- The all-new 2025 Kia K4 hatchback was spotted testing in prototype form.
- The K4 could be called Ceed in Europe, where it will battle the VW Golf and Opel Astra.
- America will get the hatch as well as a K4 sedan that replaces the Forte later this year.
Although the boom in small crossovers and SUVs has moved the needle away from hatchbacks, Kia thinks there’s still some mileage in the half century-old format. But the Korean firm’s designers have ensured that the K4 hiding under camouflage in the pictures is no boring me-too shopping car.
The K4 hatchback is the shorter, stubbier counterpart to the K4 sedan unveiled in New York earlier this year as a replacement for the Forte. Kia even teased the hatch at that event, revealing a glimpse of it during a video presentation.
Related: 2025 Kia K4 Is America’s Forte From Another Planet, Offers Turbo Too
America will apparently get both versions, the sedan arriving first, at some point before the end of 2024, while Europe will major on the hatchback which will replace the Ceed, and could even carry over that name, some sources have suggested.
Both sedan and hatch share the same new-generation Kia design language that transplants elements of the EV5 and EV9 SUVs onto low-riding four-door, combustion-powered cars. Under this prototype’s black disguise is a clamshell-style hood, Y-shaped DRLs with vertically-stacked headlights and a connecting LED light bar.
The K4 hatch’s rear door handles are mounted high up, next to the C-pillar, giving a two-door vibe, the rear arches are heavily flared for a muscular stance and the taillights run across the tail and turn through 90 degrees, plunging to the floor. The images of the yellow car at the bottom of the page reveal how it will look once the ballistic vest has been removed, as well as showing the K4 sedan for comparison.
We think the hatch looks a heap more interesting than the new BMW 1-Series or Mk8.5 VW Golf, and Kia will be hoping buyers feel the same, because the Golf has experienced a resurgence in popularity in Europe in recent months. Golf sales rocketed by 43 percent in the first half of 2024 versus the same period in 2023, making it the second most popular car on the continent.
Inside, expect the same EV9-style dashboard that was showcased on the K4 sedan at New York. That featured a long, slim, combined digital gauge pack and media screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
America’s hatch should get the same 147 hp (150 PS) 2.0 and 190 hp (193 PS) 1.6 turbo already earmarked for the K4 sedan, but gas-conscious Europeans can probably expect only to see the 1.6, and in a lower state of tune.
