New Look Compact Sedan
The 2025 Kia K4 has changed the Forte, which had a very good 14-year run as Kia’s smallest sedan. The K4 is wider, longer and decrease than the Forte and, as Kia instructed us, “it has the widest and largest footprint within the compact sedan section.”
Discussing the significance of a compact sedan to Kia, Russell Wager, VP advertising for Kia America, mentioned “This section is among the highest quantity for Kia, and it’s a method to get individuals into the model and transfer them up. It is rather necessary because it introduces folks that have by no means been in a Kia earlier than and see they will get all this expertise, security options, nice design and efficiency for an affordable worth.”
Clear Fleet Report was invited to Austin, Texas, to drive the K4 by way of rolling hills, on freeways and in metropolis site visitors. The route was chosen to showcase the driving, consolation and efficiency of the 2 trims of GT-Line and GT-Line Turbo.
This Flash Drive is an summary of the K4, with a full Highway Take a look at overview coming in 2025.
Efficiency
The 2025 Kia K4 GT-Line trims are supplied with these engines and transmissions (that are the 2 supplied all through the K4 lineup, carryovers from the Forte with some modifications).
GT-Line
2.0-liter 4-cylinder
147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque
Intelligently Variable Transmission or IVT with paddle shifters
Drive Modes: Regular and Sport
Gasoline Financial system: 29 mpg metropolis/39 freeway/33 mixed
GT-Line Turbo
1.6-liter 4-cylinder
190 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque
8-speed automated transmission with paddle shifters
Drive Modes: Regular and Sport
Gasoline Financial system: 26 mpg metropolis/36 freeway/29 mixed
Exterior
The 2025 K4 is obtainable in 5 trims—LX, LXS, EX, GT-Line, and GT-Line Turbo. The 2 GT-Line trims have look parts that add cred to their sportiness. The GT-Line has gloss black bumpers and window trim, and gloss black and satin chrome on the outside mirror caps and facet molding. Both 17” or 18” wheels can be found based mostly on the trim chosen.
The eight exterior colours give the chance to personalize the K4 with Aurora Black Pearl, Currant Crimson, Deep Sea Blue, Interstellar Grey, Snow White Pearl, Metal Grey, Wave Blue and Morning Haze, which is the colour we examined in Austin.
Inside
The K4 feels and is roomy inside, providing spectacular rear leg and head room. Trunk house can also be good, making the K4 a critical consideration even if you’re pondering of going up a category to a midsize sedan.
Seat trim choices are TriCot fabric, SynTex (a man-made leather-based) or mixture of material and SynTex that is available in 5 completely different, two-toned colours. The GT-Line entrance sport seats have “GT” embossing and are heated and ventilated, with the motive force getting 10-way energy changes and reminiscence.
The 60:40 split-folding rear seat comfortably seats two full-size adults, three for brief journeys, and has a folding middle armrest with cup holders. The rear passengers additionally get local weather vents and two USB-C charge-only ports.
Expertise is middle stage with screens for the instrument gauge cluster that seamlessly connects to the 12.3-inch touchscreen (for a complete display space of 30”) to entry the leisure, navigation, apps, and car system settings.
Leisure comes from the usual 4-speaker infotainment system or the accessible 8-speaker (with two tweeters) Harmon Kardon Premium audio system that features AM/FM HD and SiriusXM radio, wired and wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Bluetooth is for streaming music, hands-free phone and the Kia Generative AI Voice Assistant.
This final characteristic generally is a journey advisor, play video games, get native info on factors of curiosity, give foreign money conversion and even entry the proprietor’s handbook. Utilizing conversational language, if you happen to hold it pretty easy, you’ll be able to ask follow-up questions with outcomes near an actual back-and-forth dialog. There isn’t a value for the primary three years, then it turns into a subscription package deal for $19.99 month-to-month or $199 yearly. After utilizing it for 3 years without charge, it might be too onerous to surrender. Have your Kia gross sales consultant present learn how to use it and see the way it can improve your driving expertise.
Security and Comfort
The 2025 K4 comes commonplace with an impressively full suite of superior driver help techniques (ADAS). These embrace entrance and rear seat-mounted, driver knee and full side-curtain air luggage. Customary security options additionally embrace ahead collision warning and avoidance, lane departure and driver consideration warning, lane hold help, blind spot collision avoidance, rear cross site visitors collision and parking distance warning, pedestrian ahead collision avoidance and lots of extra.
Extra security and comfort options embrace a dual-zone automated local weather system, acoustic entrance windshield, encompass view digicam, push button begin/cease, distant keyless entry with a Digital Key, energy sunroof with shade, a tire stress monitoring system, digital stability management and a compact spare.
Hitting the Highway
First up was the K4 GT-Line with the two.0L non-turbocharged engine and the IVT (Kia engineers’ tackle the repeatedly variable transmission), which presents higher gasoline economic system of the 2 fashions we examined in and round Austin. Efficiency was about 8.1 seconds 0-60 mph. The dealing with was tight, the experience and seats comfy, however because of the grooved concrete roads there was noticeable inside noise. Not horrible, however there at instances. This could be a superb consideration for a worth commuter sedan.
The K4 GT-Line Turbo with the extra energy and the 8-speed automated transmission felt sportier and was good for about 7.2 seconds, 0-60 mph.
The MacPherson strut entrance, multi-link rear, and the dual tube shock fuel absorbers with water-filled hydro bushings, did a very good job preserving each the GT-Line and GT-Line Turbo agency and flat in gradual to medium tight cornering, with acceptable physique roll when pushed onerous. We appreciated the heft of the steering wheel, and the way the digital steering was tuned so there was no disconnect from the street.
Head-turning Exterior
The K4 design is all-new and has a novel look that many may say it’s head turning. The smooth look begins with the slender entrance grille that presents an aggressive look, particularly when turning-on the LED projector headlights and amber LED daytime operating lights. The operating lights additionally double as flip alerts, and LED fog lamps are built-in with the headlights.
The LED tail lights sit huge on the rear fenders. Probably the most enticing parts are the rear door handles which are hidden within the C pillar, making the K4 appear like a coupe.
Pricing
The 2025 K4 sedan is available in 5 trim ranges. All are front-wheel drive. These base costs embrace the $1,155 vacation spot cost. Costs signify a couple of $2,000 bump from the Forte.
- LX $23,145
- LXS $24,145
- EX $25,545
- GT-Line $26,745
- GT-Line Turbo $29,645
Warranties
- Powertrain – 10 years/100,000 miles
- Fundamental – 5 years/60,000 miles
- Roadside – 5 years/60,000 miles
Observations: 2025 Kia K4
Some auto producers are getting out of the compact sedan enterprise aiming their sights at crossovers, SUVs and vans. Kia is just not a kind of firms. Whereas the end result could also be fewer decisions, the sedans in your native supplier are very good, and the 2025 Kia K4 probably is among the many greatest based mostly on our temporary time with it.
The K4 is greater than a substitute for the Forte, which had been Kia’s compact sedan stalwart since 2010. The fully reimagined K4’s design benefitted vastly from what Kia realized from its clients, which embrace people who owned the now-departed Stinger.
The K4 presents engine and transmission decisions, type, high-30s gasoline economic system, respectable efficiency, sturdy commonplace security techniques and one of the best guarantee within the enterprise (which is matched by sibling manufacturers Hyundai and Genesis.) The 2025 Kia K4 is a superb selection as an on a regular basis commuter, or when looking for some cornering enjoyable and additional efficiency. K4s are at Kia sellers now.
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Story by John Faulkner. Pictures by John Faulkner and Kia.
[See image gallery at cleanfleetreport.com]
Disclosure
Clear Fleet Report is loaned free take a look at autos from automakers to guage, usually for every week at a time. Our street checks are based mostly on this one-week drive of a brand new car. Due to this we don’t deal with points similar to long-term reliability or complete value of possession. As well as, we are sometimes invited to producer occasions highlighting new autos or expertise. As a part of these occasions we could also be supplied free transportation, lodging or meals. We do our greatest to current our unvarnished evaluations of autos and information irrespective of those inducements.
Our focus is on autos that supply one of the best gasoline economic system of their class, which leads us to emphasise electrical automobiles, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and different environment friendly powertrains. We additionally characteristic these environment friendly gas-powered autos which are among the many prime mpg autos of their class. As well as, we goal to supply critiques and information on superior expertise and the choice gasoline car market. We welcome any suggestions from car house owners and are devoted to offering a discussion board for different viewpoints. Please tell us your views at [email protected].
The put up Flash Drive: 2025 Kia K4 first appeared on Clear Fleet Report.
