The Kia K4 Is The Compact Sedan You've Been Waiting For!"

All-New Kia K4 – Introduction

After two attempts at landing on a successful nameplate for its compact sedan line in the US, Kia is replacing the popular Forte with the 2025 Kia K4 and they don’t look like they’re pulling any punches with this thing either.

It’s Sleek modern and now the largest in its class. Kia has seen a lot of success with the Forte which replaced the Spectra in 2010 and currently in its third generation the Forte offers value-oriented Shoppers a solid alternative to the Toyota Corolla and the Honda Civic.

This Generation model though seems like it wants to go up against the Mazda 3 as the most premium-looking and feeling model in the segment.

As you already know KIA renamed the long-running Optima sedan here in the United States. The Kia K5 when redesigned for 2021 aligned it with the global name that other markets have been seeing for years.

The Forte has been getting known as the K3 in some markets and the Sedona in other markets got a refresh a couple of years ago but Kia didn’t change the name to K3.

The reason the K3 name is now for the smaller Rio car is because Kia introduced a new K3 in Mexico last year, which replaced the Rio there.

So, the Forte needed a new name, which is why they went with K4. Kia America has filed for the K3 name, hinting that we might get a new Rio replacement called K3 in the US. This would give Kia three sedans: K3, K4, and K5.

As for the cars themselves, we’re still waiting for official details. But let’s talk about what engines they might have.

Powertrain

In the 2025 Kia K4, they’ve kept the engines from the previous Forte. One is a 2-liter engine that gives you 147 horsepower, and the other is a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine, but now it has a bit less power than before, with 190 horsepower instead of the 201HP in the old Forte GT.

Kia isn’t introducing a K4 GT model at this moment. Instead, they’re replacing the Forte GT with the K4 GT line turbo. You can still buy the GT line without the turbo, but if you opt for the turbo, you’ll get a new 8-speed automatic transmission instead of the old 7-speed dual-clutch. Unfortunately, they’ve decided to drop the manual transmission option.

For the base 2-liter engine, it’s still paired with Kia’s continuously variable transmission (CVT).

We’re hoping Kia is working on a K4 GT model, possibly with the powerful 2.5 Turbo from the K5 GT, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Dimensions do look like a hatchback but it turns out it is a traditional sedan, albeit one with a pretty large trunk.

It has 14 18.6 cubic feet of space while the car is 185.46 in wide making it the largest car in its class.

Kia says this gives rear passengers the most Headroom and legroom. In this segment getting into that back seat now requires searching for the hidden door handle in the cellar.

Exterior Design

It differs slightly between the online models and the non-GT line models.

You’ll notice on the GT line there’s more depth to it and it has a more pronounced tiger nose look, but the regular K4 kind of Strays away from that traditional Kia look.

Both of them are good and there will be multiple wheel designs available with the maximum at the launch event.

You’ll get the 18-inch wheels and also acoustic tires. Kia placed a pretty strong emphasis on noise vibration and harshness for the K4. It also offers an optional acoustic glass windshield.

Interior Design

The interior of Kia K4 is the biggest improvement over the outgoing Forte. It is the first model following the EV9 to get Kia’s latest operating system known as the connected car navigation cockpit.

They have heard complaints about the dual-function touch panel found in the EV6. The Sportage and the most recently refreshed K5 Carnival in Sarento that is nowhere to be found.

Instead, you have a center panel in between the instrument cluster and the main touchscreen. This panel is static, so all the HVAC controls you see here always stay here you don’t have to dig into the menu or find different layers of the UI to get to certain functions.

The buttons for the heated and cooled seats up front can be found over on the doors and there are physical controls for other various HBAC and media functions down below the touchscreen.

The system also updated Graphics Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto standard, a hey Kia Voice Assistant with generative AI to help it improve its resp responses as well as a digital key.

Other notable things inside are the color choices on the ex-model. You can get this slate green color on the GT line, and a cool two-tone- white color option.

Safety Features