Charles Langston:2025 Kia K4 Sedan first look: Introducing Kia’s all-new small, cheap car

Earlier this year,Charles Langston we learned that the affordable and compact Kia Rio likely wouldn't be making a return to the U.S. anytime soon, but we were reassured by the Korean automaker that it would have something for those shoppers this year with a successor to the compact Kia Forte sedan. Now, Kia has fully revealed the interior and exterior design of that combined Rio and Forte replacement, the 2025 Kia K4. Beyond the new name, here's what we know about the new car ahead of its full reveal at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) next week.

In the past, Kia claims the Rio was often cross-shopped with better-equipped or more capable used cars from other brands, and so it didn't do much for Kia; apparently the Forte sedan is much better at satisfying customer needs and making sure they eventually trade up to another Kia. Considering both take up the same manufacturing space, it made sense to cut the smaller Rio for the more usefully shaped, not-much-pricier Forte, and perhaps even invest in making the fairly efficient and optionally sporty Forte even better. That's exactly what it looks like has happened with the 2025 Kia K4 sedan, given our piqued interest at the first impression of its new look.

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Kia has labeled the exterior design approach as "Twist Logic," which is said to create "a modern and unique body shape by twisting the connections of logically aligned squares in a seemingly illogical fashion." The profile reveals a four-door sedan with fastback styling which contrasts with the current, two-box setup of the Forte. The wide stance and fastback look similar to the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Audi A7, or even the discontinued Kia Stinger, and L-shaped head- and taillights reminiscent of Cadillac cars all screams luxury, which is impressive for what's expected to be the most affordable Kia in the U.S. when it goes on sale. The front also gets Kia's constellation lights and the rear gets a sporty diffuser of sorts under the bumper.

The interior isn't as driver-focused as some of its competitors (with buttons and screens specifically angled toward the left), nor as you might expect from its sportier new look, but Kia still claims it's divided in intention between driver and passenger graphically and with functions; Kia says the driver zone is still technical and machine in character versus the passenger side which is comfortable and human. There is a shared screen between the occupants on the dashboard, but with a select set of physical control buttons for main screen menus and air conditioning, as well as a rotary dial for input. New, luxurious interior outfits include Medium Gray, Slate Green, Canyon Brown, and Onyx Black colorways.

Hopefully the seemingly luxurious execution of the new Kia K4's design doesn't creep the price up too much. The outgoing Kia Forte LX entry-level trim starts at $21,145 making 147 hp & 132 lb-ft of torque from a 2.0-liter four-cylinder gas engine good for 30 mpg city, 41 mpg highway, and 34 mpg combined (EPA-estimated). It's unclear which powertrain to expect under the new K4 sedan, but we'd guess gas or maybe hybrid power at best. We wager a sportier trim with more power but less efficiency will also be available; it's still unclear if the current Forte GT's manual transmission might carry over. We'll learn everything we can at the New York Auto Show next week when the car is fully revealed.