Kia K4 Hatchback | How to Make a Cheap Car

[00:09] The 2026 [music]

[00:10] Kia K4 hatchback, not to be confused

[00:13] with K19 the Widowmaker, that's a

[00:14] completely separate thing. In this

[00:16] video, we're going to talk about the

[00:17] pros and cons, the price point, and who

[00:19] this is for, and some of the things this

[00:21] brand does great, and maybe why you

[00:22] would [music] consider it. But, let's

[00:23] get started with the trim levels and

[00:26] prices. This bad boy starts at about

[00:28] $25,000 for the poverty spec. You can go

[00:31] to the GT Line, which adds more

[00:33] features, and if you add the technology

[00:35] pack, which gets you heated and cooled

[00:37] seats, acoustic front glass,

[00:39] a moonroof, and a whole bunch of other

[00:41] stuff, it's at 28 grand. And that's a

[00:44] really, really good deal for what you're

[00:46] getting here. Then you go to the GT Line

[00:47] Turbo, which I'm in, and then you add

[00:49] the tech pack, it bumps it all the way

[00:50] up to about $32,000. That gives you more

[00:53] power, ambient lighting, and a few other

[00:55] niceties.

[00:56] But, again, there's a price spread here

[00:58] where you can get a brand new car almost

[01:00] like loaded for 28 grand and feeling

[01:03] really, really good. But, you've been

[01:04] looking at the outside this far, and the

[01:06] outside tells a different story. It

[01:08] looks very, very modern. It was clearly

[01:10] designed in the digital domain, and it's

[01:12] not something that's going to age well.

[01:13] It's very here and now, but really,

[01:16] there's a good amount of color options.

[01:18] There's something here for everybody.

[01:20] But, again, you know, I'll leave the

[01:21] looks to you. Let's talk about the

[01:23] interior space where you're going to

[01:24] live. What this brand has done really

[01:26] good here, and around 28 grand, as you

[01:28] look at the textures of the dashboard,

[01:30] the plastics, they have absolutely

[01:32] mastered the art of commodity cars.

[01:35] I was talking to Jack about this. When

[01:36] you look at the upper dashboard, it

[01:37] looks like higher quality in here at

[01:39] about 28 grand than we get in a base 911

[01:42] or like even a specked-out 911 with

[01:44] their plastic dash. They know where to

[01:47] put soft-touch materials. They know

[01:48] where to put hard textures that makes

[01:50] this look way more expensive than it is.

[01:52] And when you go to a dealership for the

[01:53] first time, you're going to be wowed by

[01:55] it. They've also mastered the use of

[01:57] physical controls. When you look at the

[01:58] door panel, your heated heated and

[02:01] cooled seats and your heated steering

[02:02] wheel and your memory buttons are all in

[02:04] a line, all easy to find. You're not

[02:06] going to mess with this. The steering

[02:07] wheel controls are physical. No haptics,

[02:09] super clicky, easy to use. Like

[02:11] everything's so intuitive about this car

[02:13] and that's why it is special for the

[02:15] price price point. I think they made you

[02:17] feel like you're spending a lot more

[02:19] money without overcomplicating it or

[02:20] making it hyper gimmicky. The only thing

[02:22] negative I can really say is because

[02:24] they hybridized the HVAC controls.

[02:26] There's physicals for temp and fan

[02:29] speed, but everything else is in the

[02:30] touchscreen. And they've kind of hidden

[02:32] this HVAC control model panel behind the

[02:35] steering wheel so you can't even see it.

[02:36] If you want to maximize it, oftentimes

[02:38] there's lag or delay. When I first turn

[02:40] on this car, it won't ever full screen.

[02:42] So, there is some frustration on the

[02:44] software side, but it's still way better

[02:46] than a lot of the other brands are

[02:47] doing. Overall seating comfort is pretty

[02:49] good. I find that they do a a pretty

[02:51] good job with their lumbar support. The

[02:53] the thigh cushion is pretty decent for

[02:56] most body types and the seats are just

[02:58] overall pretty comfortable. They don't

[03:00] have like a solid bottom cushion like

[03:02] Mazda. It It's a good blend between all

[03:04] the brands. I feel like again, the touch

[03:07] points and the things you interact with

[03:08] your are a joy to use. In terms of back

[03:10] seat space, very comfortable, easy to

[03:13] get in and out. If you opt for the

[03:15] upper trim levels with multi-link rear,

[03:17] it's more comfortable in the back and

[03:18] more refined. The hatch space is great.

[03:20] I mean, clearly you can see with the

[03:22] seats down, this is like small SUV

[03:24] levels of storage and usability without

[03:27] the footprint of a CUV or the boring

[03:30] nature of, you know, everybody and their

[03:31] grandma has an SUV now. That's it just

[03:33] feels played out. This gives you

[03:35] something unique and I think people are

[03:37] going to like that. But, we're going to

[03:38] take this in the shop. I'm going to

[03:39] explain how they got the price point to

[03:41] where it is and some of the things that

[03:42] they're doing here that are unique to

[03:44] Hyundai and Kia.

[03:49] Now that you understand the price point

[03:51] and the features, I'm going to explain

[03:53] to you how they were able to get the

[03:54] price point down. I'm going to give you

[03:55] a crash course here. You know, brands

[03:57] have tried to bring manufacturing back

[03:59] to the United States, but they can't get

[04:00] the prices low enough.

[04:02] Even in the Koreans are struggling with

[04:03] this despite them owning their own

[04:05] supply chain. They make their own steel,

[04:06] they make most of their own parts, but

[04:08] bringing it to the United States is now

[04:09] more expensive. So, this Kia and Hyundai

[04:12] counterpart is made in Mexico. That's to

[04:15] drive down cost. They've also done it in

[04:17] several different ways. This car is

[04:19] almost entirely steel. There's no

[04:20] composites, no aluminum. They've also

[04:22] had to balance a strategy of how to make

[04:24] it feel refined without just going off

[04:26] the deep end with covering every single

[04:28] piece of this car up. So, when you look

[04:30] at the body structure, they've used

[04:32] structural adhesive and body sealers as

[04:34] in many strategic places as possible.

[04:37] Like the front end, they really used a

[04:38] lot of body sealers around the front

[04:40] wheels and around the front subframe.

[04:42] And that's going to quiet down road

[04:43] noise for that driver and passenger and

[04:45] eliminate,

[04:47] you know, tire noise as much as

[04:48] possible. They've done a good job

[04:50] covering the wheel well arches in the

[04:51] front and the back. And this brand is

[04:53] really big on structural adhesive, which

[04:55] does reduce NVH. They They have a really

[04:58] good concept of how to control it. They

[05:00] also use acoustic panels where they need

[05:01] to in the middle part of the car, but

[05:03] that's about it. Now, they've taken

[05:05] panels off where they don't need it for

[05:07] a car of this price point. Like here,

[05:08] the entire engine underneath is

[05:10] uncovered, which is great for

[05:11] serviceability. If you're spending 25 to

[05:13] 30 grand for a car, you're probably

[05:15] doing your own oil changes or doing your

[05:16] own work. In that regard, you can strip

[05:18] everything off this car with minimal

[05:20] effort, which I really like. I like the

[05:22] fact you can just crawl under this thing

[05:24] and get at to wherever you need without

[05:26] having to pull off service panels. That

[05:28] is a big deal. Now, let me talk about

[05:30] some of the differences between the

[05:31] different trim levels. The EX is the

[05:33] lowest. You get a naturally aspirated

[05:35] engine and a IVT, which is their version

[05:38] of a CVT, which is excellently tuned. It

[05:40] is one of the better ones in the

[05:41] industry. The negative part of getting

[05:43] that lowest trim level is you only get a

[05:45] torsion beam rear end, no independent

[05:47] suspension in the back. So, if you're

[05:48] sensitive to ride quality or you have

[05:50] back passengers or kids that are

[05:51] sensitive in the backseat,

[05:53] it's going to have a choppier ride. When

[05:55] you go up to the GT Line and the GT Line

[05:57] Turbo, you get independent rear, which

[05:59] makes a huge difference in ride quality.

[06:01] You also get slightly bigger rear brakes

[06:03] and you get retuned dampers for the GT

[06:05] Line cars.

[06:07] So, the GT Line and the EX both get get

[06:10] the same naturally aspirated 2-liter

[06:11] with that CVT. And then the GT Line

[06:14] Turbo, the 1.6-liter turbo gets about

[06:16] 190-ish horsepower and torque and you

[06:19] get a traditional torque converter

[06:21] automatic. So, drivability-wise, if you

[06:23] really care about driving dynamics, you

[06:25] have to go to the GT Line Turbo.

[06:26] Otherwise, you know, that middle trim,

[06:28] the GT Line without the turbo, is a

[06:30] really good choice. But anyway, I'm

[06:33] going to leave it at that. I hope that

[06:34] gives you a better understanding of how

[06:36] they did what they did here. We're going

[06:37] to take this for a drive and talk about

[06:38] the pros and cons.

[06:44] Jack,

[06:46] Kia K4 [music] Hatchback.

[06:49] This is for a very specific clientele,

[06:52] but I want you to first, before [music]

[06:53] we get started, I want you to just feel

[06:54] this.

[06:56] Do you feel any NVH from the engine?

[06:58] >> No.

[06:59] >> It's incredible because the engine's on.

[07:01] >> Mhm.

[07:02] >> Like how smooth this thing is.

[07:04] >> I think in a world where everything is

[07:06] becoming increasingly too expensive,

[07:09] the value proposition of this car, how

[07:11] it sits with all its options,

[07:13] is incredible. I'm really, really,

[07:16] really impressed by this car.

[07:18] >> Yeah, I you know, when I got in it, I'm

[07:20] like, obviously you get past the looks

[07:22] and the paint color and you know, thank

[07:24] god it's unique, but uh truthfully, um

[07:27] when you drive this,

[07:29] you appreciate just how much work they

[07:32] put into this for like an affordable car

[07:35] because it basically fixes all the

[07:37] things that we've complained about this

[07:38] brand in terms of refinement for so

[07:41] long. The engine is disappears into the

[07:44] background compared to the Toyota

[07:45] equivalents and Hondas. The trans is

[07:48] you know,

[07:49] >> It's fine.

[07:49] >> It's fine. It's an eight-speed torque

[07:51] converted version.

[07:52] >> I would take this over the CVT in a like

[07:55] Corolla any day of the week though.

[07:57] >> And I think this becomes the argument.

[07:58] And I I I talked about this in the shop,

[08:00] how they did it, why they did it. But

[08:03] from a practical perspective, um

[08:06] why would you choose this or would you

[08:08] consider choosing this over a Corolla or

[08:10] a Civic? Cuz that becomes the argument

[08:12] for this.

[08:12] >> From a feature set, from a refinement

[08:14] perspective, from a driving side of

[08:16] things,

[08:17] I mean, this and a Civic hatch,

[08:19] I still think the Civic's a touch more

[08:21] refined in the ride quality. I even

[08:22] think in the quietness, though we

[08:23] haven't done them back-to-back.

[08:25] Um but I think from a Corolla

[08:28] comparison, this thing blows that car

[08:29] out of the water, at least from a

[08:31] driving perspective.

[08:32] I the the

[08:34] engine, when it decides to downshift, is

[08:36] far less anemic. It's more importantly

[08:38] really quiet.

[08:39] >> Yeah.

[08:40] >> Can't hear it at all. The steering's

[08:41] well weighted. The the basic inputs for

[08:44] like throttle mapping and brake pedal

[08:46] mapping

[08:47] are good. Like I think it's a very easy

[08:51] car to drive where there isn't one thing

[08:52] that sort of sticks out. When you tell

[08:54] it to downshift and you put it in a

[08:55] sport,

[08:57] it's not going to blow you away in

[08:59] speed, but that's not what you're asking

[09:00] for in a car like this.

[09:02] How is it You've driven this longer than

[09:04] me though. And obviously sat in this car

[09:05] for like 2 hours and you were on the

[09:07] highway.

[09:07] >> Yeah.

[09:08] >> How is it when you actually push it hard

[09:09] with something I can't do on the street

[09:11] too.

[09:11] >> know, like the the engine calibration of

[09:13] this and then the NVH team that worked

[09:16] on this, I think has a really good idea

[09:17] of how to eliminate the shitbox feeling

[09:19] of a four-cylinder. And this is

[09:21] something that we complain about with

[09:22] Toyotas specifically. You get in it and

[09:24] it just sounds horrible. Like they don't

[09:26] know how to isolate it out. It finds It

[09:28] sounds like it vibrates and excites

[09:31] every panel and every piece of metal.

[09:33] They this They They have the the torque

[09:36] curve of this engine set up where it

[09:38] doesn't necessarily need to downshift

[09:40] and that's what I found on the highway

[09:41] is you just go into it a quarter and

[09:43] it's instantly got power. It almost has

[09:45] an electric feel to it without having

[09:47] any hybridization and I think for a

[09:49] majority of the public that's going to

[09:50] drive it is going to appreciate that

[09:53] part of the refinement of it cuz it

[09:54] never really has to wind up and when you

[09:56] need it to get going it just does. The

[09:58] transmission, you know, mostly blends

[09:59] into the background. This isn't

[10:01] pretending to be a sporty car. It's just

[10:03] something that's like pointed at me.

[10:05] Does it do the refinement part? Does it

[10:07] do the comfort part? Does it do the

[10:08] technology part? And I would say it's

[10:10] like eight out of 10 out of all of those

[10:13] including the driving assist functions

[10:15] when you get to this high trim level. It

[10:17] It's one of the best for the price point

[10:19] if not the best.

[10:20] >> No, this is way better than the Honda

[10:22] system.

[10:23] >> It's way better than the Honda system.

[10:24] It's really I think it's better than the

[10:26] Toyota and it like blows away the Mazda

[10:28] stuff.

[10:29] >> Well.

[10:29] >> Because it does the driving assist part

[10:32] where it's an assist that you can lean

[10:34] on, right? You don't have to second

[10:36] guess it. It just does it without being

[10:38] in your face like the Toyota It's

[10:39] like it's constantly bothering you on

[10:41] the Toyota. This just it kind of works.

[10:43] >> So my question I pose to you

[10:46] is while this car is a value from an

[10:49] initial purchase perspective Kia and

[10:52] Hyundai have really suffered in

[10:54] long-term residuals.

[10:55] >> Yes.

[10:55] >> So my

[10:56] my [clears throat] assumption is if you

[10:58] paid let's say a Civic hatch

[11:01] with all the bells and whistles which

[11:03] are which is still less features than

[11:05] this car has to say low 30s

[11:07] would you still buy this over say a

[11:10] Corolla or like a Mazda 3?

[11:12] >> Well,

[11:13] yes and no. Look, the 10-year plan

[11:15] because of the warranty, right? If

[11:17] they're going to honor the warranty and

[11:18] you're not going to have a bunch of

[11:19] drama with you know, theft crap and

[11:22] reliability

[11:23] you know, you keep this for 10 years

[11:25] it's not going to matter that much.

[11:27] >> That's because you have your powertrain

[11:28] warranty.

[11:28] >> Yeah, assuming everything's going to

[11:29] work properly on here and this is a

[11:31] lower trim level car. There's not a lot

[11:32] of complication to it. You know, these

[11:35] you know, of course, not knock on wood,

[11:37] but you know, assuming the engine's not

[11:39] going to eat itself, the trans is a

[11:41] known quantity in these cars. I mean,

[11:43] there's just not a lot for that for it

[11:44] to go wrong unless something major we

[11:46] don't know. But for 10 years, I think

[11:50] because you're going to get the fine the

[11:51] interest rate so low, it's going to be

[11:53] so subsidized out that you can get a low

[11:55] payment on it. It doesn't scare me that

[11:56] much. This would be a different

[11:58] discussion if we were talking about a

[11:59] used car. But as a new product, I think

[12:02] it delivers a lot more than what the

[12:03] existing Toyota lineup offers for other

[12:06] small compact cars, and that's going to

[12:08] >> 3, too.

[12:08] >> And the And the Mazda 3, like, you know,

[12:10] the Mazda 3, the problem with the Mazda

[12:12] is they haven't been able to keep it up

[12:15] to date like the Koreans have, right?

[12:17] Like, it's fallen behind. There's

[12:18] nothing wrong with it, but

[12:20] refinement-wise and the back seat, you

[12:22] know, like, this is a refined car. And

[12:24] does it have issues with jounciness and

[12:26] some of that it can't control like some

[12:29] of these higher-amplitude impacts? Yes,

[12:31] but at this price point, it's not

[12:32] egregious. And if that's good enough for

[12:35] most people

[12:36] >> And you can't get a hybrid yet, which is

[12:37] the other thing.

[12:38] >> this is front-wheel drive only. You

[12:40] know, like, you still have those same

[12:41] arguments with some of the other

[12:42] competition, but um I don't know, Jack.

[12:45] I I think it's time to sum all this up.

[12:47] >> All right. Take me to the final

[12:49] thoughts.

[12:50] >> [music]

[12:54] >> Here we are, the conclusions of the K4

[12:56] hatchback.

[12:57] Hyundai and Kia have done a a really

[12:59] good job now at understanding how to buy

[13:03] all the things they need for their

[13:04] supply chain and drive the price down

[13:07] across all their cars, cars and SUVs.

[13:09] And this is a perfect example of how

[13:11] they figured out how to cut costs

[13:12] everywhere to get the price point down

[13:14] to like the mid $25,000 range and upper

[13:17] 20s, and you get all the features that

[13:19] really would cost you about $35,000 with

[13:21] the other brand. Now, they've had to

[13:23] make concessions in certain places, but

[13:25] as a customer, most people don't realize

[13:27] it. And yes, they've had more issues

[13:29] with reliability of their gasoline

[13:30] engines. I mean, it's not just perceived

[13:32] reliability. We drive everywhere and

[13:34] we're seeing a lot of the the older cars

[13:36] puffing out oil or black smoke from

[13:38] their engines. I hope they get some of

[13:39] these quality issues mechanically under

[13:41] control, EVs and the regular gasoline

[13:44] cars. But assuming you don't care about

[13:46] that, the the one thing you want to the

[13:49] reason why you'd want to buy a new car

[13:51] like this in this climate is not

[13:52] everybody has the money to buy a used

[13:54] car and in the United States, your

[13:56] financing rates can be a lot lower and

[13:58] more favorable for longer terms with

[14:00] less money down and driving down your

[14:01] payments if you really need that new car

[14:03] experience. And this really does

[14:05] deliver. It's more refined than the

[14:07] Toyota and Honda counterparts, at least

[14:08] on the pure internal combustion engine.

[14:10] The engine and transmission just

[14:11] disappear in the background. It's it's

[14:13] really quiet and it is super comfortable

[14:15] and it's feature-packed. So, it's it's

[14:17] giving you so much there and it's a good

[14:19] blend of physical controls, usability

[14:21] and with the hatch, I mean, you can

[14:22] store so much stuff in here without

[14:23] having that footprint of an SUV. Really

[14:26] like that part. I I wish that they would

[14:28] figure out a way just to to go back for

[14:30] the to the basics for their regular cars

[14:32] and going more physical HVAC controls.

[14:35] This is hybridized and the software,

[14:37] like I talked about in the interior,

[14:38] does have some lag and it gets

[14:40] frustrating, but other than that, it's

[14:42] very hard to find complaints about the

[14:44] K4 hatchback. Check it out if you're in

[14:46] the market for an affordable new car.