Kia Motors has announced that its 2025 Kia K4 sedan will be unveiled at the New York motor show on March 21, ahead of the all-new small-medium car’s launch in Australia early next year.
As carsales has reported exclusively this week, heavily camouflaged Kia K4 prototypes have been spotted running around Sydney in recent days, undergoing local engineering evaluation that will finetune its ride and handling performance for Aussie conditions.
In announcing next week’s global premiere, Kia has also released the first official teaser image of the K4, which will be bigger than the current Cerato and carry design cues reminiscent of the larger Kia K5 (Optima) and even the now-discontinued Kia Stinger sports sedan.
Unique touches include the L-shaped tail-lights and a bold crease line along the rear haunches, which help to bulk-up the ensemble and definitively set the K4 apart from the related Hyundai i30 sedan.
Both are expected to share the same platform, while the K4 is likely to offer a similar powertrain line-up to the i30 sedan – including hybrid.
That said, carsales understands the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission paired with the 1.6-litre turbo-petrol i30 N-Line sedan will be ditched in favour of an eight-speed torque-converter on what’s likely to be the K4 GT.
Expect the K4 to offer significantly more space than the Cerato, along with up-to-date technology and a higher specification all round.
The K4 is not expected to enter Aussie showrooms until early next year, partly due to extended shipping times associated with a shift in production from Korea (Cerato) to Mexico (K4).