Kia K4 Revealed
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Kia K4 Revealed
A stylish new compact sedan will soon be added to the Kia lineup to replace the current Forte, and it will bear the name K4 and slot under the larger K5 family sedan. The K4 wears a fastback roofline that draws inspiration from the Stinger sports sedan and wide rear fenders that give the car a sporty stance. Kia has released no information about the K4's powertrain or interior, but we expect a four-cylinder engine to be standard; a hybrid setup is a distinct possibility. The interior will likely offer similar passenger space to the current Forte and other compact sedans such as the Honda Civic, the Mazda 3, the Toyota Corolla, and the Volkswagen Jetta. Luckily, we won't have to wait long to find out more specifics on the K4, as the official debut of this 2025 newbie is scheduled for March 27st, 2024.
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"Sedan"? LOL. This is clearly another four-door coupe. Style-wise, IMHO, we have not seen a true four-door sedan in the American market for a number of years....although the recent Lincoln Continental came close. And the article does not state if it will be available here in the U.S., nor does it state (although it strongly suggests) that it would replace the current compact-sized Kia Forte.
I also don't see any exterior rear door-handles. On some vehicles without traditional handles in the rear doors, they are built into the C-pillar above the door, but I don't see any sign of that either....perhaps they operate only by a button on the fob or an app on the smart-phone?
I'm not a fan of those big dash-screens covering the left two-thirds of the panel that we see on more and more vehicles today, but I do like the fact that Kia still uses the tried-and-true, no-nonsense, no-gimmick, straight-fore-and-aft PRNDL shift-lever with a simple-grip handle. Best shifter-design ever invented....that's why it's been around for so many years.
No awkward or confusing buttons, stub-levers, rocker-switches, push-pull devices, L-motion levers, E-joy-sticks, or zig-zag shift patterns to complicate things.
I also don't see any exterior rear door-handles. On some vehicles without traditional handles in the rear doors, they are built into the C-pillar above the door, but I don't see any sign of that either....perhaps they operate only by a button on the fob or an app on the smart-phone?
I'm not a fan of those big dash-screens covering the left two-thirds of the panel that we see on more and more vehicles today, but I do like the fact that Kia still uses the tried-and-true, no-nonsense, no-gimmick, straight-fore-and-aft PRNDL shift-lever with a simple-grip handle. Best shifter-design ever invented....that's why it's been around for so many years.
No awkward or confusing buttons, stub-levers, rocker-switches, push-pull devices, L-motion levers, E-joy-sticks, or zig-zag shift patterns to complicate things.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,208
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
I would doubt that. While there are some styling cues to the Stinger, this is clearly a smaller vehicle....basically a compact instead of a mid-to-large size sedan like the Stinger.
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Lexus Test Driver
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Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,208
Likes: 220
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
What you said was that you thought it was derived from a planned 2Gen version of the Stinger. I pointed out that, unless the designers planned to severely downsize the 2Gen Stinger, it was not likely that shell or platform. The K4 appears to be the replacement for the compact Kia Forte sedan.
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Lexus Fanatic
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This is interesting. I kinda like that touch.
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: Mar 2020
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From: N/A
What you said was that you thought it was derived from a planned 2Gen version of the Stinger. I pointed out that, unless the designers planned to severely downsize the 2Gen Stinger, it was not likely that shell or platform. The K4 appears to be the replacement for the compact Kia Forte sedan.
