Kia K4 Sport 2025 Review
After 20 years Kia’s small car changes its name from Cerato to K4, but are there enough other updates to justify a substantial price rise?The Kia Cerato small car has been part of the Korean car-maker’s line-up in Australia for more than 20 years and through four generations. But in 2025 the K4 has arrived to replace it. Strikingly styled, it majors on a big increase in tech and price while leaving the mechanical stuff pretty much untouched. Is the K4’s overhaul more than skin deep, or is it all about the look? Here we’re assessing the K4 Sport, the model at the heart of the range, now priced close to $40,000 on the road.
How much does the Kia K4 Sport cost?
The 2025 Kia K4 Sport sits one up from the entry level in the four-model range. Priced at $35,190 plus on-road costs, the Sport is a lumpy $6030 more expensive than its direct predecessor, the Kia Cerato Sport.
Pricing goes up substantially across the range. It starts at $30,590 for the entry-level S, rises to $37,590 for the S+ and tops out at $42,990 for the GT-Line, the only model that swaps out a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine for a more powerful and economic 1.6-litre turbo-petrol.
Premium paint adds an extra $600 for all colours bar white.
Currently only offered as a sedan (yep, I know – it looks like a hatchback), the K4’s most obvious competitors are the Hyundai i30, Mazda3 and hybrid-only Toyota Corolla, all of which come as both hatch and sedan at the quality end of the diminishing (in terms of sales and choice) small car segment.
Kia has ceded a sizable price advantage over those cars in making the swap from Cerato to K4, so it will be interesting to see if it can hold its 2024 spot as the second most popular small car and the second most popular Kia behind the Sportage SUV.
What equipment comes with the Kia K4 Sport?
The K4 Sport’s strikingly angular wide-hipped exterior includes the latest iteration of Kia’s signature Tiger Nose grille in matte black, LED headlights with high beam assist, rear door handles integrated into the C-pillar (this area of the car is the weirdest bit of the look, I reckon) and 17-inch alloy wheels.
Access to the interior is keyless, where you will find cloth seat trim, a squircle (squared circle) two-spoke steering wheel and dual-zone climate control.
There is no powered driver’s seat adjustment, but there is a space-saver spare tyre. I’ll happily take the latter over the former – especially as an errant screw required its use during our test.
Otherwise, we would have been stuck by the side of the road. And that’s why all cars sold new in Australia should be fitted with some form of spare tyre!
The K4 comes protected by Kia’s long – if no longer industry-leading – seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and a 12-month/15,000km servicing program. Note, if you opt for the turbo-petrol GT-Line, the intervals drop to 12 months/10,000km.
The Kia capped price servicing program costs $3225 for seven visits to the workshop. That’s an average of $460 per visit. The Corolla SX hybrid sedan is about $1000 cheaper across the same period.
However, the K4 can be covered for up to eight years of roadside assist free of charge if you service at a Kia dealer. The Toyota will set you back a minimum $99 per year.
How safe is the Kia K4 Sport?
The Kia K4 has yet to gain an ANCAP safety rating, but there is an expectation the entry-level S might end up with four stars because it has a little less safety equipment than the other three models. You can upgrade it by spending an extra $2100.
From Sport upwards the standard safety equipment includes autonomous emergency braking with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection. It also brakes if obstacles are spotted turning or crossing a junction, or during a lane change.
The K4 Sport also offers adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection and avoidance, rear cross-traffic avoidance, and lane keeping, following and change assist.
The K5 also monitors for rear-seat passengers, whether it’s safe to exit the car, tyre pressures (but there’s no readout showing pressures), driver attention (two types!) and whether you’re speeding.
It’s those last two features which are just about the worst things about the K4. Get rolling and the bing-bongs start. Turning them off is a multi-step process that has to be repeated every time the car is started. Infuriating. By contrast, the lane keeping is nowhere near as intrusive and is easier to switch off via a steering wheel button.
There are seven airbags, three child seat top tethers and two ISOFIX mounts across the rear seat. A reversing camera with guides assisted by front and rear parking sensors aids manoeuvring. The view out for the driver in each direction except directly rearward is pretty clear.
What technology does the Kia K4 Sport feature?
The 2025 Kia K4 Sport makes quite the statement, with its triple digital screens stitched together across the dashboard behind a single piece of glass.
In front of the driver is a 12.3-inch instrument panel and sitting over the centre stack another 12.3-inch infotainment touch-screen. Splitting them is a five-inch air-con panel that can be expanded to take over the infotainment screen at the touch of a sensor.
But you don’t have to stab at the screen to make changes as the K4 has a set of hard-wired buttons for both air-con and audio in the dash. Good move!
Infotainment features include wireless/wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, embedded sat-nav and AM/FM and digital radio bands. There are four USB-C ports spread through the cabin while sound is handled by a six-speaker audio system.
The K4 Sport also comes with the Kia Connect telematics system that offers safety, security and convenience features including live services such as weather and traffic information.
The K4 also offers over-the-air updates for things like sat-nav maps, which means you don’t have to wait for a visit to the workshop.
The K4 Sport misses out on a wireless smartphone charger, which only the GT-Line gets, and a head-up display, which no K4 gets.
What powers the Kia K4 Sport?
There is absolutely nothing new happening under the bonnet of the 2025 Kia K4 Sport. As per the old Cerato Sport, it’s powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine hitched up to a six-speed automatic that drives the front wheels.
Power claims stay absolutely the same as before at 112kW and 192Nm. If you want more serious numbers you’re going to have to opt for the GT-Line, with its 142kW/265Nm turbo engine and higher entry price.
How fuel efficient is the Kia K4 Sport?
The official fuel consumption claim for the 2025 Kia K4 Sport doesn’t change either, staying stuck fast on 7.4L/100km. On test in a variety of conditions, our result was 7.7L/100km.
Look, that’s decent enough, but the hybrid Corolla does better. Our most recent test of the Toyota (a hatch, admittedly) on the same roads returned 5.0L/100km.
At launch 12 months ago on different roads, the hybrid version of the i30 sedan delivered 4.3L/100km.
Kia says a hybrid is likely coming for the K4 later this year.
What is the Kia K4 Sport like to drive?
Based on its exterior design, the 2025 Kia K4 Sport promises a spaceship drive, but it turns out to be much more down to earth than that.
You just cannot expect that much from a powertrain with these outputs hauling a 4710mm-long car that weighs in at 1355kg (tare) – which is about 35kg porkier than before.
The best thing about it is the immediacy of its initial throttle response – no turbo lag! That makes this combo great for getting around town when you need those quick bursts of acceleration away from the lights, into an intersection or when snaffling an opening in that faster-moving adjacent freeway lane.
But unsurprisingly, the initial enthusiasm drains away as speeds rise. The six-speed auto works hard to keep the engine’s shallow pool of torque engaged, so there are lots of gearchanges. Thankfully, they don’t jar too often.
Manual changes are sharp and executed at the lever as there are no paddles. There are also three drive modes: eco, normal and sport. Detectable changes are minimal. There is no longer a smart (auto) mode.
The gearchanges are at their most noticeable when trying to hold a steady speed on an extended climb. There is lots of hopping between gears to keep things moving along at the selected rate.
Through all this the engine doesn’t get too rough or rowdy, except when really revved hard. Tyre noise from the 225/45R17 Nexen N Fera Primus tyres is more noticeable.
Needless to say, this level of performance is more acceptable in a $29,000 Cerato Sport than a $35,000 K4 Sport. It really should have hybrid assistance, like Corollas and i30 sedans at this price.
The engine also has implications for the ride and handling of the K4 Sport, because only the GT-Line swaps from a torsion beam to a multi-link independent rear suspension set-up.
The K4 is locally tuned by experts but it’s impossible for the torsion beam to shield all the jarring and crashing our terrible local roads produce, especially at low speed.
Maybe the tuning team has allowed a little more of that stuff to seep in to enhance the balanced handling and limited body roll of the K4 in corners. That doesn’t mean it’s sporty, but it is competent.
The steering is light and direct in normal mode without feeling especially athletic. It’s a bit weightier in sport. There’s not enough power and torque to corrupt it.
What is the Kia K4 like inside?
Jump into the 2025 Kia K4 and that big screen and two-spoke steering wheel gives the exterior some techno interior back-up.
But beyond that it’s all pretty standard stuff. As mentioned, there’s no power adjustment for front seats – nor any heating or ventilation – but they are nice and big and softly comfortable.
Trims are generally appealing to look at and in some key places a little forgiving to the touch. No elbow bruising via the armrest, for instance. But the steering wheel rim is pretty yuck.
While the Cerato was built in Korea, the K4 is bolted together in Mexico. The K4 gave us no reason during our test to question its overall build quality.
The driver’s seat offers a wide range of adjustment as does the reach and rake adjustable steering column, so a good driving position is attainable.
The instrument panel can be tuned to look like a pair of analogue speedo and tacho dials – that will do me, thanks! But the centre air-con display is hidden by the steering wheel, so I found myself peering around its rim to check temperatures.
But, like we said, it does expand and there are hard buttons…
The infotainment screen is straightforward enough. Based on Kia’s latest ccNC platform, it retains a home screen with large tabs to stab at on the move, which I like. A secondary page offers more menu choices for stuff you won’t need to tune so often.
Mostly though, it’s straight to Apple CarPlay for audio and navigation. It just works.
Storage up front is decent. The highlight is the spacious centre console that has pop-out fences to hold smaller drink containers. The door bins appear perfectly designed to swallow wine bottles.
The rear seat is spacious for taller people in terms of head and kneeroom and a bit more generous than the old Cerato. As it should be considering the K4 is 70mm longer, 50mm wider and has a 20mm longer wheelbase.
But it all feels a bit parsimonious back here when it comes to creature comforts. Yep, there are adjustable air-con vents, USB-C ports and an armrest with dual cupholders, but the door bins are tiny and the hard-shell front seatbacks have no map pockets.
The boot is a bit like the back seat in the way it has plenty of size – in fact, it’s huge – but little in the way of added features. There are no nets or bins, and the gooseneck hinges could crush luggage if you’re tightly packed. The rear seat split-folds via pulls in the boot to expand storage space further.
Should I buy a Kia K4?
The 2025 Kia K4 Sport gives up the Cerato’s pricing advantage in exchange for all-new styling and an upgraded and more spacious interior.
The ride and handling package is perhaps that bit better, but the powertrain is stuck in neutral.
It feels like a vehicle very much built to a budget. Kia opted to overhaul what was most obvious and left a lot more pretty much as it was.
At this money a hybrid drivetrain is to be expected. That it’s missing – when other vehicles offer this powertrain at this money – does a lot to push the K4 Sport down the list of best small car choices.
2025 Kia K4 Sport at a glance:
Price: $35,190 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 112kW/192Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 167g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested
Related: Kia K4 GT-Line 2025 Review
Related: 2025 Kia K4 hybrid wanted, hatchback coming
Related: 2025 Kia K4 full Aussie details and pricing
Related: Bigger, sleeker new Kia K4 revealed
- Very spacious inside and in the boot
- Has reliable handling and ride
- Includes a full suite of physical buttons for the air-con and audio
- Substantial price rises reduce the value compared to the old Cerato
- Carry-over 2.0-litre petrol engine should have been replaced by a hybrid
- Ahh, those bloody bing-bongs!
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