Kia K4 review

£26,045 is how much it’ll cost you for the 1.0-litre mild hybrid with the six-speed manual gearbox; the seven-speed auto is £27,545.

That’s in Pure trim, which bags 16in alloys, electric heated door mirrors, LED headlights, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors, a black cloth upholstery, the tri-screen setup, four USB-C sockets, a two-spoke steering wheel clad in artificial leather and a six-speaker audio system.

GT-Line is next and it introduces 17s, gloss black design elements, rear privacy glass, some faux leather upholstery to complement the cloth, heated front seats and steering wheel, electric adjustment in the driver’s seat, a three-spoke steering wheel and wireless phone charger. That’s either £30,045 for the 1.0-litre auto or £31,345 for the mid-powered 1.6.

Then there’s GT-Line S. Have it with the 1.0 on 17s for £34,045, or with the Full Monte 1.6 on 18s for £36,245. In comes a sunroof, full fake leather upholstery (with a two-tone finish), ventilated front seats, heated rear outermost seats, ambient lighting and a Harman Kardon sound system.

The weedy manual might yet prove to be the most agreeable K4 despite its lack of pace, and it undercuts most hatchbacks on raw stock price. But Kia expects the mid-range 1.6 to be the most popular and that’s a £31k proposition that puts it right in the mix with the better-driving Golf and Leon, faster Civic, the plushest version of the 308 and even the A3 Sportback.

And your advice is?

We reckon you need to make your peace with how the K4 goes about its business before you let its other strengths woo you into the dealership.

Put 10 per cent down on a 1.6 GT-Line and Kia will chip in a grand into the pot for monthly repayments of a nip under £500 over three years at 7.9 per cent APR. Feels steep for a hatch.

The warranty is Kia’s standard seven years or 100,000km deal. CO2 outputs range between 129 and 152g/km.