Kia’s New Civic Fighter Is … Really Good Looking?
Take a guess—what was Kia’s best-selling vehicle last year? You’re probably thinking an SUV of some kind. Perhaps not the biggest one, the Telluride, but maybe the middle-sized one, the Sportage. But wait! Maybe the best seller was the cheapest—the blocky little Soul, with its roughly $20K starting price.
Wrong, wrong, and wrong. Since 2018, the best-selling Kia in the United States has been its compact sedan, the Forte. (Soul sales dropped below 100K units in 2019 and have been slipping lower ever since.) But even with increasing annual sales of the Telluride (59K in 2019, 111K in 2023), the Forte has held strong. Which is why Kia has decided to invest the time and money to redesign the volume-selling sedan inside and out as the K4.
That’s the 2024 model-year Forte on the left, the K4 on the right. (Kia hasn’t given it a model year, but 2025 is a safe bet.) The difference is striking. The Forte looks like it’s halfway through puberty, while the K4 ditches the Forte’s non-committal mix of edges and curves for a creased, flared suit accented with angular, pinstripe LEDs. The new design is worthy of its new name; these cars barely look like they belong to the same brand, and that’s a compliment.
Yes, we know Kia probably doesn’t want us to view the K4 as a direct successor to the Forte, whose name isn’t mentioned once in the press release. But we just can’t get over the difference in the confidence and commitment of these designs. A compact sedan from Kia that doesn’t look like it’s apologizing for being cheap? Keep the MSRP in the low $20K range, Kia, and we will be genuinely impressed.
Look at the difference in the interior: A two-spoke steering wheel with Kia’s new badge placed off-center … lovely. No binnacle over analog gauges, just a single rectangular screen atop a dashboard dominated by clean, horizontal lines. Buttons—real buttons, the press release is quite specific—tucked flush with the dashboard! The giant shifter looks ridiculously self-important … maybe, just maybe, Kia will offer a manual transmission like it does for the current Forte. And … is that a sage green interior? 2024 Kia could never.
We don’t yet know the extent of the mechanical changes underneath this handsome redesign; Kia probably won’t release them for another five days, which is when it reveals the car in full at the New York International Auto Show. Car shows are shadows of what they used to be, but even so, the location of the K4’s global reveal is telling: This is an important car for Kia in North America. (The current Forte is built in Monterrey, Mexico.) We hope our first impressions hold true. Despite a soulless name, the K4 looks like an affordable, confident daily driver that we’d enjoy being seen in.
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I drive a 2021 Forte GT and I like it a lot. I like this too but I will never buy a Kia or Hyundai product again and I would encourage others not to either.
My daughter bought a used Kia Soul last year. I checked to make sure recalls had been done on the car (They had) but it was otherwise clean and looked very well taken care of. Six months later the engine spun a rod bearing (Oil level was full) but Kia would not pay to replace it even though there was a multi-billion dollar settlement in place for a known engine defect (Which I had not discovered prior). Further research into the issues involved uncovered a series of class-action lawsuits, settlements and ongoing issues with more recent cars. I plan to sell my Forte soon as I feel that it’s nothing but a ticking time bomb that will leave me stranded despite maintaining it perfectly. I can’t trust that if it happens that Kia/Hyundai will stand behind their product.
My last 2 vehicles have a been a, purchased new, 2012 Hyundai Tucson and presently a 2013 KIA Sportage (purchased in 2018 with 102,000km).
I drove the Tucson for 227,00 km with NO issues. The Sportage presently has 217,000 km…. again, issue free.
For me the important element for both vehicles was the 2.4l engine. No oil burning, transmission issues etc…. Just the usual brakes, tires and regular fluid changes.
The 2.4l middle years, 2015-2018, were, admittedly, suspect.
The vehicles are not splashy but they are value-packed.
KIA/Hyundai’s latest offerings have gotten edgier and eye-appealing, especially the Ioniq line.
How is the new Kia rated at smashing through reinforced storefronts of pot stores on the West Coast? Have their brilliant engineers figured out how to make an effective interlock?
I’m not acting the fool. To those not aware of this problem, one of the most popular recreational activities, in the Seattle area, is robbing Pot Stores after hours, with the aid of easily “hot wired” late model Kia’s and Hyundais. Did those geniuses in the common sense dept. remedy this minor problem?
The enterprising thieves go by the moniker, “Kia Boys.” Does wonders for public relations.
We have a 2021 Forte, no frills regular aspirated gas engine that gets an incredible 45 mpg on the highway. It’s been trouble free, comfortable, albeit as exciting as mud. We didn’t think it would be any more than that and are quite satisfied. So if Kia doesn’t screw with that formula by making it more attractive I’m sure it will sell a ton as the Forte does. But please don’t muck it up Kia, sometimes a successful formula is best left alone. Remember “new” Coke?
If Kia makes an “Si” version (or better, a “Type R” version), they could have a car whose performance could cash the checks the designers are writing. 🙂
This might be tempting, but I have to join another commenter here by agreeing with his “I’ll never buy another one” attitude. I know two people who bought/owned a Hyundai (aka Kia) and they both had (fatal) oil related engine problems. Both cars had been maintained and both cars had problems right after the warranty expired. One was covered anyway, the other was not (say what you will about dealers, but this is where find a good one and maintain a good relationship can be valuable). As with Japanese cars, these should be 300K mile cars now a days with just regular maintenance (I’ve had a couple of Hondas which were still bulletproof well into the 200Ks when I replaced them). Too many good alternatives to even consider one of these, as cars are too expensive to chance it.
A giant screen and no buttons, no thanks. Kia had a good looking sedan it was the Stinger GT.
I’ll keep driving my excellent 2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible.