Compare the2025 Audi S3VS 2025 Kia K4

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics

Safety

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The S3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The K4 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the S3 and K4 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The S3 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The K4’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Audi S3 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The K4 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The S3 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The K4 doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

The S3 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The K4 doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The S3’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. The K4 doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

The S3 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the K4’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the S3 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Only the K4 LXS/EX/GT-Line offers Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning.

The S3 has a standard Audi Connect CARE, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The K4 doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the S3 and the K4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.

Warranty

The S3’s corrosion warranty is 7 years and unlimited miles longer than the K4’s (12/unlimited vs. 5/100,000).

Reliability

The Audi S3’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the K4’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

Engine

The S3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 181 more horsepower (328 vs. 147) and 163 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 132) than the K4’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The S3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 138 more horsepower (328 vs. 190) and 100 lbs.-ft. more torque (295 vs. 195) than the K4 GT-Line Turbo’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

The S3 has 2.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the K4 (14.5 vs. 12.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Transmission

The S3 offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The K4 doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the S3’s brake rotors are larger than those on the K4:

	S3	K4	K4 GT-Line Turbo
Front Rotors	14.1 inches	11 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	12.2 inches	10 inches	11.2 inches

The S3’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the K4 are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the S3 has larger standard tires than the K4 (225/40R18 vs. 205/55R16).

The S3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the K4 LX/LXS’ standard 55 series tires. The S3’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the K4 GT-Line’s 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the S3 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the K4 LX/LXS. The S3’s optional 19-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the K4 GT-Line.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires available on the S3 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. The K4 doesn’t offer run-flat tires.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Audi S3 has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The K4 has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The S3 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The K4’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The S3 has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the S3 flat and controlled during cornering. The K4 base model’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

The S3 offers an optional driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The K4’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

Chassis

The S3 is 8 inches shorter than the K4, making the S3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

The S3’s standard folding rear seats are split to accommodate bulky cargo. The K4’s standard single piece folding rear seat is not as flexible; long cargo and a passenger can’t share the rear seat.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the S3 has a standard power trunk, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or optionally by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The K4 doesn’t offer a power trunk, so its trunk has to be closed manually.

Towing

The S3 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The K4 has no towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The S3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The K4 uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The S3 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The K4 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The S3’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The K4’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. With the K4 EX/GT-Line’s power windows, only the front windows open or close automatically.

The S3’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The K4’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The S3 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The K4 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the S3 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The K4 doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The S3’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The K4 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Audi S3 and Kia K4 offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The S3 offers optional power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the K4’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

The S3 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the K4 EX/GT-Line.

Both the S3 and the K4 offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the S3 has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The K4 doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The S3’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The K4 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

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