It’s K4! Despite KIA confused us when launching K3 in Mexico while showing what it was the 7th gen Rio Sedan and made us think about what happened with the real K3. Now we have the confirmation, our colleagues at Healer TV spotted a K4 prototype inside a parking lot and found “K4” nameplate already in the car.
The new Kia K3 was revealed on August 8th at 8:00 pm in Mexico City, aligning with Kia’s 8th anniversary celebration in the region. Initially expected as Forte Sedan successor, the All-New Kia K3 sedan will combine sophisticated design and a spacious interior, redefining market segments and drawing attention from upper-segment buyers but it is not confirmed that will arrive into the U.S.
So we were concerned about what it will happen to the current Forte/Cerato mid-sized sedan. But then a new prototype appeared. Codenamed as CL4, the real Kia K3 (that is now confirmed it will be renamed as K4) is a vehicle that will carry over the current generation in terms of chassis and powertrain, despite minor updates and the inclusion of a Hybrid variant. Following what Kia have done with the Optima/K5 nameplate, it was expected to be renamed as K3, and now we have the confirmation.
Current line-up in the Forte Sedan is a choice of a gasoline engines, including a 1.6 Turbo GDi with 201 hp used for the GT variant, while the rest of the line-up conforms with a 2.0 naturally aspirated and 147 hp. This is the same line-up as Hyundai’s Elantra, despite Elantra has the hybrid.
In terms of design and despite the heavy camouflage of the prototype we can see design cues similar to what we already have seen in the EV9. It also remains us to what Kia have done in the recently debuted Picanto facelift, a model that is only available in Europe, South Korea and some emerging markets.
