The Kia K4 Transcends the Rental-Car Stereotype: Review

At under $32,000 fully loaded, the K4 GT-Line Turbo is still cheap, but it feels much nicer.

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo Review

Photo by: Chris Perkins / Motor1

Chris Perkins

By: Chris Perkins

Apr 17, 2025 at 12:00pm ET

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Cars are about to get a lot more expensive. Thankfully, affordable vehicles like this Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo still exist—and they’re still really good. With a sticker price of $31,465 fully loaded (for now), this Kia might soon be all the car you can afford. But it’s also quite possibly all the car you need.

The K4 is Kia’s replacement for the outdated Forte. It’s also the brand’s answer to perennial favorites like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and its Hyundai sibling, the Elantra. It’s not our favorite car in the class, but it carves out a nice niche for itself.

Quick Specs 2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo Engine Turbocharged 1.6-Liter Four-Cylinder Output 190 Horsepower / 195 Pound-Feet Transmission Eight-Speed Automatic Fuel Economy 26 MPG City / 36 Highway / 29 Combined Base Price / As Tested $29,265 / $31,465

The Kia K4 is one of those cars that feels great as soon as you get inside. The interior is high quality and logically laid out, with—praise be—physical controls for basically everything. The infotainment system is also easy to get the hang of.

Once you’re on the move, it’s just as easy to be impressed by the K4. Despite the "GT-Line" moniker, this sedan is definitely aimed more for comfort than sporty driving. But that’s fine! Who’s buying one of these to tear up their favorite country road, anyway?

With a relatively low curb weight of under 3,300 pounds and nice suspension tuning, the K4 handles the great roads south of San Francisco with ease. With a supple, well-damped ride, it excels in everyday driving. Special mention goes to the steering, which has a lovely, natural weight build-up off center. Whoever tuned that really knew what they were doing.

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo Review

Photos by: Chris Perkins / Motor1

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo Review

Pros: Extremely Well Equipped, Great Design, Logical Interior

The turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder makes 190 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, and pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s not quick, as you’d expect, but this drivetrain does help the K4 transcend its economy-car roots. (Lesser K4s have a 147-hp naturally aspirated four-cylinder and a continuously variable transmission.)

A Civic Si this is not, but the K4 has enough power, torque, and refinement here to justify making the jump to the Turbo model. And, the transmission is even pretty responsive when you flick the paddle shifters, so you can enjoy some spirited driving.

Our tester also had the $2,200 Technology Package, which includes everything from heated and cooled seats to Kia’s excellent driver-assist technology. There’s even a surround-view camera system! In a car that’s barely more than $30,000!

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo Review

Photo by: Chris Perkins / Motor1

Cons: Not Very Sporty, No Hybrid

My abiding feeling is that this thing is nice for the money. Compact sedans have long felt like rental cars, and while you may get that sense in the $23,000 K4 EX base model, this GT-Line Turbo transcends its class. Or at least, popular expectations for its class.

There aren’t many faults with the car itself. I wish its driving dynamics lived up to its sporty styling, and the weird touch display for climate controls between the gauge cluster and infotainment is expertly blocked from view by the steering wheel. But perhaps the K4’s biggest issue is what it isn’t—a Honda Civic Hybrid.

Motor1’s Best of the Best award winner last year, the Honda Civic Hybrid, is nearly perfect. Fun-to-drive, incredibly efficient, affordable, and easy to live with. This gas-powered Kia isn’t quite as good to drive and doesn’t offer nearly as great fuel economy—29 miles per gallon vs 49 miles per gallon combined—and it costs about the same.

2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo Review

Photo by: Chris Perkins / Motor1

What do you think?

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Comments

The Kia counters the Civic with a certain design panache and lots of big-car niceties that the Honda doesn’t offer. But personally, they don’t add up to quite enough. I wouldn’t talk someone out of a K4 GT-Line Turbo, but I would actively recommend the Civic Hybrid.

On the flip side, it’s good that we have great options like this K4, in which buyers aren’t penalized for going with a small, sensible car. Because they may soon have no choice.