Kia Motors Europe has detailed the K4 for the region, which initially will be exclusively sold as a Hatch (or 5DR) and offer a range of turbocharged petrol engines – including 48V mild-hybrids.
The Korean automaker is touting the K4’s “class-leading legroom and boot space”, with the former quoted at 964mm and the latter at 438 litres.
At launch there will be 1.0 T-GDI and 1.6 T-GDI turbocharged petrol engines, with the smaller three-cylinder unit available with 48V mild-hybrid assistance.
The larger 1.6-litre petrol, which will be offered in Europe and the UK in two states of tune, is paired exclusively with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic and not an eight-speed automatic like in Australia.
Kia Europe has also confirmed “later in 2026, the powertrain lineup will be expanded to include a full hybrid option”, indicating production of the K4 Hybrid (or HEV) will commence in the new year – Europe and the UK will also source the K4 from Kia’s new plant in Mexico, like Australia.
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As with the Australian-market K4 Sedan, the K4 Hatch in Europe will be available with the brand’s latest suite of in-car and driver assistance technologies.
These include the Connected Car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC) with dual 12.3-inch driver and infotainment displays bookending a 5.3-inch climate display; wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto; Digital Key 2.0 allowing smartphones to unlock the vehicle; as well as Kia Connect services with over-the-air software updates.
Further, the K4 in Europe will offer Kia’s Blind-Spot View Monitor cameras, active blind-spot and rear cross-traffic assist with braking intervention, surround parking cameras with 3D View projection, as well as Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist 2 which is Kia-speak for autonomous emergency braking with vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist detection.
The Kia K4 Hatch is expected in Europe and the UK later this year. Kia Australia launched the K4 Sedan in February, with the hatchback expected in late 2025.
When the K4 Hatch arrives in the fourth quarter, it will coincide with the launch of a more efficient powertrain across both body styles of the new-generation small car.
The powertrain in question is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated with what Hyundai and Kia call an ‘IVT’ or Intelligent Variable Transmission. Effectively, it’s Hyundai/Kia-speak for a CVT, on sale locally in the Seltos small SUV, and also used in the related Hyundai i30 Sedan and Kona crossover.
Running the more efficient Atkinson cycle, the new engine makes slightly less grunt than the existing 2.0-litre ‘MPI’ engine (110kW/180Nm versus 112kW/192Nm) but is claimed to be more fuel-efficient, helped in part by the different transmission.
“The CO2 on that is better than even the 1.6 turbo – I think it’s about a 30g/km improvement [over the 2.0L MPI]. Whether we spec it with [idle stop/start] is TBC,” said Roland Rivero, general manager for product planning at Kia Australia, in June.
The current 2.0L MPI engine with a six-speed automatic in the K4 Sedan quotes combined fuel consumption of 7.4L/100km and CO2 emissions of 167g/km, while the more powerful 1.6 T-GDI engine in the GT-Line with its eight-speed auto quotes 6.7L/100km and 158g/km.
As yet there’s still no word on when the K4 Hybrid or HEV might make it to Australia. It will almost certainly draw upon the 1.6-litre hybrid system used in the i30 Sedan and Kona, which makes 104kW and 265Nm and uses around 4.0L/100km on the combined cycle.
So far in 2025, the currently sedan-only Kia K4 hasn’t quite reached the sales heights of its popular Cerato predecessor, but has maintained a decent sales rate in a hatch-dominated market.
To the end of August, there have been 3855 new Kia K4s registered in Australia, equating to 10.3 per cent share of the small cars under $45,000 segment.
While a decent result thus far, the K4’s YTD volume pales compared to the hybrid-heavy Toyota Corolla (13,145), as well as the Hyundai i30 family (7447) and Mazda 3 (7191). During the January-August period in 2024, the Cerato managed 11,217 units.
Kia Australia expects volume to pick up now that the K4 has been crash-tested by ANCAP. Earlier this month all versions bar the base S without Safety Pack scored a five-star safety rating, which Mr Rivero said in June “will open the door to fleets”.
Further growth is expected at the tail-end of 2025 and into 2026 with the more desirable hatchback variant, as well as the more efficient base petrol engine option.