How Do Car Seats Fit in a 2025 Kia K4?
The verdict: Kia replaced the Forte in its lineup with the 2025 K4, and the compact sedan is larger, more stylish and full of additional tech features. It’s still very much a compact car, however, and we needed a bit more legroom to comfortably accommodate the rear-facing convertible car seat.
Does it fit three car seats? No.
Take a look at how the Latch system and each car seat scored below in our Car Seat Check of the 2025 Kia K4.
Related: Search Car Seat Checks
Latch: Grade B
The two sets of lower anchors sit just within the seat bight, where the back and bottom cushions meet. They require a bit of muscle to access; the seat cushions in our GT-Line test car were very stiff. Three top tether anchors sit on the rear shelf; they’re clearly marked and easy to use.
Infant Seat: Grade B
We needed to use some muscle to push past the stiff upholstery and connect to the lower anchors. Once installed, our 5-foot-6-inch front passenger had a comfortable amount of legroom in front of the car seat.
Rear-Facing Convertible: Grade C
Again, we had to push through the stiff upholstery to connect to the lower anchors, and the thick plastic housing on the seatback took up extra space. We had to move the front passenger seat forward a bit to accommodate this car seat, and the front passenger needed more legroom to be comfortable. Adjusting the seat to a more upright angle would free up more front-passenger legroom, but that’s also not very comfortable.
Forward-Facing Convertible: Grade B
We raised the head restraint to situate the forward convertible flush against the seatback. We had no trouble connecting to the top tether anchor, but connecting to the lower anchors required some muscle due to the stiff upholstery.
Booster Seat: Grade A
Again, we raised the head restraint to get a good fit for the booster on the seatback. The sedan’s bolstered seat cushions also helped nestle the booster for a snug fit. The buckles are on short but stable arms, so they should be easy for kids to grasp and use independently.
Grading Scale
A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.
B: One room, fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing the third row when available.
C: Marginal room plus one fit or connection issue. Difficult to access the third row when available.
D: Insufficient room, plus multiple fit or connection issues.
F: Does not fit or is unsafe.
About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks
Editors Jennifer Geiger and Jennifer Newman are certified child safety seat installation technicians.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Chicco KeyFit 30 infant-safety seat, a Graco Contender 65 convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.
We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.
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