Kia ticks all the boxes for cheap, cheerful and compact

Kia’s K4 hatchback and sedan are sophisticated compact cars – a fair way removed from last century’s offerings in this part of the market.

The Korean cars (this pair with internal combustion engines) are fine examples of how motoring’s moved on since the 1990s.

It’s not just in the K4s’ new-age style, nor the smart and well-equipped cabin.

It’s the road manners – the dynamics of the package – that help showcase how far cars have come, albeit with higher price tags to suit.

It took some time for Japanese makers to find solid ground in the Australian marketplace. The Koreans didn’t take quite so long.

The cheap and cheerful Hyundai Excel first arrived in 1986 and, while often derided, by 1998 the third-generation Excel was the country’s top-selling car for a time (this was before utes and SUVs began to dominate sales charts).

This was about the time Kia ran into financial troubles back home and Hyundai became Kia’s largest shareholder, owning about a third of their fellow Korean manufacturer.

From there, it appears to have been a win-win for both, with separate identities but some shared and successful synergies.

So, Kia now has an extensive range of showroom offerings – from small town cars to family-friendly SUVs to the luxuries of the Carnival people-mover and the workability of the Tasman utes (I remain delighted with the new Tasman X-Pro in the carport here, 4000km up and happy).

The Kia K4s – an upsized replacement for the Cerato and rival to Toyota’s Corolla – are handsome in design and stand out particularly in a couple of the fancier body colours.

They’re a bit low (especially after the aforementioned and high-riding Tasman), but comfortable for four adults and luggage for four.

The front seats hold a driver well, which is handy when you step up into the GT Line and its turbocharged, 1.6-litre engine. All K4s are loaded with a deal of today’s technology and features once found only in high-end and premium European machinery.

It’s easy to hook up the phone, and the central touchscreen offers simple and intuitive access to all manner of convenience and comfort features. It’s also easy enough, if sometimes tiresome, to turn off some of the driver aids such as lane-keeping assistance at each start.

There are five trim grades for the K4s, starting out around $34,000 for the base, which is a most reasonable price for a compact car with this much class.

The heroes, though, are the top-end GT Line versions with the extra grunt – and a sunroof.

The $43,000 K4s run with 142kW over the other models’ 110kW. More importantly, there’s an extra 85Nm of torque from 1700rpm, plus lower-profile 18-inch tyres.

And so the good road manners of the K4s’ Australian-tuned chassis can be well exploited and make for a most sporting drive. Switch to Sports mode to tighten up steering feel, shift through the eight-speed auto with paddle shifters and, despite some understeer, here’s some old-school fun punching along a mountain road.

The downside? Fuel consumption may double the factory-claimed 5 litres per 100km if having too much fun.

But a driver doesn’t have to push a Kia K4 around to appreciate this is a well-conceived compact car, and streets and goodies ahead of last century’s offerings.