Kia K4 Hatchback | How to Make a Cheap Car

The 2026 Kia K4 hatchback, not to be confused with K19 the Widowmaker, that's a completely separate thing. In this video, we're going to talk about the pros and cons, the price point, and who this is for, and some of the things this brand does great, and maybe why you would consider it. But, let's get started with the trim levels and prices. This bad boy starts at about $25,000 for the poverty spec. You can go to the GT Line, which adds more features, and if you add the technology pack, which gets you heated and cooled seats, acoustic front glass, a moonroof, and a whole bunch of other stuff, it's at 28 grand. And that's a really, really good deal for what you're getting here. Then you go to the GT Line Turbo, which I'm in, and then you add the tech pack, it bumps it all the way up to about $32,000. That gives you more power, ambient lighting, and a few other niceties. But, again, there's a price spread here where you can get a brand new car almost like loaded for 28 grand and feeling really, really good. But, you've been looking at the outside this far, and the outside tells a different story. It looks very, very modern. It was clearly designed in the digital domain, and it's not something that's going to age well. It's very here and now, but really, there's a good amount of color options. There's something here for everybody. But, again, you know, I'll leave the looks to you. Let's talk about the interior space where you're going to live. What this brand has done really good here, and around 28 grand, as you look at the textures of the dashboard, the plastics, they have absolutely mastered the art of commodity cars. I was talking to Jack about this. When you look at the upper dashboard, it looks like higher quality in here at about 28 grand than we get in a base 911 or like even a specked-out 911 with their plastic dash. They know where to put soft-touch materials. hard textures that makes this look way more expensive than it is. And when you go to a dealership for the first time, you're going to be wowed by it. They've also mastered the use of physical controls. When you look at the door panel, your heated and cooled seats and your heated steering wheel and your memory buttons are all in a line, all easy to find. You're not going to mess with this. The steering wheel controls are physical. No haptics, super clicky, easy to use. Like everything's so intuitive about this car and that's why it is special for the price point. I think they made you feel like you're spending a lot more money without overcomplicating it or making it hyper gimmicky. The only thing negative I can really say is because they hybridized the HVAC controls. There's physicals for temp and fan speed, but everything else is in the touchscreen. And they've kind of hidden this HVAC control model panel behind the steering wheel so you can't even see it. If you want to maximize it, oftentimes there's lag or delay. When I first turn on this car, it won't ever full screen. So, there is some frustration on the software side, but it's still way better than a lot of the other brands are doing. Overall seating comfort is pretty good. I find that they do a pretty good job with their lumbar support. The thigh cushion is pretty decent for most body types and the seats are just overall pretty comfortable. They don't have like a solid bottom cushion like Mazda. It It's a good blend between all the brands. I feel like again, the touch points and the things you interact with your are a joy to use. In terms of back seat space, very comfortable, easy to get in and out. If you opt for the upper trim levels with multi-link rear, it's more comfortable in the back and more refined. The hatch space is great. I mean, clearly you can see with the seats down, this is like small SUV levels of storage and usability without the footprint of a CUV or the boring nature of, you know, everybody and their grandma has an SUV now. That's it just feels played out. This gives you something unique and I think people are going to like that. But, we're going to take this in the shop. I'm going to explain how they got the price point to where it is and some of the things that they're doing here that are unique to Hyundai and Kia.

Now that you understand the price point and the features, I'm going to explain to you how they were able to get the price point down. I'm going to give you a crash course here. You know, brands have tried to bring manufacturing back to the United States, but they can't get the prices low enough. Even in the Koreans are struggling with this despite them owning their own supply chain. They make their own steel, they make most of their own parts, but bringing it to the United States is now more expensive. So, this Kia and Hyundai counterpart is made in Mexico. That's to drive down cost. They've also done it in several different ways. This car is almost entirely steel. There's no composites, no aluminum. They've also had to balance a strategy of how to make it feel refined without just going off the deep end with covering every single piece of this car up. So, when you look at the body structure, they've used structural adhesive and body sealers as in many strategic places as possible. Like the front end, they really used a lot of body sealers around the front wheels and around the front subframe. And that's going to quiet down road noise for that driver and passenger and eliminate, you know, tire noise as much as possible. They've done a good job covering the wheel well arches in the front and the back. And this brand is really big on structural adhesive, which does reduce NVH. They have a really good concept of how to control it. They also use acoustic panels where they need to in the middle part of the car, but that's about it. Now, they've taken panels off where they don't need it for a car of this price point. Like here, the entire engine underneath is uncovered, which is great for serviceability. If you're spending 25 to 30 grand for a car, you're probably doing your own oil changes or doing your own work. In that regard, you can strip everything off this car with minimal effort, which I really like. I like the fact you can just crawl under this thing and get at to wherever you need without having to pull off service panels. That is a big deal. Now, let me talk about some of the differences between the different trim levels. The EX is the lowest. You get a naturally aspirated engine and a IVT, which is their version of a CVT, which is excellently tuned. It is one of the better ones in the industry. The negative part of getting that lowest trim level is you only get a torsion beam rear end, no independent suspension in the back. So, if you're sensitive to ride quality or you have back passengers or kids that are sensitive in the backseat, it's going to have a choppier ride. When you go up to the GT Line and the GT Line Turbo, you get independent rear, which makes a huge difference in ride quality. You also get slightly bigger rear brakes and you get retuned dampers for the GT Line cars. So, the GT Line and the EX both get the same naturally aspirated 2-liter with that CVT. And then the GT Line Turbo, the 1. 6-liter turbo gets about 190-ish horsepower and torque and you get a traditional torque converter automatic. So, drivability-wise, if you really care about driving dynamics, you have to go to the GT Line Turbo. Otherwise, you know, that middle trim, the GT Line without the turbo, is a really good choice. But anyway, I'm going to leave it at that. I hope that gives you a better understanding of how they did what they did here. We're going to take this for a drive and talk about the pros and cons.

Jack, Kia K4 Hatchback. This is for a very specific clientele, but I want you to first, before we get started, I want you to just feel this. Do you feel any NVH from the engine? — No. — It's incredible because the engine's on. — Mhm. — Like how smooth this thing is. — I think in a world where everything is becoming increasingly too expensive, the value proposition of this car, how it sits with all its options, is incredible. I'm really, really impressed by this car. — Yeah, I you know, when I got in it, I'm like, obviously you get past the looks and the paint color and you know, thank god it's unique, but uh truthfully, um when you drive this, you appreciate just how much work they put into this for like an affordable car because it basically fixes all the things that we've complained about this brand in terms of refinement for so long. The engine is disappears into the background compared to the Toyota equivalents and Hondas. The trans is you know, — It's fine. It's an eight-speed torque converted version. — I would take this over the CVT in a like Corolla any day of the week though. — And I think this becomes the argument. And I I talked about this in the shop, how they did it, why they did it. But from a practical perspective, um why would you choose this or would you consider choosing this over a Corolla or a Civic? Cuz that becomes the argument for this. — From a feature set, from a refinement perspective, from a driving side of things, I mean, this and a Civic hatch, I still think the Civic's a touch more refined in the ride quality. I even think in the quietness, though we haven't done them back-to-back. Um but I think from a Corolla comparison, this thing blows that car out of the water, at least from a driving perspective. I the engine, when it decides to downshift, is far less anemic. It's more importantly really quiet. — Yeah. — Can't hear it at all. The steering's well weighted. The basic inputs for like throttle mapping and brake pedal mapping are good. Like I think it's a very easy car to drive where there isn't one thing that sort of sticks out. When you tell it to downshift and you put it in a sport, it's not going to blow you away in speed, but that's not what you're asking for in a car like this. How is it You've driven this longer than me though. And obviously sat in this car for like 2 hours and you were on the highway. — Yeah. — How is it when you actually push it hard with something I can't do on the street too. — know, like the engine calibration of this and then the NVH team that worked on this, I think has a really good idea of how to eliminate the shitbox feeling of a four-cylinder. And this is something that we complain about with Toyotas specifically. You get in it and it just sounds horrible. Like they don't know how to isolate it out. It finds It sounds like it vibrates and excites every panel and every piece of metal. They this They have the torque curve of this engine set up where it doesn't necessarily need to downshift and that's what I found on the highway is you just go into it a quarter and it's instantly got power. It almost has an electric feel to it without having any hybridization and I think for a majority of the public that's going to drive it is going to appreciate that part of the refinement of it cuz it never really has to wind up and when you need it to get going it just does. The transmission, you know, mostly blends into the background. This isn't pretending to be a sporty car. It's just something that's like pointed at me. Does it do the refinement part? comfort technology part? And I would say it's like eight out of 10 out of all of those including the driving assist functions when you get to this high trim level. It It's one of the best for the price point if not the best. — No, this is way better than the Honda system. — It's It's really I think it's better than the Toyota and it like blows away the Mazda stuff. — Well. — Because it does the driving assist part where it's an assist that you can lean on, right? You don't have to second guess it. It just does it without being in your face like the Toyota It's like it's constantly bothering you on the Toyota. This just it kind of works. — So my question I pose to you is while this car is a value from an initial purchase perspective Kia and Hyundai have really suffered in long-term residuals. — Yes. — So my [clears throat] assumption is if you paid let's say a Civic hatch with all the bells and whistles which are which is still less features than this car has to say low 30s would you still buy this over say a Corolla or like a Mazda 3? — Well, yes and no. Look, the 10-year plan because of the warranty, right? If they're going to honor the warranty and you're not going to have a bunch of drama with you know, theft crap and reliability you know, you keep this for 10 years it's not going to matter that much. — That's because you have your powertrain warranty. — Yeah, assuming everything's going to work properly on here and this is a lower trim level car. There's not a lot of complication to it. You know, these you know, of course, not knock on wood, but you know, assuming the engine's not going to eat itself, the trans is a known quantity in these cars. I mean, there's just not a lot for that for it to go wrong unless something major we don't know. But for 10 years, I think because you're going to get the fine the interest rate so low, it's going to be so subsidized out that you can get a low payment on it. It doesn't scare me that much. This would be a different discussion if we were talking about a used car. But as a new product, I think it delivers a lot more than what the existing Toyota lineup offers for other small compact cars, and that's going to — 3, too. — And the Mazda 3, like, you know, the Mazda 3, the problem with the Mazda is they haven't been able to keep it up to date like the Koreans have, right? Like, it's fallen behind. There's nothing wrong with it, but refinement-wise and the back seat, you know, like, this is a refined car. And does it have issues with jounciness and some of that it can't control like some of these higher-amplitude impacts? Yes, but at this price point, it's not egregious. And if that's good enough for most people — And you can't get a hybrid yet, which is the other thing. — this is front-wheel drive only. You know, like, you still have those same arguments with some of the other competition, but um I don't know, Jack. I think it's time to sum all this up. — All right. Take me to the final thoughts. —

— Here we are, the conclusions of the K4 hatchback. Hyundai and Kia have done a really good job now at understanding how to buy all the things they need for their supply chain and drive the price down across all their cars, cars and SUVs. And this is a perfect example of how they figured out how to cut costs everywhere to get the price point down to like the mid $25,000 range and upper 20s, and you get all the features that really would cost you about $35,000 with the other brand. Now, they've had to make concessions in certain places, but as a customer, most people don't realize it. And yes, they've had more issues with reliability of their gasoline engines. I mean, it's not just perceived reliability. We drive everywhere and we're seeing a lot of the older cars puffing out oil or black smoke from their engines. I hope they get some of these quality issues mechanically under control, EVs and the regular gasoline cars. But assuming you don't care about that, the one thing you want to the reason why you'd want to buy a new car like this in this climate is not everybody has the money to buy a used car and in the United States, your financing rates can be a lot lower and more favorable for longer terms with less money down and driving down your payments if you really need that new car experience. And this really does deliver. It's more refined than the Toyota and Honda counterparts, at least on the pure internal combustion engine. The engine and transmission just disappear in the background. It's really quiet and it is super comfortable and it's feature-packed. So, it's giving you so much there and it's a good blend of physical controls, usability and with the hatch, I mean, you can store so much stuff in here without having that footprint of an SUV. Really like that part. I wish that they would figure out a way just to go back for the to the basics for their regular cars and going more physical HVAC controls. This is hybridized and the software, like I talked about in the interior, does have some lag and it gets frustrating, but other than that, it's very hard to find complaints about the K4 hatchback. Check it out if you're in the market for an affordable new car.