Another day, another Dollar…though in this case we are picking up a ride from Hertz. The keys to our ride are in the poorly named President’s Circle, the parking lot row from which we can select a car. I see runty Toyota Corollas and geeky Kia Souls, but nothing I’d consider “presidential.”
Then, a freshly washed Kia is deposited in the area. It is feet longer than the rest and has sharp body lines and waterfall headlights to me as a Cadillac owner. We grab the keys and go.
Our family’s lucky pluck is a 2026 Kia K4 LXS, a $23,390 compact sedan from South Korea.
As we load our airport haul into the K4’s substantial trunk—three 21-inch rollaboard suitcases and four backpacks fit with room to spare—and install my daughter’s car seat, I see that the K4 hides a down-market interior.
The trim level is somewhat to blame, as the LXS draws from a palette of grays, with all surfaces rendered in plastics of the most quotidian quality. The metal accents are limited to a strip across the dash, the door handles, and the rotisserie knobs; the speckling of metal tries to elevate the experience, but it can’t distract from the fact that the K4 LXS is made for tight budgets in the age of inflation.
Though it lacks luxury, we find the K4 LXS is clever and comfortable as we hit the road for our 200-mile trip.
Kia strives to include modern tech in all of its offerings, and even the base LX trim comes standard with a vibrant 12.3 infotainment screen, wireless smartphone connectivity, 27-watt fast-charging USB-C ports, and a suite of active safety features including forward-collision avoidance, lane-keeping assistance, and—my favorite—traffic-pacing cruise control.
The K4 LXS costs $1100 more than its entry-level LX sister and adds blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alerts, and a safe-exit feature that chimes when a door is opened into approaching traffic. The LXS trim also unlocks alloy wheels and paint colors, which are actually, well, colors. You can have a red or blue LXS while the LX is only offered in black, white, and gray.
The above tech isn’t worth the bother if it’s buggy or laggy, but we found Apple CarPlay and Google Maps to connect instantly and run smoothly on the Kia LXS. As we frequently flipped back and forth between the navigation directions and the FM radio tuner, we appreciated the physical buttons that took us from screen to screen. And our phones stayed fully juiced, thanks to the powerful USB-C ports.
The K4 LXS’s 16-inch alloy wheels and 205/55 Kumho Solus TA31 tires look small and fat, respectively, but they serve up a praise-worthy ride. The pudgy tires keep pavement chop at a distance, and the suspension feels supple on our long drive.
Sadly, the six-way manually-adjusted front seats didn’t match the suspension’s comfort. The seat bottom is as flat as a pizza box, and the (non-adjustable) lumbar support is lacking. (Higher trims offer electric seats with adjustable lumbar support.) After an hour on the road, dead butt sets in.
Regardless, I am impressed by the K4’s cruising calm. Wind and road noise are hushed, and at a steady 75 mph on flat terrain, the engine noise all but disappears.
More on that engine: The K4 LXS uses a 2.0L four-cylinder engine that is good for 147 hp and 132 lb-ft of torque on regular unleaded gasoline. The pint-sized engine, CVT transmission, and feathery ~2950-lb curb weight help the K4 score 29 mpg city / 39 mpg hwy. The power is smoothly delivered, and perfectly adequate for a mainstream compact car. When pressed into action on highway on ramps or by hills, a faint mooing noise is heard from the front of the K4 as the engine breaks a sweat.
The K4 is classified as a compact sedan, but you wouldn’t know it from the back seats. There are full-sized helpings of legroom for the second row, though the K4’s tidy width means the center seat is a squeeze. My children were disappointed that the K4 LXS lacked dedicated air vents for the rear passengers; we had to point the two center front air vents at the back to deliver them cool air. (Only the K4 GT-Line Turbo offers rear vents.) My wife wished for the dual-zone climate control of the K4 EX; in the LXS, we could only set one fan speed and temperature, so she had to shiver so that our kids wouldn’t swelter.
Patience wore thin towards the end of our three-hour journey and small feet started kicking my seatback. To my amusement, the hard plastic shell on the seat back dampened the blows; the exact dimensions of my daughter’s Crocs couldn’t be felt in the K4.
Our 200 miles of straight highway didn’t let me explore the car’s dynamics. My limited impression suggests the K4 is a cruiser and commuter rather than a canyon carver. The suspension and tires didn’t long for the twisties.
Regardless of its mild demeanor and budget cabin, the 2026 Kia K4 LXS left us positive impressions. The sedan is spacious, supple, quiet, and well thought out, and Kia’s dash design intuitively integrated our smartphones into the cabin. It is absolutely worth checking out the Kia K4 as an affordable daily driver.
Mike's Steering Column 