2025 Kia K4

We’ll update this preview of the compact car formerly known as the Kia Forte when we drive the 2025 Kia K4 this summer. 

What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Kia K4? What does it compare to?

The 2025 Kia K4 replaces the Kia Forte. It competes with a small but robust batch of compact sedans including the Hyundai Elantra, Honda Civic, and Toyota Corolla, but excluding any domestic makes. 

Is the 2025 Kia K4 a good car?

The new 2025 Kia K4’s forte promises to be its sharp looks, roomy interior, long warranty, and, historically, its overall value. We won’t know until we drive Kia’s fourth-generation compact sedan this summer, but it should improve on the Forte’s TCC Rating of 5.8 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.)

What's new for the 2025 Kia K4?

The fourth-generation compact sedan from Kia is mostly new, but it looks nothing like the Forte. It’s larger, wider, and roomier than its predecessor, but its fastback profile cuts into trunk space. The brand’s dog-bone grille stretches thinner and wider, and sits over a blockier lower grille. The headlight housings wrap around the fender to nearly midway above the wheel, and the amber running light makes it look like a bird in flight, with its wing as the vertical part. Kia said it borrows from the flagship EV9 three-row electric SUV, and that continues with the vertical part of the taillight that cuts 90 degrees across the trunk. Rear fender lines sweep up to the rear, but that sleek rear third comes undone at the quarter window behind beyond the rear door handles recessed in the window frame. 

The interior takes an even greater leap than the interior. The dash sits low and stretches end to end with a band of vents separating climate and fan speed buttons from a menu bar operating the centerpiece of the new interior: an available 30-inch digital display stretching from the driver nearly to the passenger side. It consists of a 12.3-inch instrument cluster, a 5.0-inch climate display that might be blocked in part by the steering wheel, and a 12.3-inch center touchscreen. It doesn’t overwhelm like some tablet-sized touchscreens, and there’s still a mechanical shifter in the center console, which has two deep adjustable cupholders. An available smartphone charger sits in front of the shifter and below a small panel of ports. It appears cramped getting the phone in and out, which might be a good thing to avoid distraction while driving, but we won’t know how it fits until we test it. 

2025 Kia K4 engine options 

The base 2.0-liter inline-4 carries over, making 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque. It uses a continuously variable transmission to send power to the front wheels. We haven’t been a fan of this setup in the past, faulting it for being dull and loud, but we’ll see how the new body carries it.