The 2025 New York Auto Show is right around the corner, and while we don’t know everything about what’s going to appear at the show, we can make a few educated guesses. Let’s take Kia, for example. In a brief teaser post for this round of debuts, the automaker offered up this juicy little line:
The three Kia debut vehicles span distinct model lines, encompass two fully electric powertrains, and one offers a sporty and versatile approach in the compact car segment.
Hmm, a compact car? There’s only one thing that fits that description. Yes, it’s the Kia K4 5-door, previously confirmed for North America but with no firm launch timing. Well, it’s been about a year since the sedan was unveiled in New York, so the timing feels right for a reasonably priced Kia with some extra practicality.
We at The Autopian like the K4. Not only does it feature a neat mix of materials and novel interior design, it’s also properly useful, comfortable, and efficient. I pushed a modestly equipped sedan through Snowmageddon earlier this year, and not only did it handle big snow drifts with aplomb, its chassis was confident and predictable enough that I was overtaking crossovers and pickup trucks. Okay, winter tires did help, but it just goes to show how capable the K4 is. Oh, and did I mention it’s a lot of car for the money? You can pick one up for around half of what the average new car costs, and it’ll be nicely specced too.
The biggest demerit against the sedan is that it looks weird. My mum described it as if the front and rear were designed by two separate people who didn’t talk to each other, but this quasi-wagon looks far more cohesive to say the least. Extending the roofline and going with a hatch makes the quarter window look less severe, and a strategically placed piece of glossy black trim completes the effect. The result is a transformation from frumpy to fabulous, a dashing wago-hatch that makes the Civic hatchback and Corolla hatchback look a bit ordinary.
Under the hood, we’re expecting to see the same selection of powertrains we’ve seen in the sedan, a two-liter naturally aspirated four-banger mated to a CVT, or a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Expect solid fuel economy out of the former and warm, if not exactly hot, performance out of the latter. Also expected to be on tap? Two big screens under one pane of glass, all the gizmos you’d really want, and surprisingly comfortable seats.
Of course, this is a roll of the dice right now, but we’ll find out really soon if a U.S.-spec K4 5-door will appear at the New York International Auto Show. Expect details on everything Kia’s bring to be released on Wednesday, and with the brand also teasing the EV3 compact electric sedan, it seems like this year’s show is going big on sensible cars.
Top graphic image: Kia
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If only the roofline were horizontal; leading to a nearly vertical rear window.
I suppose this will never happen, because it would then be a… god forbid… station wagon.
I do hate this century.
Sloping roof or not, the difference between a wagon and a hatchback was codified by Torch a while back— the most important features are the percentage of overhang and whether there is a 3rd window for the hatch area.
My rule is a little different. If it has a 5th door and is as long or nearly as long as the sedan, it’s a wagon. If it is noticeably shorter, it’s a hatchback. This car is getting very close to wagon but I will have to see the length.
If it follows past small Kias, it’ll be about 5-6″ shorter than the sedan. That’s also about in line with the Civic or Mazda 3 too. You can see flipping pics side by side of the sedan and hatch how much extra length the sedan has, using the filler door as a reference point.
No bad thing, but a wagon it really isn’t. Agree with your rule – the 3rd window isn’t enough, because the sedan has a 6-window greenhouse too. They could have even gotten away with using the same window between both (it’s different, I squinted real close!).
What the hell is going on with the sedan’s C-pillar?!
I am the buyer for this. Shut up and take my money. Though, I have to say I would prefer normal door handles for the rear doors.
Would also like a 6-speed manual. They have them lying around in the parts bin, so let’s do it.
I’m not an expert, but I know what I hate. And I don’t hate this
I think Kia’s found their advertising slogan for this car.
You might be right, it’s almost as good as Rax’s “You Can Eat Here”
This is far, far, better looking than the sedan. I’m very interested in this segment, but unfortunately, the Kia’s drivetrain is too off-putting for me. I’m not interested in a CVT, and I’m scared of the GDI engine in the higher trims. If they put a hybrid drivetrain similar to the Civic, this would be a killer little car. As it currently stands, I’ll look at the Civic Hybrid first. The EV3 could be cool tho.
Oh yeah no reason the Elantra hybrid powertrain wouldn’t slip right in…I like the sound of that.
We call our dogs “wagos”. (It’s a long story.)
A wago-hatch? Sign me up!
I like the looks of the wagon but am holding out for an EV3.
I don’t hate the sedan (even if its overwrought) but this obviously looks far better and of course, just makes more sense than the sedan. I’ll be stoked if they actually bring it over here.
I was very excited for this hatch/wagon until I saw a K4 sedan in person and that interior looks cheap AF. The old Forte looked a hell of lot nicer inside, and that realization has given me pause to consider this car.
The decontenting in the K4 interior is real. I was thinking about the K4 and test-drove a GT-line turbo back to back with a Forte GT with the GT2 package, one of the last new ones left. It wasn’t even close. The Forte was nicer looking, much better inside, quicker and more engaging to drive. The K4 was considerably quieter and smoother, but doesn’t feel particularly “special”. The Forte is a bit raw and a little juvenile for a 50-something guy but I grin every time I get behind the silly flat-bottom wheel.
They need to ask Hyundai to let them put their Elantra N powerplant into this.
I’m still 50/50 on the looks. But being a wagon gives it that extra point so its more pretty than ugly.
What’s worse is that the 1.6 in the GT-Line is down 11hp from the exact same engine in the Elantra N-Line/Forte GT. It also ditches the DCT for a conventional torque converter automatic, which prioritizes smoothness over snappy performance. This I can kind of understand, because the DCT isn’t the smoothest unit out there and doesn’t like being treated like a conventional automatic. I’m hoping that branding the current car as a GT-Line is Kia leaving the door open for a proper GT with the superb Elantra N/K5 GT drivetrain.
That black stripe at the back spoils the looks. When is that fad going away?
The “I’ll just put a little bit of the taillight down there where something will break it, and until then it will just look weird “ styling isn’t enticing me either.
Other than that I like it.
Assuming that the color selection isn’t three whites, two blacks, four grays, and that vomit color in the press photo.
That black stripe, not quite floating roof (which I also hate!) stuff does need to go away.
I like the color in the press photo, though. Anything that isn’t boring gets a like from me, though.
Maybe one of the Autopian’s tamed car designers could explain what’s up with the black stripes.
Here’s my take:
New KИ K4 5-door:
(I guess you’ll have to look at the photos above, since this site won’t let me paste a screen snip, or post a link to a photo)
2025 Chevrolet Trax:
(go to https://pictures.dealer.com/gm-cgi-images/a29f59b23b5af05475b0dcfa09d93d9e.jpg?impolicy=resize&w=1024 since this site won’t let me paste a screen snip, or post a link to a photo)
Enough ranting… Here are the specs for the KИ K4…
Exterior Dimensions:
Here are the specs for the Trax:
Exterior Dimensions:
So the Trax (which the EPA considers a subcompact wagon) is about 5-1/2 inches taller that the K4 Hatchback. But with 2 additional inches of ground clearance. So the actual vehicle is only 3-1/2 inches taller. The K4 is also almost 7 inches longer on a 1 inch longer wheelbase.
I’m definitely interested in seeing one of these KИ wagons in person to see how it compares to our Trax. But the nearest KN stealership is almost a 2-hour drive away, so not many people in my area buy new vehicles that aren’t GM, Ford, Ram, or Toyota vehicles.
185 long? Definitively surprised by that. I thought this was 165 territory…. think the subcompacts of the yesteryear. 185 is proper wagon length.
I expect it will mostly follow the Honda Civic bodystyles, where the hatch is about 5″ shorter than the sedan. This was true of the previous Forte too, which Canada got but the US didn’t.
Brands that don’t or won’t make both bodystyles (be it time or funds) do seem to split the difference between a proper wagon and would-be hatch – see VW or the Ford Focus, where the hatch might be more like 10″ shorter than a sedan & wagon. (edit: or Corolla sedan vs. hatch, perhaps the example we can most relate to now even though we don’t get the wagon)
You know what? Hell yeah. If this comes with a tech package like a Stinger and this color, I would buy a new one. The local Kia dealer sends me a mailer once a month trying to buy my baby and this might make me entertain the offer.
Any new wagon gets a +1 just for the form factor. Again, Hyundai/Genesis/Kia doing the lord’s work out here making interesting cars in form factors that don’t start with a C and end in “rossover”.
Nice. I’d buy it.
This looks so much better as a wagon it’s not even funny. The sedan is a bit of an overstyled mess and I’m going to paraphrase Matt’s description of the Sonata and say that the K4 is 25 feet of styling on a 15 foot car. It’s just too much of too much, and while I don’t think economy cars should all be bland appliances I do think that over styling them just gives off a try-hard vibe.
But this? They’ve been given additional space to apply all that extra too much to and now it’s the right amount. Well done Kia. This looks fantastic. Just please forego the stupid soft roader trim and don’t cover it in a bunch of unnecessary plastic….
The K4 GT Line sedan has a regular 8 speed automatic transmission with the 1.6 turbo. I would hope they forego that DCT nonsense for the wagon. I like it a lot.
Doesn’t this compete with the Soul?
I’d think so, but as someone posted above this is significantly longer.
Kia actually offered a hatch version of the Forte alongside the Soul all throughout the 2010s, covering the first two generations of Soul. For some reason they dropped the hatch in the outgoing gen in the US (Canadians could still buy a Forte5). Perhaps because of the Seltos, which arguably competes a bit with both, but Mazda/Subaru/Honda seem to be doing fine selling both a hatch and small crossover around the same respective pricepoint.
Of course I doubt a manual transmission will be offered.
There’s 0 market for it outside of enthusiasts, and we don’t even buy cars new anyway.
Speak for yourself.
This is good, but I just can’t get onboard with Kia or Hyundai’s design language. This looks better than the sedan version, but that’s a very low bar.
This is hot.
The only thing wrong with this is that it looks like a Kia.
Second thing wrong here.
It is a KIA.
yes. yes.
I knew it was coming, but… darn it.
Unless they’re doing something different for the hatch (unlikely) it’ll have an 8-speed torque converter auto like the GT-Line turbo sedan. No manual, though.
ooh and in a delightful shade of “baby shit yellow!”
Hey, better than the standard palette of graphite, slate, steel, fog, pewter, and granite.
Fuck yeah it is. Bring it onnnnnnn!
That way of thinking is the reason we can’t have nice colors or anything different from the scale of grey.
what type of thinking? I said it was delightful
Next thing you’re gonna judge me for pointing out a car is painted in Dog Dick Red
Another plus is that the hatch looks to be a bit shorter than the too-big-to-be-compact sedan.
The K4 looks leagues better in wagon format. It’s kind of an aesthetic mess as a sedan.