taillights pushed to the corners also makes the K4 look bigger and more substantial than the typical economy car. It’s nearly 3 inches longer than the old Forte, making it one of the biggest sedans in its class. Overall, it doesn’t say “I cost $22,000.” 

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Big-Screen Experience

The K4’s interior is also designed to dazzle. The old Forte had a simple, well-built interior that prioritized easy-to-use controls over any design pizzazz. It came standard with an 8-inch touchscreen (a 10.25-inch unit was available on high-end trim levels) and a set of analog gauges. 

Meanwhile, the K4 could never be mistaken for a 10-year-old economy car. A single panel spans two thirds of the dashboard to provide a digital gauge cluster behind the steering wheel and a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system at the center of the dash. Even the base model gets the big screen, though the EX and up get a flashier gauge cluster and a bonus touchscreen panel (between the infotainment screen and the gauge cluster) for the climate controls. Some people would prefer buttons and knobs to lots of screens, but others will prefer the K4’s more modern look and feel. Its screens also work better than most, and you still get some physical controls for common functions like audio volume and climate temperature. 

Also keep your expectations in check for the K4’s interior materials. This is still a budget-priced sedan, and you’ll feel that in its ordinary plastic trim. We appreciate how moving parts like buttons and the gear selector operate smoothly, though. 

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Roomy, Comfortable Interior

We mentioned that the K4 is bigger on the outside than other compact sedans. That also translates into a roomier interior. Kia boasts that the new K4 has the most rear legroom in its class, and the front seats are also spacious and comfortable. Its 14.6-cubic-foot trunk is also above average. That means that for some buyers, the K4 is a cheaper alternative to a mid-size family sedan. 

In practice, we found the K4’s rear seats to be decently comfortable but less accommodating than the Honda Civic. The hard plastic front seatbacks aren’t comfortable for adults’ knees, though they’re resilient against a kicking child’s muddy shoes.

We also appreciated the K4’s high-end amenities. Aside from its corporate cousin, the Hyundai Elantra, the K4 is the only economy sedan available with ventilated front seats or memory settings. (A few others do offer genuine leather instead of the Kia’s leatherette, but we found it to be a convincing substitute.) That’s one more way that the K4 helps you avoid an expensive upgrade to a bigger vehicle. 

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Easy to Drive

The K4 is a comfortable, easy-to-drive small car. It can cruise steadily on the highway or squeeze its way through tight spaces, thanks to a tidy 35-foot turning circle. It’s light enough to be agile, yet not so light that it feels flimsy and insubstantial. 

The GT-Line and GT-Line Turbo models include an independent rear suspension (rather than the lesser trims’ less sophisticated torsion beam). They also have slightly quicker steering. 

Still, no K4 is a lively sports sedan. Kia didn’t pour its resources into the delightful responsiveness that elevates a Mazda3, Honda Civic, or even Volkswagen Jetta. Rather, it’s a smooth-riding, tolerably quiet car that’s not too clumsy. The K4’s steering doesn’t deliver feedback to the driver. When you turn the wheel, there’s more guesswork involved about what the car will do. This isn’t the car you drive because you’re looking for sporty moves but for economical, low-stress commuting. 

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Economical Base Engine

The K4 is available with a choice of four-cylinder engines. Most folks will buy the standard 2.0-liter non-turbo. This engine makes a modest 147 horsepower and 132 lb-ft of torque, paired to a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT). It’s hardly an auspicious setup on paper. But this powertrain – carried over from the old Forte and shared with the Elantra – is more agreeable than the numbers suggest. Lead-footed drivers will push the engine past its comfort zone, but it’s smooth, peppy, and quiet when you’re not in a race. This engine makes the K4 more pleasant than a Nissan Sentra or Toyota Corolla, which are rougher and more labored even in routine driving. 

This engine is economical, too. Most trim levels get 29 mpg in the city, 39 mpg on the highway, and 33 mpg combined in EPA testing, while the base LX ekes out an extra mile per gallon. Some competitors get even better EPA ratings, but we’ve beaten the EPA estimates with this same engine in other Hyundai and Kia models – most recently averaging 38 mpg in a week with the Hyundai Elantra. Unlike the Hyundai Elantra, you can’t get the K4 with a gas-electric hybrid option, though a fully electric variant called the EV4 is in the works. 

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Lively Turbo Option

Our K4 test vehicle was the top-of-the-line GT-Line Turbo. This 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder makes 190 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, and it’s paired with a conventional eight-speed automatic transmission. This engine adds welcome pep to the K4, making it acceptable (if not thrilling) to someone who wouldn’t have tolerated the 147-hp version. On the other hand, we didn’t find this powertrain as smooth as the 2.0-liter with the CVT; the eight-speed occasionally stumbled during our test.

The GT-Line Turbo starts at $28,040, which is actually a few hundred dollars less than a most equivalently equipped 2.0-liter GT-Line. The latter includes the optional leatherette upholstery, panoramic sunroof, and ventilated front seats with driver-seat memory settings – though the latter two are restricted to a $2,200 option package on the turbo model. If you’re already looking at a well-equipped K4, aren’t attached to ventilated seats or memory, and don’t mind refueling a little more often, the turbo is a natural choice. But its dose of extra speed isn’t transformative. It turns the K4 from a modestly powered mundane sedan into a less modestly powered mundane sedan. There’s no K4 equivalent to the wild 276-hp Hyundai Elantra N. 

In EPA testing, the turbo drops to 26 mpg in the city, 36 mpg on the highway, and 29 mpg combined on regular fuel. We averaged an excellent 34 mpg during our weeklong test, though like other small-displacement turbos, that’ll drop fast if you’re often accelerating hard. 

2025 KIa K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Top Safety Pick

The 2025 Kia K4 earned a Top Safety Pick designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Transforming the old Forte into the new K4 included strengthening the car’s body to better protect against side-impact crashes. The old Forte scored Poor for withstanding a T-bone collision from an SUV or pickup; the K4 improved to Good, the IIHS’s highest rating, in that test. The K4 also earned five stars overall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, though just four out of five stars for frontal impacts. 

We also appreciate the K4’s long list of safety features. Every trim level includes a sophisticated forward automatic emergency braking system that can detect vehicles, pedestrians, and bicyclists, plus a lane-departure warning with automatic steering assistance. All but the base LX add blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert. And our test vehicle included other high-end tech that you don’t often find in economy cars: rear automatic braking, a surround-view parking camera, automatic steering assistance to help swerve around an obstacle, and a blind-spot camera that activates when you use your turn signal. However, these are only part of a costly options package on the top GT-Line Turbo model. We doubt many K4 owners will get to benefit from them. 

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt

More Pizzazz Than the Competition

Our favorite small sedan is the Honda Civic – which is fun to drive, meticulously finished, and available with a powerful yet fuel-sipping hybrid powertrain. But the Civic looks dull inside and out next to the flashy K4, with simple lines and small touchscreens. And it costs more than the Kia. For plenty of people, that’s a losing combination. 

The Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, and Volkswagen Jetta are closer rivals to the K4 on price. We like the Corolla’s available hybrid powertrain and optional all-wheel drive; we like the Sentra’s long list of standard safety features; and we like the Jetta’s upscale ride and handling. But all have simple, straightforward interiors next to the big-screen Kia. 

If you’re looking for performance and luxury, the elegantly aggressive Mazda3 is a great sports sedan that’s fun to drive, luxuriously finished, and remarkably well equipped for the money. A cramped rear seat, mediocre gas mileage, and a clunky infotainment system are its downsides against the spacious, economical, and high-tech K4. 

Perhaps the K4’s closest rival is its own cousin, the Hyundai Elantra. You’d choose between the two largely based on your own stylistic preferences, or perhaps whether you prefer your local Hyundai or Kia dealer.

2025 Honda Civic LX sedan ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Style, Substance, and Value

The 2025 Kia K4 catches your eye with its flashy design and high-tech interior, keeps you interested with its affordable prices, and seals the deal with its roomy interior, comfortable driving experience, and economical engine. 

The K4 isn’t a sports sedan, even with its available turbo engine and upgraded suspension. It doesn't have an available hybrid powertrain. And some people will prefer a more conventional design and a less digital-intensive interior. But it’s a cheap car that doesn’t scream “I’m cheap.”  

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo ・ Photo by Brady Holt