2025 Kia K4 EX: A new way to think small
The bottom-of-the-line sedan is new from the ground up, and a midrange test vehicle shows almost how low you can go.
2025 Kia K4 EX: When it’s money that matters.
Price: $25,320 as tested. Carpeted floor mats added $175.
Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “interesting exterior and interior designs, spacious rear seat and trunk, lots of available features,” but not that the “base engine is underpowered,” there’s “no hybrid power train available,” or that “even GT-Line Turbo model lacks driving verve.”
Marketer’s pitch: “Turn corners, turn heads.”
Reality: Turn corners? (Shakes head.) Well, that’s not a ringing endorsement.
Catching up: After a couple weeks speeding around in some of the highest-performance little cars available, here’s a nice change of pace — a bare-bones four-door, the kind that used to be a market staple, but which has been lost to a new era of performance and flash. No one is going to dance their feelings on TikTok about the K4.
Still, I’m happy to get a crack at something like this, coming in at just above $25,000. Buyers need to have more of these available.
What’s new: The K4 is all new for 2025, replacing the forgotten Forte at the small end of the spectrum.
Competition: Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Soul, Mazda3, Nissan Sentra, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius, Volkswagen Jetta.
Up to speed: I found myself with a not-too-cold January day and decided it was time to get out for a run, work off the holiday treats and midwinter malaise.
Afterward, I prepared for a left turn onto the highway for the ride home. I kept looking for an opening and was kind of kicking myself for letting a few opportunities pass by, but it was a new ride and I wasn’t expecting too strong a start.
As I pulled out, the Kia’s sluggishness and lack of acceleration matched how I’d felt on my run, but I was thankful for good choices — not just the run, but the patience with traffic. The 147 horses in the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine were not hurrying. The K4 is new enough that acceleration data is hard to find, but Car and Driver estimates the 0-60 will be 8.1-8.3 seconds. That feels optimistic.
A 1.6-liter turbo is available as an upgrade, and it gets to 60 mph in 7.3 seconds, still not a socks-knocking-off number.
Shifty: The lower four trims (the EX is step 3 of 5) feature a continuously variable transmission, a big factor in the blasé acceleration. There just isn’t a way to capture what little power might be available, even with “shiftable” operation.
The turbo version gets an 8-speed automatic.
On the road: The handling of the K4 was nothing to write home about. It’s a small car so it’s easy to drive and maneuver, and it wasn’t too awful on highways, which is about the most you can ask for.
A drive mode button offers Sport mode and that helps. Still, this is a sedate sedan.
Driver’s Seat: The upgraded cloth seats are a handsome feature and not at all uncomfortable, although there was no heating or cooling in the test model (you have to go up a trim level). The manual adjustments make it difficult to position yourself to see over the hood, so pulling into tight spaces is more challenging than it should be for a small car.
The gauges are basic Kia, easy to adjust from the steering wheel controls and easy to follow.
Friends and stuff: The rear seat room is fairly generous for heads, feet, and legs, and the seat is nicely angled and proportioned.
Cargo space is 14.6 cubic feet, a fair match for the segment. The rear seat does fold down, but a hatchback would be a much better idea.
In and out: The K4 is a low-slung little car, requiring a dip down into the Driver’s Seat, noticeable even in comparison to the Jetta and Mazda3. People with troublesome knees, hips, and backs aren’t going to like it.
Rear-seat passengers want to be extra careful. Once you discover the door handle tucked into the upper corner of the window, the door itself is out to smack you right in the gut.
Play some tunes: The stereo does a pretty nice job of playback, really nailing some of my old favorites. I’d call it an A, and even say A+ for the price point. (And this was the basic unit, not the Harman Kardon upgrade.) Good way to get your mind off the other lackluster components.
Operation is not too difficult through the 12.3-inch touchscreen, which comes at no added cost with the trim level. Nice value.
One big complaint — the volume knob is a chrome roller underneath the touchscreen. If you try to adjust the volume with your fingertip while the vehicle is in motion, you’re going to hit a bump and accidentally shut off the stereo. Grrr.
Use your thumbnail, which is pretty fussy, but it does work. At least it doesn’t switch from infotainment to HVAC and back, like other Kia models have been offering.
Keeping warm and cool: The heater is controlled by four toggles — two for temp, one for fan speed, and one for location. Simple controls, and Mr. Driver’s Seat approves.
A vent runs across the entire dashboard à la a 1971 Buick, but it didn’t feel like it was blowing in my face.
Fuel economy: The vehicle averaged 29 mpg over 800 miles, most of which were not mine. So not a terrible real-world average.
Where it’s built: Pesquería, Mexico
How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the K4 reliability to be a 3 out of 5.
In the end: There’s definitely a lot of value to be had from the new Kia. But so many of the competitors offer all-wheel drive, hybrids, or sportiness for just a couple thousand more, I’d probably try cleaning out the couch cushions for spare change for a Corolla, Impreza, or even a Prius. (The Jetta GLI and Mazda3 Turbo don’t match, adding $7,000 and $12,000 respectively.)