THE BREAKDOWN
- It's powered by three- and four-cylinder gas engines.
- The base engine is available with a manual gearbox.
- A full hybrid arrives later this year.
Kia is leaving no stone unturned in its effort to lure buyers who don’t want an SUV. After debuting as a sedan and hatchback a couple of years ago, the K4 now spawns a more practical wagon version. It’s predictably limited to the European market for now, as the continent is widely considered the last bastion for estate/combi vehicles.
It carries over the styling from the other body styles but stretches to 184.8 inches (4,695 millimeters) in length. That makes it a full 10 inches (265 millimeters) longer than the hatchback, with all of the added length in the rear, since the 107.1-inch (2,720-mm) wheelbase is unchanged.
Frustratingly, there’s still no rear wiper. On the plus side, Kia’s bad habit of fitting fake exhaust tips to GT-Line gas models appears to be coming to an end. The overall styling won’t be to everyone’s taste, but at least European buyers have another wagon option. Inside, it looks instantly familiar, carrying over just about everything, including the dual 12.3-inch screens flanking a 5.3-inch display for climate controls.
Immensely Practical
The K4 Sportswagon can swallow 21.3 cubic feet (604 liters) behind the rear seats, an increase of 5.8 cubic feet (166 liters) over the hatchback. Fold the bench, and cargo capacity jumps to 50.8 cubic feet (1,439 liters). If the car is ordered with mild-hybrid tech, however, the extra hardware compromises practicality: cargo space drops to 17 cubic feet (482 liters) with the rear seats up and 46.5 cubic feet (1,317 liters) with them folded.
Although the K4 Sportswagon offers generous luggage space, it still trails the Volkswagen Golf Estate and the segment-leading Skoda Octavia Combi. Even the model it replaces, the Ceed Sportswagon, had a slightly larger boot, though the marginal difference is unlikely to be noticeable in daily use. Kia does include a standard electric tailgate, a feature not available on the hatchback.
Two Gas Engines, With A Hybrid On The Way
The base model sticks with a 1.0-liter turbocharged engine producing 113 horsepower, sent to the wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. A mild-hybrid version of the same three-cylinder engine can be optionally paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. That transmission comes standard with the larger four-cylinder engine, a turbocharged 1.6-liter unit offered with either 148 hp or 177 hp.
With the Dieselgate fallout and increasingly stringent emissions regulations pushing diesel toward extinction, it comes as no surprise that Kia isn’t offering an oil-burner. If maximum efficiency is the priority, a full-hybrid version will arrive in Europe later this year. Regardless of powertrain, all K4 Sportswagon versions will be built at the company’s factory in Mexico.
2026 Kia K4 Sportswagon
Motor1's Take: The Kia K4 Sportswagon is a welcome surprise for Europe, where demand remains strong enough for automakers to justify investment in this segment. It’s an interesting alternative to SUVs and could appeal to buyers looking for something different from the wagons offered by the Volkswagen Group and Stellantis.
The U.S. could certainly use more affordable estate cars, as models like the M5 Touring, AMG E63 Wagon, and RS6 Avant command hefty price tags. Whether the new Subaru Outback still qualifies as a wagon is debatable, and Americans have recently had to say goodbye to the V60 Cross Country, Volvo’s last wagon on the market.
