The Funky-Looking Kia K4 Starts At £25,995

Earlier this month, we were pleased to announce that the Kia K4 is making its way to the UK. We were perhaps a little overly excited by this very normal-seeming car, precisely because of how normal it seems – no crossover pretensions, no silly power outputs, just an honest-to-goodness, old-school family hatch of the kind that’s fast disappearing from dealerships.

Now we know how much it’ll cost when it arrives here towards the end of this year – from £25,995, or £2155 less than the starting point of that paragon of hatchback normality, the Volkswagen Golf.

That price gets you into a K4 in the basic Pure trim level, with a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder augmented by a 48V mild hybrid system, and something called a ‘manual gearbox’. If the presence of a third pedal alarms you, though, you can spend £27,495 to get this engine with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto instead.

The auto becomes the only gearbox available as you move up to mid-range GT-Line trim – that's the one in these pictures. In addition to a sportier look, bigger 17-inch wheels, faux leather and more paint choices, it brings the option of a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with 147bhp. The GT-Line costs from £29,995 for the 1.0-litre car, and £31,295 for the 1.6.

The range-topper, meanwhile, is the GT-Line S. Bigger wheels again at 18 inches, heated seats all round, a sunroof, and a posh Harmon Kardon sound system are the highlights here. This one starts at £33,995 for the 1.0-litre, while the GT-Line S 1.6 – now boasting 177bhp – is the most expensive K4 of all, kicking off at £36,195. 

It’s also the quickest, obviously, although with a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds and a 128mph top speed, it’s no hot hatch – and sadly, a properly hot version of the K4 is something we can fairly categorically rule out ever happening. We’d happily be proven wrong, though, Kia.

The range is set to expand further next year with the addition of a full hybrid, but unlike the Ceed it effectively replaces in Kia’s lineup, it’ll stay as a five-door hatch, with no estate version planned. Like the Ceed, though, it remains a reasonably priced car, to coin a phrase.