2025 Kia K4 Undercuts The Honda Civic And Toyota Corolla On Price, And Looks Cooler Too

2025 Kia K4 Undercuts The Honda Civic And Toyota Corolla On Price, And Looks Cooler Too

A few months after its debut, Kia has revealed pricing for its Forte replacement, the handsomely styled K4. Kia is bucking the national trend of incredibly pricy vehicles and giving us a sedan that comes under $30,000 fully loaded, and it undercuts the base prices of its main competitors, too.

Including destination charges, the 2025 K4 will start at just $23,145. That price makes it $2,200 cheaper than the Honda Civic ($25,345) and $40 cheaper than the Toyota Corolla ($23,185). Most importantly, that price is just $2,000 more than the Forte it replaces. Only competitors like the Hyundai Elantra and Nissan Sentra have starting prices that are slightly cheaper.

Image: Kia

The K4 isn’t just a rehashed Forte, it’s a totally new sedan. Wearing the company’s latest design language, the K4 comes across as sort of a smaller K5, which isn’t a bad thing. Up front there are angular, blade-like amber LED lights, and a grill split between upper and lower openings intersected by a body color bumper.

Around back the similarities to the K5 continue with L-shaped tail lights that run into the lower rear bumper and an almost fastback-like rear window. The most interesting parts of the K4’s design are the blacked-out C-pillar with an integrated door handle and the massive D-pillar, which emphasizes its fastback shape and, from afar, almost looks like it could be a massive air scoop.

2025 Kia K4

Image: Kia

While the $2,000 price increase over the Forte might rub some the wrong way, that higher price comes with more standard equipment. The base K4 LX starts at the aforementioned $23,145. There’s now 11 standard driver assistance features, standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, four USB-C ports and a 12.3-inch touchscreen.

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Moving up to the K4 LXS will set you back $24,145. That adds 16-inch dark gray alloy wheels and standard rear collision and traffic avoidance. The K4 EX starts at $25,145, which gets you dual-zone climate control, 17-inch wheels, an additional 12.3-inch screen for the driver and a wireless charging pad.

2025 Kia K4 interior

Image: Kia

For those wanting a bit more sporty styling on their K4, there’s the K4 GT-Line for $26,345. It gets unique front and rear facias with gloss black trim and accents, and different 18-inch wheels. It’s not all just show, either. There’s a sport-tuned suspension with a multi-link setup in the rear, replacing the normal K4’s torsion beam, plus steering wheel mounted paddle shifters.

The K4 gets two engine choices. The LX through GT-Line are powered by a 2.0-liter inline-4 with 147 horsepower that’s paired with a CVT delivering torque to the front wheels. If you’re wanting a bit more driving excitement, you can only find it on the K4 GT-Line Turbo.

2025 Kia K4 turbo engine

Image: Kia

The GT-Line Turbo starts at $29,245. That price gets you a 190-hp turbocharged 1.6-liter inline-4 in addition to all the features of the non-turbo GT-Line. There’s also Turbo-specific equipment like rear passenger air vents, full LED headlights and fog lights, and a Harman Kardon audio system.

Kia says the K4 will start to arrive at dealers across the country in September. If you’re wanting the GT-Line or Turbo you’ll have to wait a bit, though. The GT-Line is expected to arrive in November while the Turbo will be at dealers early next year.

2025 Kia K4

Image: Kia

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