I recently spent 5 days with a 2025 Kia K4. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to rocking a compact car for an entire week, but you know what? What a glorious week it was.
The K4 is a very easy-to-live-with daily driver that just so happens to be built like a tank. It may look a little funny, but boy is it ever comfortable. And solid!
First Impressions
The K4 you see in these pictures was a rental car that I picked up from the west Palm Beach International Airport (PBI). It’s a well equipped mid range LSX model – one level up from the base model LX.
Interesting. This is what they call a “compact car” nowadays? She girthy. And swoopy.And maybe a little sexy too. It takes a lot for rental car to arouse me these days, but…hey baby. How you doin’?
As I was walking up do it for the very first time, it reminded me of the Kia K5 that I recently drove. Cuts and scoops (and creases and folds) everywhere!
Ain’t nothing girthy and swoopy about the key fob though. How I didn’t lose this slim little thing over the span of the week is beyond me.Sitting behind the wheel squircle for the very first time. Other than the fact that the steering wheel is massively offset from the driver’s seat, this is…massively offset. More on that later.
Styling and design
The K4 is very much a sedan, but it looks a lot more like a hatchback (similar to the 2023 Tesla Model 3). The design language is sharp and somewhat aggressive IMHO. It’s definitely geared toward a younger demographic.
I realize that the styling and design may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this is definitely worthy of an “atta boy” snack on the butt for daring to be different.From certain angles (especially the rear three-quarter view), you’d be hard-pressed to call this a cheapo compact car. Every square inch of this thing is covered with fascinating design details.
For the record: I am 50 years old and I quite like all of the scoops and cuts. My assumption is that I’m a weirdo / outlier / edge case, and that the styling and design is likely to be too aggressive for the older demographic.
But what to do I know? I’m just a dork who writes detailed car reviews on basic rental cars.
What’s in the water over there in South Korea? Whatever it is seems to be making their automotive designers wipe the floor with automotive designers from other parts of the world. Even the side profile looks good!The fact that they made it look like a five-door hatchback (when it’s actually just a four-door sedan) is mindf*ckery to the max. This looks good.One of my favorite design details: the flared wheel arches. It’s kind of hard to see in this picture, but she thicc. Why integrate the door handle into the rear door when you can put it in the C-pillar instead? To make car reviewers such as myself gush about how awesome all the little design details are, of course.Plot twist: not all views are flattering. The K4 is definitely a “10-footer” (the kind of car that looks best when viewed from 10 feet away).The rear end of this thing is just as complex. Not only do I not want to know how much it would cost to fix after backing this mofo into a light pole, I’ll bet it would give heartburn to the folks down at the local body shop as well.For the record, I did not back into any light poles with this car while I was in my possession. Everyone down at the local body shop needs to chill.
The interior
I loved the 2021 Kia Forte interior. I like the 2025 Kia K4 interior. The Forte was far more old school and analog, whereas the K4 is ultra modern and high tech. The entire dashboard (and infotainment display) is a single-panel LCD screen.
Not a bad looking interior! Sure, it’s got a square steering wheel and a single flat panel for the dashboard (just like every other car in 2025), but I like how low the dashboard is. Forward visibility is excellent.
The front seats are extremely comfortable and supportive on long drives. I also quite liked the clingy fabric. What the seats lack in side bolstering is made up for in stickiness. It’s hard to slide out of these mofos.
OK yeah, I liked the front seats in the 2024 Hyundai Elantra better, but these ain’t bad. They’re firm, supportive, and covered in a material which seems likely to resist really gross things being dumped (and / or vomited) on them.Is it the best looking interior I’ve seen in a compact car? Nope. But there are lots of physical buttons in here, and that makes me happy.Grip it and rip it! I didn’t check the owners manual, but I’m pretty sure that’s what it said about this gearshift lever.Can’t say that I’m a fan of the digital gauge cluster. Speed is on the left, engine RPM is on the right (in the default setting). #oldmanshakingfistatskyWarning: there are no USB-A Ports in the 2025 K4. It’s all USB-C (four total). And you’ll like it.The 12.3 inch infotainment screen is huge (hooray!), it supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (woo-hoo!), and there’s a physical volume button (hell yeah!). Connectivity seems pretty solid as well – I didn’t experience a single dropped connection.Rear seat space is “compact F’n car”. I didn’t try it out, but this doesn’t look any worse than my 2010 Honda Fit.Trunk space is “you shoulda brought a bigger bag”. Lots of room in there!
Engine and drivetrain
This LSX model features a 2.0 L four-cylinder with 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. It sounded like a cheap four-cylinder, but it was plenty powerful enough for merging onto a freeway flowing at irresponsible speeds.
Even the engine is all swoopy and hard-edged. It’s a little buzzy though – especially at full throttle. I’m not a mechanic, but I like how accessible everything is here in the engine bay. This should be fairly easy to wrench on IMHO.
The transmission is what they call an “Intelligent Variable Auto Transmission.” Thems are just fancy words for “CVT” (Continuously Variable Transmission). It was fine. I didn’t even know it was a CVT actually.
Build quality
I don’t think I’ve ever driven a car as solid as the 2025 K4. Build quality is outstanding – there wasn’t a shake, rattle, or roll during my entire week with it. I didn’t even think it was possible to build a “cheap” compact car with such tight tolerances, but the engineers at Kia figured it out.
Driving impressions
The thing that I liked most about driving the 2025 K4 was the view looking forward. The dashboard is really low, and it’s extremely easy to see over. It almost feels like driving a low slung sports car.
Forward visibility is excellent, but the slightly offset steering wheel takes a bit of getting used to. It’s kinda like driving an old Lamborghini Countach. Sort of but not really.However, unlike the Countach, outward visibility (in all directions) is excellent in the 2025 K4. Something else that takes a little getting used to: the flat-bottom steering wheel. It’s weird, but not entirely annoying (unless you get the “fat bottom girls make the world go round” song stuck in your head while talking about it).“But can she corner?” Yes. As a matter of fact she can! A bit lazily of course, but she’s definitely more planted and firm compared to the 2017 Kia Forte I drove a while back.
The K4 was an absolute dream cruising at highway speeds thanks to how solid the chassis is. This is relatively light car (2,956 lbs), but it feels much heavier than that. This illusion of weight seemingly absorbs bumps and abnormalities in the road. It’s weird. But I like it.
The upgraded 16 inch wheels and tires (205/55 R16) here on the LXS model probably won’t be enough of an upgrade for performance-orientated drivers. And look at how tiny them brake rotors are!
Gas mileage
Kia claims a combined city / highway MPG of 33 for the K4 with the 2.0 L four-cylinder. I did slightly less than that in about 200 miles of driving. 30.5 MPG was the best I could do.
It wasn’t until my very last day with this K4 (while I was filling up the gas station) that I noticed how the forward section of the hood looks a bit like the 2025 Ferrari 12 Cilindri. You kinda have to squint your eyes and tilt your head a bit, but…you can’t tell me you don’t see it too!Achieving 30 miles per gallon was the cherry on top to a most excellent week with this 2025 Kia K4. I liked this thing. A lot.
Pros and cons
The cars coming out of South Korea these days are getting really (really) good. This K4 shocked me in more ways than one. The kicker? I miss that little car already.
Pros
I have never driven a more solid / well built car in my entire life.
Forward disability is phenomenal. The low dashboard rules!
I really liked the seat fabric. Not only did it look great (and durable), I like how it held me in place.
Cons
It’s a little ugly. I’m sorry, but it is.
The single panel LCD for the dashboard looks and feels like a shortcut.
(The fact that I could only come up with two cons tells you everything you need to know about how awesome the K4 is).
Scott is a San Diego based automotive enthusiast who never wastes an opportunity to drive something new. Don’t let the fact that he's owned 3 Mustang GT's (and 2 Pontiac 6000's) fool you – he appreciates all brands equally!
