I Thought That Nothing Might Rival the Honda Civic Sedan at Its Worth Level, However Then I Examined the New 2025 Kia K4 GT-Line, and Have Found a Nice New Choice For Patrons To Think about

I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Having examined the 2025 Honda Civic, I really feel that it’s virtually unbeatable. Notably the hatchback variations. So, when Kia despatched us a brand new K4 to check, that clouded our judgment a bit. How might Kia presumably match or high that new Civic? Nicely, they’ve, and relying in your priorities, the K4 could even be a greater choice. On this unconventional assessment, we’ll concentrate on the issues that differentiate these two nice autos. 

Kia K4 vs. Honda Civic – Exterior Type and Inside Styling
The good information for consumers within the sub-$30K automotive market is that nice seems are free. Each the Civic and K4 are good-looking automobiles outdoors. We significantly just like the coupe-style rear doorways on the K4. Kia’s now signature C-pillar can be a styling component we really feel units the K4 aside. 

Our sub-$30K K4 GT-Line tester had a two-tone inside that knocked our socks off. The steering wheel’s flat high and backside was additionally novel, and we cherished it. 

Kia K4 vs. Honda Civic – Powertrains
We examined the K4 GT-Line. Its 2.0-liter engine and variable automated transmission had been satisfactory for the function, and that’s what you now get with the Civic. In our driving on combined suburban and concrete roadways, together with some fairly heavy site visitors, we noticed 42 MPG within the K4. With that sort of mileage, we’d seemingly skip getting a hybrid. 

Kia K4 vs. Honda Civic – Physique Types
For 2025, Kia provides the K4 with a trunk, and it has 4 doorways in a sedan format (with coupe styling). Honda provides a sedan or a hatchback. Nevertheless, in 2026, Kia will introduce its K4 hatchback. Personally, I favor the comfort and added cargo quantity {that a} hatchback provides. That is only one particular person’s opinion. The good information is that each manufacturers shall be providing each choices, so consumers can decide and select. 

Kia K4 vs. Honda Civic Pricing
We’ve reviewed costs and see that each of those fashions supply an amazing worth. You get a LOT for not a lot cash. Our K4 GT-Line tester had a client value of $28,345, together with Kia’s inland freight and dealing with price, however much less no matter Doc charges your Kia supplier costs. Honda’s Sport with comparable content material has a worth of $27,831. 

Kia K4 – Notable Options
We love that Kia provides a spare tire within the K4. Honda provides a spare on solely sure trims. We additionally cherished how simply we might hook up with the wi-fi Android Auto within the K4 – even with out utilizing an influence cable to provoke the pairing. Right here, Kia is the match of Honda, which additionally provides an impressive infotainment package deal. 

This is a list of all of the top-selling automobiles with spare tires. 

Kia K4 – The Drive
We discovered the K4 to have an excellent character. We’d name it “chill” or “mellow.” The K4 GT-Line with its 147 hp engine was simply satisfactory, and by no means felt sporty. If you need extra energy, there’s a GT-Line Turbo with 191 hp obtainable, but it surely comes at a meaningfully increased price ticket. We’d most likely skip the turbo on this automotive, and dwell with the bottom energy ranking. The dealing with is sweet. It’s all the time satisfying to attempt a low-slung sedan after being in crossovers more often than not.

If efficiency is a precedence for you on this automobile phase, see in the event you can stretch the finances to the Mazda3 Turbo. It begins at $34K. 

Kia K4 GT-Line Conclusion
If you’re looking for a sub-$30K automobile, it’s exhausting to miss the Kia K4 GT-Line. It provides an excellent look, trendy inside, loads of area for 4 and even 5 passengers, and lots of options we predict make it an excellent worth. One factor we actually like concerning the Kia line is its 100,000-mile guarantee for preliminary house owners. That is one space the place Kia objectively beats Honda. If we had been looking for a sedan beneath $30K, we’d try the Kia K4 earlier than deciding on any of the opposite decisions within the market. 

Do you assume Kia has a viable choice to the Honda Civic in its K4 GT-Line? Is that this a automobile you’d cross-shop? Inform us within the feedback beneath.

All photographs by John Goreham. 

John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Affiliation member and professional automobile tester. John accomplished an engineering program with a concentrate on electrical autos, adopted by 20 years of labor in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive provide chain earlier than changing into a information contributor. He’s a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). Along with his eleven years of labor at Torque Information, John has printed 1000’s of articles and opinions at American information retailers. He’s identified for providing unfiltered opinions on automobile subjects. You’ll be able to join with John on Linkedin and comply with his work on his private X channel or on our X channel. Please be aware that tales carrying John’s by-line are by no means AI-generated, however he does make use of grammar and punctuation software program when proofreading and he additionally makes use of picture era instruments.