2025 Kia K4 Reminds Everyone Cheap Cars Don't Have to Look So Dang Cheap

Kia and its parent company Hyundai have quickly garnered a reputation for delivering some of the most daring designs across the entire automotive industry, and for good reason. Models like the EV6, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, and even the humble Kona are all as bold as they are unique. Kia will look to keep the streak going with this, the K4 compact sedan, a replacement for the outgoing Forte. And whether you love it or not, it's hard to deny it makes a stronger statement than the Forte ever did.

Mind, that's not a high bar to clear. The K4 will bow at the New York International Auto Show next week, but in modern car announcement style, Kia's decided to save everyone the wait and share images of the thing now. That means we still don't have word on aspects like powertrains, efficiency, or pricing, but we can at least start the design conversation today. And let me be among the first to say: We have a winner.

Is the K4 the prettiest sedan I've ever seen? Hell no, but I also wouldn't say that for anything else in Kia or Hyundai's range, and that even applies to those highly praised Ioniq models. The K4 doesn't break new ground, but it catches the eye. Most importantly, it distills relatively aspirational design into an entry-level model, which is something we haven't seen in cheap cars (at least on this side of the pond) in a very long time.

Of course, we don't know how much the K4 will cost, but we can figure it'll start near the Forte's $21,145 base. Consider the least expensive cars on sale in the U.S. now: the extremely dated Mitsubishi Mirage and Nissan Versa. The tragic-looking and tragically named Hyundai Venue. Kia's own Soul, which pretends to make a statement, but let's be honest, looks like a watered-down, smoothed-over Scion xB that used to make that same statement with conviction. The Nissan Sentra, for crying out loud. What are we doing here?