Video: 2025 Kia K4 GT-Line Review: High-Tech Style

It features sharp styling that finally matches the rest of Kia's lineup, and a ton of features you might not expect. This Sportier K4 GT-Line trim packs an upgraded multilink suspension, 18 inch alloy wheels, gloss black accents and top trim standbys like heated and ventilated power memory seats, and dual zone automatic climate control. But the real fun is under the hood of the GT-Line Turbo, where turbo means exactly what it says. It features a turbocharged 1.6 liter four cylinder, good for a tire chirping, 190 horsepower and 195 pounds-feet of torque, and that's made it to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Were all of these upgrades worth the roughly $2,000 bump in price over the Forte? Here's three things I liked and three that didn't win me over. First of all, just look at it. This feels like a much more premium car than the K4 GT-Line's $26,365 starting price suggests. It's one of the most distinctive designs in its class with funky lighting signatures in the front and the back, along with this chunky C-pillar design that makes it instantly recognizable from the side. In a sea of tame compacts, this one stands out without looking too garish. That premium feel continues inside the K4 GT-Line, where you're greeted by a set of dual 12.3 inch displays for infotainment and for the driver's instrument panel, plus soft touch materials galore. Front passengers get to enjoy comfy 10-way power adjustable heated memory seats available in either a cool patterned cloth and synthetic leather combo, or in full synthetic leather. Seat ventilation is also available for those of us who live in hot places. Even with the big screen, a series of physical controls in the center of the dash and on the steering wheel make it pretty easy to live with, albeit with one exception I'll note later. The second thing that felt upmarket about the K4 GT-Line was just how smooth it was. Another premium touch in the K4 GT-Line is its multilink suspension, which soaks up the bumps while still offering predictable handling in the twisties. It's pretty fun to drive, especially with the more powerful engine. Independent rear suspension setups like this are an upgrade from the less expensive torsion beam suspension on the lower K4 trims. And multilink suspension in general is something that a lot of compact sedans skip on lower trims or forego completely to meet a lower price point. But to me, this is what makes the GT-Line trims worth the extra dough. Both transmissions, the GT-Line CVT, as well as the GT-Line Turbo's eight speed automatic, were also smooth operators. Now, I'm not a fan of CVTs with programmed-in gear ratios because it's usually smoother and more efficient for it to just act like one variable ratio gear. However, the ones in the K4 CVT were so smooth and so quiet that I hardly noticed them. The extra soundproofing effort that Kia put into the K4, including dual layer carpets and the available acoustic windshield glass, probably helped a bit with this too. The GT-Line Turbo's drive train is a little less quiet when you really stomp on the gas pedal, but that's to be expected in an even sportier trim. Starting at $29,265, this is an incredible value for a turbocharged performance trim. Both the K4 GT-Line and GT-Line Turbo feature a sport mode, which firms up the steering feel and increases the accelerator response, but even this didn't lose the smooth character of the K4's drive train. Overall, it's a composed package that fits the more refined character of the car. Another thing I loved about the K4 GT-Line that makes it punch above its price point is the impressive amount of technology that you get for the money. One of its most notable features is its voice assistant, which actually understands my voice for a change. This uses Google's large language model chatbot and works well at both following straightforward commands, answering simple questions about where I can find cacti for sale, for example, and it can also play word-based games like 20 Questions or I-spy. There's an impressive suite of safety tech and driver assist features that all function pretty smoothly without being too jarring or distracting too. Kia's Highway Driving Assist Advanced Cruise Control was great at keeping the car centered without ping ponging back and forth between the lines. And the available Highway Driving Assist 2 semi-autonomous driving system was also pretty capable, with natural-feeling steering inputs, gradual application of the brake and accelerator to adjust for varying speeds of traffic ahead, and the ability to pick right back up even if you have to take control of the wheel while it's engaged. Some of these extra features are great for managing a larger than average compact sedan, which the K4 is. The 360 degree surround view monitor and park distance warning options make parking the K4 an easy task. Plus the rear side camera view that comes up when you hit the blinker makes monitoring your blind spots easy. The K4 is even capable of receiving over the air updates to keep all of this up to date and functional. It's really a thoroughly modern connected car now. So back to those spiffy voice controls. While the voice controls are great, finding a nearby cheese shop that's open thanks to Google's vast volume of maps data, it comes with all the flaws of modern generative AI. Ask too complicated of a question and it will simply hallucinate an incorrect answer. Oh, and since it relies on internet connectivity, if you hit a pocket of poor reception, it can get stuck just like a standard navigation app. It's really best suited for offering simple suggestions for places to go or directing you to points of interest that you already know about. The K4 GT-Line comes with a spiffy five inch climate display with one huge problem. It's tucked behind the steering wheel. While you have rocker switches in the center of the dashboard for fan speed and temperature, the display showing you current climate control settings and offering the more granular climate controls sits right behind the upper right edge of the steering wheel. Worst yet, this climate display utilizes touch sensitive controls, which are notoriously hard to hit without looking over at them. That's a problem when they sit behind the steering wheel! They're also just far enough to the driver's side that they'd be tough for the front passenger to reach. This poor design is an even bigger problem when you drive past something that smells terrible, say a surprise, feedlot or paper mill. Since the recirculation function is, you guessed it, part of this touch sensitive panel. Yuck! (laughs) Bad news for rear passengers. The dramatically swooping roof line that looks fabulous on the outside isn't great for ingress and egress, or headroom for that matter. Taller passengers will absolutely find it lacking. Even I hit my head on the door opening getting in and out of the rear seats and I'm only five foot four. Leg room is adequate for a compact car unless the front passenger adjusts their seat all the way back. Although I'm not sure how the all-plastic rear seat backs will hold up over time if anyone has scratchy shoes or cargo. Speaking of cargo, the trunk has a relatively small opening despite being a decently sized 14.6 cubic feet per Kia's measurements. The Fastback-like rooflines drawback stone in there as I found the rear visibility to be somewhat lacking. Oh, the sacrifices we make for style. These issues with headroom, visibility and cargo look like they may be fixed on the upcoming K4 Hatchback, so to say I'm excited to test that version would be a gigantic understatement. Speaking of future models, with the existence of a K4 GT-Line Turbo, which is a sort of sport-light trim with competent handling and a more powerful drive train, it begs the question, where's the full on Sport Compact GT? Its predecessor offered the Forte GT, which successfully pulled off the tried and true combo of more power and more performance features in a small, practical, tossable car. The Forte GT also offered a manual transmission, which is always a welcome sight on a sport combat car. With fun focus competition out there like the Honda Civic SI, Volkswagen Jetta GLI and Hyundai Elantra N, I'd love to see what a full GT version of the Kia K4 would be like. Just hear me out, Kia. Make it happen. For now, we've got the K4 GT-Line and GT-Line Turbo, which offer a nice balance between affordability, practicality, comfort, and fun. You just might wanna hold out for the K4 Hatchback if you routinely haul around two or more tall people. As always, you can check out the latest news on the K4, the K4 Hatchback, and more at cars.com/news.