The 2025 Kia K4 Looks Like a Step Up from the Forte

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Kia is revamping its entry-level car. The 2025 Kia K4 will be revealed later this month at the New York auto show as a replacement for the long-running Forte. We won’t have full specs on the car until next week, but its styling and design mark a significant step forward for what will likely still be Kia’s most affordable model.


Like the larger K5, the K4 features sleek styling and unique lines with a futuristic look. Kia retained its signature “tiger nose” grille and gave the car vertical headlight units with large LED daytime running lights. The rear features vertical taillights and an integrated diffuser in the lower bumper.

Kia said it designed the interior with two themes in mind. The driver’s space is focused, with displays and controls oriented toward the seat, while the rest of the passenger cabin focuses on comfort and space. The car is available with a range of interior lighting options, and Kia retained physical controls for often-used functions like maps and the climate system. Kia also offers new interior colors, including green, gray, brown, and black.


We don’t have powertrain specs for the new car yet, but Kia’s expected to offer similar configurations to what was seen in the Forte. That would mean a standard four-cylinder engine with an available turbo. The automaker is also expected to develop a hybrid model and a small electric sedan called the EV4.

The 2025 Kia K4 will officially debut on Mach 27 in New York, so we don’t have long to wait for more information. Pricing details will likely wait until closer to the car’s release date later in 2024.


[Images: Kia]


Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by  subscribing to our newsletter.

Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

More by Chris Teague

Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 26 comments
  • Danddd Danddd on Mar 22, 2024

    That rear quarter panel is just lazy design trying to interpret futuristic 60s. Who would approve this?

  • Lorenzo Lorenzo on Mar 24, 2024

    The 1986 Accord hatchback coupe has returned!

  • SCE to AUX "...to help bolster job growth and the local economy"An easy win for the politicians - the details won't matter.
  • Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh so now we will PAY them your tax money to build crappy cars in the states ..
  • SCE to AUX Yes, I'll miss it, and it doesn't make sense to kill off your 3rd-best seller. 2023 was its best year since 2018.
  • SCE to AUX This was the same car I had (05 xB, stick, "camouflage" color) for 7 years - great car.We called ours "The Lunchbox". I added aftermarket wheels, and the 3rd-party cruise control the dealers could install.It suffered only two failures: bad window switch in week 2 (dealer fixed in 1 hour), bad trailing O2 sensor (fixed myself for $70). Fuel economy was always 28-34 mpg.It was a potential death trap, and ride quality became unbearable after 2 hours. I once did a 10-hour round trip in it and could barely walk after.Traded it for a 2012 Leaf, which was a better car in some ways.
  • Bd2 The "e" nomenclature signifies the e-ATPs which BMW is pursuing.
Next