Kia K4 (2024)

Strip the Kia K4 (2024) back to its specification sheet and the character is already there: Petrol engine, 84 kW. Kia built from 2024, in the decade the industry is turning electric.

The background

The Kia K4 is a compact car (C-segment) manufactured by South Korean automaker Kia since 2024. It is a replacement for the Kia Forte/K3/Cerato, while the K3 nameplate was transferred to a subcompact car. The K4 was first introduced on 21 March 2024, and was fully introduced on 27 March 2024, at the 2024 New York International Auto Show. It was initially available as a 4-door saloon and 5-door hatchback. Since 2026, the K4 is available in a 5-door estate version called the K4 Sportswagon.

The engineering

Power comes from Petrol engine; 84 kW is the published figure; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. It weighs 1330-1434 kg. Work it out per tonne and you get about 63 horsepower — unhurried — enough for the job, not for the bragging. It shifts through a 6-speed Manual transmission / manual / 6-speed Automatic transmission / automatic / 8-speed automatic / 7-speed Dual-clutch transmission / DCT / Continuously variable transmission. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2720 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Where it sits

Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Kia Forte / Kia Forte/K3/Kia Cerato / Cerato / Kia Ceed (Europe); assembly was at Monterrey, Nuevo León (List of Kia design and manufacturing facilities#Monterrey Plant. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Mini Aceman, the BYD Seal 06 GT, the BYD Atto 2 — show what else the money bought that year. Its Kia stablemates include the Kia K5 (Optima) and the Kia Magentis.

What it costs now

The money question first: $19,700–$28,400 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $2,745–$3,725 a year. Insurance sits around $1,510–$2,150 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.