Everything seems to be a $70,000 SUV these days, but if you’re a fan of smaller vehicles then it’s probably worth considering a Kia K4. The Kia K4 is a stylish 4-door hatchback that’s packed with technology and reasonably priced.
So what’s the catch? Kia sent out a K4, specifically the GT-Line Turbo, and I had a week to get to grips with it. Testing included a long distance trip down I-87, a rush hour run through New York City, and some quiet suburban driving in upstate New York. All in all I was pretty impressed, aside from one glaring issue.
Kia’s interior gets a lot right
If you’re a regular reader you may have noticed me ranting about “pleather” from time to time. I think it looks awful in most vehicles, the texture is horrendous, and we’d all be better off if lower-end cars opted for fabric upholstery instead.
With the K4, I’m prepared to make an exception. The “SynTex” artificial leather coating the seats and other interior elements isn’t bad at all. I’d go as far as saying it’s quite good. Obviously it’s still not as good as real leather, or some of the freakishly high-quality “vegan” leathers the likes of BMW and Mercedes use. But it’s far from the horrendous, $100 gaming chair-esque nonsense you get in many of the K4’s peers.
Beyond that, the half-dash length display is bright and easy to use. Physical switches are present and help you get between menus or manage the vehicle’s HVAC system. Where there is plastic, it’s not overly cheap and hollow feeling. All in all, I was pretty impressed with the K4 GT-Line’s interior. I’d be perfectly comfortable commuting in it.
The Kia K4’s exterior styling is on point too
The Kia K4 is not a bad looking vehicle. The one I tested came in gold, which is a bit of a statement and not something I’d have chosen myself. But it’s modern and aggressive looking at the front, and has a pretty powerful hood.
It has that classic hatchback silhouette from the side, but there’s an overall beefiness about it. Almost like a muscle car. The 18-inch rims look pretty large on it too, adding to the overall aesthetic.
At the rear, there’s a kind of lightbar arrangement, with the actual tail lights coming down like fangs. Again, there’s a very modern to futuristic feel about the whole thing. We’re entering a good looking car era from the looks of things, and Kia may be leading the way in some respects.
It’s a little low on power
Under the hood, the Kia K4 GT-Line is packing a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder engine capable of producing 190 horsepower with 195 lb-ft of torque. According to the vehicle’s documentation it will get 26 MPG in the city, and 33 MPG on the highway.
While those specs look half decent on paper, especially in a small hatchback, and are significantly better than the standard GT-Line, I did find the K4 a little low on power at times. Especially when faced with a hill or other steep gradient. It’s fine for day to day driving, but if you want something with a little extra punch then the Kia isn’t for you.
In terms of positives, I feel like the vehicle handled very well. As with most hatchbacks, it felt pretty light and agile. I also believe the fuel economy on the highway was a little better than Kia promised, with a trip from Newark to Albany coming in at around 35 MPG. Though on shorter trips its urban performance will drift closer to 20 MPG.
You get tech tech that made me praise the Telluride
Kias and Hyundais are pretty standardized across the lineup, which means a lot of the tech in the Kia K4 is pretty much identical to things I’ve praised in the Telluride and the Hyundai Santa Fe.
The 12.3 inch touchscreen is a pleasure to use. The vehicle connects to Android Auto and Apple Car Play flawlessly and wirelessly. There are plentiful USB C ports around the interior.
The Harman Kardon 8-speaker sound system produces high quality audio, and the controls on the steering wheel make flipping through your playlist a breeze.
The cruise control is solid too. Kia doesn’t seem to offer full hands-free level two self driving, but the system does everything but that. Lane keep assist will make sure the vehicle is centered, while the cruise control system will slow you to a stop and get you going again. It’s not Super Cruise, but it is enough to give you a bit of a break on a long journey.
The automatic braking system is deeply flawed
Kia’s tech stack also includes “forward collision avoidance assistance”, which is a good thing on paper. However, in practice it’s far too sensitive and could actually lead to issues. How it should work is as follows: a hazard appears in the road, you are going to hit it, so the vehicle automatically slaps the anchors on and prevents an accident. Many vehicles also apply the brakes gradually, slowing you down and alerting you instead of going for a full on emergency stop at the last second.
Kia doesn’t seem to apply gradual braking force, it’s all in or nothing. To make matters worse, the number of false alarms is worrying. During my testing period, there were at least three occasions where the Kia’s emergency braking system seemed to go haywire.
The first involved me backing into a parking spot with a small concrete barrier at the end of it. The barrier was only around four inches high, and would easily fit under the rear of the vehicle. I was also aware of it and fully intended to stop once the vehicle was in the spot. The parking brake sensors saw it, blared an alarm at me, and hit the brakes which led to an uncomfortable pause.
In another incident, I was on the road following a vehicle that was about to make a right turn. I had my foot over the brake and, as I have countless times in my life, ready to adjust my speed accordingly. The emergency brake seemed to think I wasn’t slowing down fast enough and decided to take over. Leading to a rapid deceleration. This one could be a little dangerous. While the people behind you should have the correct stopping distance, tailgating is pretty common in reality. A stop like this, especially when I had the situation covered, could lead to an accident.
Finally, the braking system seemed to fire when the Kia spotted a cop coming the other way with his lights flashing. Now, yes, you should pull over for emergency vehicles and I was in the process of doing that. The emergency brake should not have fired in this situation, especially as the cop was some distance away when it did.
The annoying thing here is, this is a great feature on paper and could prevent an accident. However, it’s so sensitive and poorly implemented that I would have to disable it if I used this vehicle as a daily driver. Which means it wouldn’t be there when I did actually need it.
The K4 fills a vital gap in the automotive landscape
There was a time in recent years when the K4 wouldn’t be considered a “small, cheap, option.” You had the likes of the Honda Fit, Mitsubishi Mirage, Chevy Spark, et-al filling that gap. They weren’t flashy, they were bordering on impracticality, but it was a new car for under $20,000 that was equally cheap to run and maintain.
The K4 is a lot more practical, and frankly luxurious in comparison to those older, roller-skate-sized, abominations. And it hasn’t overshot that $20,000 barrier by too much. Its direct competition includes the likes of the Hyundai Elantra, which it shares a platform with, and the frankly stalwart Toyota Corolla.
The GT-Line I tested is a few thousand dollars more expensive, and it’s absolutely worth it for the higher quality interior. If you’re someone who puts performance and driving experience ahead of everything else, the K4 is going to feel a bit dull. But so is everything else in this price bracket. If you’re looking for a stylish and comfortable runaround that doesn’t break the bank, this hatchback ticks pretty much all of the boxes.
