I Thought That Nothing Might Rival the Honda Civic Sedan at Its Value Level, However Then I Examined the New 2025 Kia K4 GT-Line, and Have Found a Nice New Choice For Consumers To Take into account

I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Having examined the 2025 Honda Civic, I really feel that it’s nearly unbeatable. Notably the hatchback variations. So, when Kia despatched us a brand new K4 to check, that clouded our judgment a bit. How might Kia presumably match or prime that new Civic? Nicely, they’ve, and relying in your priorities, the K4 might even be a greater possibility. On this unconventional evaluation, we’ll deal with the issues that differentiate these two nice automobiles. 

Kia K4 vs. Honda Civic – Exterior Model and Inside Styling
The nice information for customers within the sub-$30K automobile market is that nice seems are free. Each the Civic and K4 are good-looking automobiles exterior. We significantly just like the coupe-style rear doorways on the K4. Kia’s now signature C-pillar can be a styling factor we really feel units the K4 aside. 

Our sub-$30K K4 GT-Line tester had a two-tone inside that knocked our socks off. The steering wheel’s flat prime and backside was additionally novel, and we cherished it. 

Kia K4 vs. Honda Civic – Powertrains
We examined the K4 GT-Line. Its 2.0-liter engine and variable computerized transmission had been sufficient for the function, and that’s what you now get with the Civic. In our driving on blended suburban and concrete roadways, together with some fairly heavy site visitors, we noticed 42 MPG within the K4. With that type of mileage, we’d probably skip getting a hybrid. 

Kia K4 vs. Honda Civic – Physique Kinds
For 2025, Kia gives the K4 with a trunk, and it has 4 doorways in a sedan format (with coupe styling). Honda gives a sedan or a hatchback. Nonetheless, in 2026, Kia will introduce its K4 hatchback. Personally, I favor the comfort and added cargo quantity {that a} hatchback gives. That is only one individual’s opinion. The nice information is that each manufacturers will likely be providing each choices, so patrons can decide and select. 

Kia K4 vs. Honda Civic Pricing
We’ve reviewed costs and see that each of those fashions supply an amazing worth. You get a LOT for not a lot cash. Our K4 GT-Line tester had a shopper value of $28,345, together with Kia’s inland freight and dealing with payment, however much less no matter Doc charges your Kia supplier costs. Honda’s Sport with related content material has a worth of $27,831. 

Kia K4 – Notable Options
We love that Kia gives a spare tire within the K4. Honda gives a spare on solely sure trims. We additionally cherished how simply we might connect with the wi-fi Android Auto within the K4 – even with out utilizing an influence cable to provoke the pairing. Right here, Kia is the match of Honda, which additionally gives an impressive infotainment bundle. 

Here is a list of all of the top-selling automobiles with spare tires. 

Kia K4 – The Drive
We discovered the K4 to have an incredible persona. We’d name it “chill” or “mellow.” The K4 GT-Line with its 147 hp engine was simply sufficient, and by no means felt sporty. If you would like extra energy, there’s a GT-Line Turbo with 191 hp obtainable, however it comes at a meaningfully increased price ticket. We’d most likely skip the turbo on this automobile, and dwell with the bottom energy ranking. The dealing with is good. It’s all the time pleasant to attempt a low-slung sedan after being in crossovers more often than not.

If efficiency is a precedence for you on this automobile phase, see in case you can stretch the finances to the Mazda3 Turbo. It begins at $34K. 

Kia K4 GT-Line Conclusion
If you’re searching for a sub-$30K automobile, it’s onerous to miss the Kia K4 GT-Line. It gives an incredible look, trendy inside, loads of house for 4 and even 5 passengers, and lots of options we predict make it an incredible worth. One factor we actually like in regards to the Kia line is its 100,000-mile guarantee for preliminary house owners. That is one space the place Kia objectively beats Honda. If we had been searching for a sedan beneath $30K, we’d try the Kia K4 earlier than deciding on any of the opposite decisions within the market. 

Do you suppose Kia has a viable choice to the Honda Civic in its K4 GT-Line? Is that this a automobile you’ll cross-shop? Inform us within the feedback beneath.

All photographs by John Goreham. 

John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Affiliation member and professional automobile tester. John accomplished an engineering program with a deal with electrical automobiles, adopted by twenty years of labor in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive provide chain earlier than turning into a information contributor. He’s a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). Along with his eleven years of labor at Torque Information, John has revealed hundreds of articles and critiques at American information retailers. He’s recognized for providing unfiltered opinions on automobile subjects. You possibly can join with John on Linkedin and comply with his work on his private X channel or on our X channel. Please observe that tales carrying John’s by-line are by no means AI-generated, however he does make use of grammar and punctuation software program when proofreading and he additionally makes use of picture era instruments.