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Unveiled at the New York International Auto Show, the 2026 Kia K4 hatchback combines sedan like driving dynamics with impressive cargo volume, rivaling larger crossover vehicles.
The K4 hatch is a little shorter than the sedan, but it packs more room for passengers and cargo.
Although they look similar in size from the manufacturer's pictures, the real numbers show that the five-door Kia K4 hatchback is actually 11 whole inches shorter than its four-door sedan sibling. The best way to describe the K4's styling cues is that it's all business in the front, while the real party is in the back, as the sedan and hatch look virtually similar until halfway around their respective B-pillars. Kia describes the unique rear space as a “floating roof design,” but some car design contemporaries would describe it as resembling a shooting brake or a wagon design.
Despite the slightly “shrunken” proportions, Kia says that the K4 hatchback has the same amount of rear legroom as its sedan counterpart. At the same time, Kia notes that eliminating the 4-door's sloping roof design gains an extra inch of headroom for backseat passengers. As for cargo, the hatch opens up to 22 cubic feet with passengers in the backseat and 59 cubic feet with the seats folded. Although those numbers fall short of the 24.8 cubic feet of the Honda Civic hatchback, it's a vast improvement on the K4 sedan's 15 cubic feet of trunk space.
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