2027 Kia K4 vs Subaru Impreza: Which Is Better? The Cheapest Sedan in America Against the Cheapest Car With All-Wheel Drive

Both carmakers announced 2027 prices within a week of each other. One raised its compact by $100, the other cut $2,000, and the gap between them is now small enough that the choice comes down to how you drive.

Two of the least expensive new cars in America were repriced in the same week, in opposite directions. On September 24, 2026, Subaru cut the 2027 Impreza's starting price by $2,000, to $24,595, and gave every version the 180-horsepower engine that used to be reserved for the top trim. On September 30, Kia announced the 2027 K4 at $22,390, $100 more than last year. Both carry the same $1,245 destination charge. The difference between the cheapest K4 and the cheapest Impreza is now $2,205, and for that money the Subaru adds all-wheel drive, 33 more horsepower and a hatchback body. Both are sold in the same US showrooms to the same buyer: someone who wants a new car with a warranty for about $25,000.

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The Kia K4 and K4 Hatchback | What turbos you?YouTube ↗

The base prices hide how differently the two lineups are built. Kia sells the K4 as a sedan in five trims, from the $22,390 LX to the $28,490 GT-Line Turbo, and as a hatchback in three, from $25,090 to $28,990. Subaru sells the Impreza only as a hatchback, in two trims: Base at $24,595 and RS at $29,495. So the fair body-style comparison is K4 Hatchback EX at $25,090 against Impreza Base at $24,595, and there the Subaru is $495 cheaper while adding all-wheel drive. Anyone who assumes the Kia is the budget choice should look at that pair first. The Kia is cheaper only if you want a sedan.

What sits under the hood is the clearest mechanical difference. Most K4s use a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque, driving the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission. Every 2027 Impreza uses a 2.5-liter flat-four that Subaru lists at 180 horsepower, with a CVT and all-wheel drive. Matching that output in a K4 means the GT-Line Turbo, whose 1.6-liter turbocharged engine makes 190 horsepower and 195 pound-feet and uses a conventional eight-speed automatic, and it starts at $28,490. A base Impreza gives you most of that power for $3,895 less.

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2026 Subaru Impreza Walk AroundYouTube ↗

Power on paper is not the same as pace on the road, and here the road tests complicate the picture. MotorWeek ran a K4 GT-Line Turbo to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds and stopped it from 60 mph in an average of 100 feet. Its 2024 Impreza RS, with the same 2.5-liter engine the whole 2027 range now uses, needed 8.1 seconds to reach 60 and 127 feet to stop. The turbocharged Kia is the quick one of this pair by a clear margin; the Impreza carries the extra weight of its all-wheel-drive hardware and has no turbocharger. No comparable test figure was available for the 147-horsepower K4, which is the version most buyers will actually cross-shop against the Impreza Base, and which has less power than the Subaru to move a body of similar size.

How they feel is a different matter from how they time. MotorWeek called the Impreza RS's suspension "very firm, with great feedback, and very little body roll," and said the car "behaved like it was glued to the tarmac in almost go-kart like fashion." Its complaints were the brakes, which had "little pedal feel," and what it called "CVT lethargy" when asking for a burst of speed. The same outlet found the K4 GT-Line Turbo "easily one of the most fun compacts we've driven this year," with steering that was "light but still gave us plenty of feedback" and a transmission tuned to "prioritize smoothness over sportiness." Both verdicts describe the sportiest version of each car. One point matters for buyers of the cheaper Kias: according to CarBuzz, only GT-Line models get an independent multi-link rear suspension, while lower trims use a simpler torsion beam, so a K4 LX will not ride or corner like the car MotorWeek praised.

All-wheel drive is the reason most people consider an Impreza at all, and it is worth being exact about what it does. It helps a car pull away and climb on snow, ice and wet gravel, because four tires share the work of putting power down. It does not shorten stopping distances or add cornering grip on ice; tires do that. For a driver in the snow belt, a standard all-wheel-drive system on a $24,595 car is a real advantage that no K4 can match at any price, since Kia does not offer all-wheel drive on the K4. For a driver in Texas or Florida it is extra weight and extra fuel for a benefit that is rarely used.

Fuel economy is the price of that hardware. Kia lists the 2.0-liter K4 sedan at 29 mpg city, 39 highway and 33 combined; the EPA rated the 2026 hatchback with the same engine at 28, 34 and 30. The EPA has not yet published 2027 Impreza figures, but earlier Imprezas with the 2.5-liter engine were rated at 26 city, 33 highway and 29 combined. Sedan against hatchback, the Kia is about 4 mpg better in combined driving; hatchback against hatchback, about 1 mpg. In MotorWeek's highway-heavy test loops the K4 GT-Line Turbo returned 35.0 mpg and the Impreza RS 30.8. Over 12,000 miles a year, a 4 mpg gap at these levels is roughly 50 gallons of gasoline.

Space depends on which K4 you mean. The K4 sedan is the roomier car for passengers: Kia's specifications give it 38.0 inches of rear legroom on a 107.1-inch wheelbase, and MotorWeek described its rear headroom and legroom as "excellent for the class." Its trunk holds 14.6 cubic feet. The Impreza's cargo area holds 20.4 cubic feet behind the rear seats and 56.0 cubic feet with them folded, which is the difference between fitting a bicycle inside and needing a rack. The K4 Hatchback narrows that gap with a listed 22.2 cubic feet behind the seats. A family that carries adults in the back should lean toward the Kia; one that carries dogs, strollers or sports gear should compare the two hatchbacks.

The cabins make different first impressions. The K4 GT-Line Turbo that MotorWeek tested had a 12.3-inch digital gauge display beside a 12.3-inch touchscreen, and the magazine's summary was that the car "offers features and a level of sophistication well above its price point." The 2027 Impreza Base, as part of its price cut, replaced last year's 11.6-inch portrait touchscreen with a pair of 7.0-inch displays and wired phone mirroring; the larger screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats and blind-spot monitoring now require the $29,495 RS.

Crash-test results split in a way that is easy to miss. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named the 2026 K4 a Top Safety Pick+, its highest award, with Good ratings in the small overlap, updated moderate overlap and updated side tests. The 2026 Impreza rates Good in the small overlap and updated side tests and Good for headlights on every trim, but only Marginal in the updated moderate overlap front test, which measures protection for a rear-seat passenger, and it holds no IIHS award. In crash avoidance the Subaru is ahead: its standard EyeSight system rates Good in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and pedestrian tests, while the K4 rates Acceptable in the vehicle-to-vehicle test and its headlights rate Acceptable. Neither 2027 model has its own IIHS listing yet, though both cars carry over largely unchanged.

The decision is less about which car is better than about where and how you drive. If winters where you live involve snow and unplowed hills, the Impreza Base at $24,595 is the obvious choice, and at that price it undercuts the comparable K4 Hatchback. If you regularly carry adults in the back seat, the K4's rear-seat space and its stronger result in the IIHS test that measures rear-passenger protection both point the same way. If you drive mostly on dry highways and want the lowest running cost, a K4 LX or LXS sedan is cheaper to buy and to fuel. And if you want the one that is fun, the $28,490 K4 GT-Line Turbo is quicker and stops shorter than a $29,495 Impreza RS, though it will be the less capable car on the first snowy morning of the year.

Spec comparison

2027 Kia K4

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2027 Subaru Impreza

	2027 Kia K4	2027 Subaru Impreza
Starting MSRP	$22,390 (LX sedan); $25,090 (EX hatchback)	$24,595 (Base hatchback)
Top trim MSRP	$28,490 sedan / $28,990 hatchback (GT-Line Turbo)	$29,495 (RS)
Destination charge	$1,245	$1,245
Body styles	Sedan, hatchback	Hatchback only
Engine	2.0L, 147 hp; 1.6L turbo, 190 hp	2.5L flat-four, 180 hp
Transmission	CVT; 8-speed automatic (turbo)	CVT
Drive	Front-wheel drive	All-wheel drive, standard
EPA mpg (city/highway/combined)	29/39/33 (2.0L sedan); 26/33/28 (turbo)	Not yet rated; 26/33/29 for earlier 2.5L models
0-60 mph (MotorWeek)	6.7 s (2025 GT-Line Turbo)	8.1 s (2024 RS, 2.5L)
Braking, 60-0 mph (MotorWeek)	100 ft	127 ft
Cargo behind rear seats	14.6 cu ft (sedan); 22.2 cu ft (hatchback)	20.4 cu ft; 56.0 cu ft seats folded
IIHS moderate overlap front, updated (2026)	Good	Marginal
IIHS award (2026)	Top Safety Pick+	None