With a proliferation of electric cars coming from Kia’s Irish headquarters in Ballymount, Dublin, out of the blue two months ago came a regular petrol car, the Kia K4.
In recent months, Ronan Flood, MD of Kia in Ireland, and his marketing manager, Cathal Kealey, have been busy introducing Irish motor writers to their range of electric cars and we have had launches for the EV5, EV4, EV2 and the PV5, their first electric van.
The Kia K4 is a mild-hybrid 1.0-lite petrol-powered five-door hatchback. The name may be a bit confusing as K4 is also the name of one of the trim levels names already used by Kia. A more powerful 1.6-litre version is expected to be on sale in Ireland by October this year.
The K4 replaces the popular Cee’d and I get the impression that some of the staff in Kia’s Irish office would have preferred if the new car was also called a Cee’d. It would surely be easier for marketing purposes.
Kia are currently in fifth place in the Irish manufacturers sales chart and can do no wrong right now. They are holding on to their top five place behind: Toyota, Volkswagen, Skoda, and South Korean cousins Hyundai.
Obviously, there is demand in the Irish market for affordable petrol cars such as the K4, as not all drivers are ready make the big switch to electric.
I drove a white version, and it looked good, but of course the problem with white cars is that they get dirty quickly. It has Star Map Signature Lighting inspired by the EV9 and rear hidden door handles integrated into the C-pillar.
I have had a bit of trouble with my back recently, maybe sitting too long at my PC. So, every time I had to go on a journey last week, I found the driver’s seat in the K4 very comfortable. The car is set fairly low and the length of the car is 4.440mm.
Inside, a large touch of cream on the steering wheel really caught my eye. That cream colour is replicated on the top of the black seats, which are synthetic leather, all adding up to a very attractive look. The driver gets electric adjustment for their seat also. The interior is bright thanks the glass sunroof, but that sunroof is only available in the GT version.
Prices start at €31,500. The only ‘free’ colours for the K4 are a grey-green hue called Morning Haze and Clear White. The car is also available in Fiery Red, Azure Blue, Interstellar Gray and Aurora Black, but those colours will cost you an extra €650.
In the back seat, if you have only two passengers, they have used the armrest for drinks etc. Some of the boot space is taken up by the mild-hybrid battery, but there is also space underneath to carry items.
I think this new K4, which Kia hope will take over where the Kia Ceed left off, should be able to maintain Kia sales against models like the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic and Peugeot 308 in the C-segment SUV hatchback segment.
I liked it, but then I am a paid-up member of the hybrid club.
Also on the way from Kia is a face-lifted Stonic which will also be available in petrol and mild-hybrid. And Kia will soon introduce their Seltos to the Irish market. It’s also a petrol version car and is Kia’s second-best seller globally after the Sportage.
