2025 Kia K4 LXS Yearlong Review: Turns Out Inexpensive Cars Have Never Been More Inexpensive

I imagine a lot of us are shocked by the idea that a $25,000 sedan like our yearlong Kia K4 is what now passes for an affordable car. Hell, I’m old enough (just barely, thankyouverymuch) to remember when The Price Is Right had to add a fifth digit to its car pricing games because Cadillacs went past $10,000.

Back when we were trying to pick the best inexpensive car for a long-term fleet—and realizing the “cheap car” border now sat at $25,000—I kept thinking back to the first (and, as it happens, only) new car I ever got for myself, a midline 1995 Dodge Neon I leased in the spring of ’94 and named Dr. Brill. In my memory—admittedly, not the most reliable thing—the good doctor cost about half that much.

When a $12,500 Car Is—and Isn’t—a $25,000 Car

I pulled out my copy of the Standard Catalog of American Cars, and it turns out my unreliable memory was, for once, correct: The Neon sedan in midlevel Highline trim listed for $11,240. I ran that number through the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ inflation calculator. Adjusted to the date MotorTrend took delivery of our Kia K4 LXS, the Neon would have cost $25,765. So Dr. Brill was a $25,000 sedan, too! (Well, $26,000.)

Except he wasn’t, because the Brillster had options. The 21D package (A/C, center console, remote trunk release, rear defogger) added $703, plus $97 for Brilliant Blue Metallic paint (from which his name derived; also, Dr. Brill was the dentist father of a kid I went to school with. Oh, and sorry, I could only find photos of a red Neon), $46 for floormats, and a $500 destination charge. Total: $12,586. Adjusted for 2025 dollars, that’d be $27,621. I’m using 2025 because a) that’s when we got the K4, and b) we don’t need another reminder that inflation is still going hog-wild.

I dove down this glorious rabbit hole, filled with glee at the opportunity to avoid work while doing something I could reasonably argue was work. Thinking of all the people I’d heard—myself included—talk about how much less expensive cars used to be, I went back through the decades, looking for the Kia K4’s spiritual ancestor in years past.

Were Cars Really That Much Cheaper in the Good Old Days?

For the 1980s, I chose the Tempo, one of Ford’s early aero sedans. (Middle-agers like me might remember the 1984 commercial with the Tempo driving a loop through the “O”.) In 1985, the midline Tempo GL sedan listed for $7,160. Let’s give it air conditioning ($743) and an AM/FM radio (yes, you had to pay $109 extra for a stereo; a cassette deck cost even more). I can’t find accurate destination fees, so let’s guesstimate $350. Total: $8,362. 2025 price, adjusted for inflation: $25,605.

1970s? That’s easy; it has to be the ubiquitous Plymouth Valiant. (Same car as the Dodge Dart, but we’ve already used a Dodge.) Save for then de rigueur yearly styling updates and tragic emissions equipment, this Malaise Era staple of budget motoring had remained largely unchanged since 1967 and in 1975 was a year away from being retired and replaced by the disastrous Plymouth Volare. Six-cylinder Valiants (and Darts) were the 1970s go-to for cheap, reliable motoring.

Back then, the differences between the base-model Valiant, the midline Custom, and the top-of-the-line Valiant Brougham were largely down to trim and materials rather than comfort features, so let’s stick with the base-model car, which listed for $3,247 with the good ol’ 225-cubic-inch (3.7-liter) slant-six engine. We’ll add air conditioning for $407, $64 for an AM radio, and full-size wheel covers (the 1970s equivalent of the K4 LXS’ alloys) for $26. With an $80 destination charge (boy, those were the days), we’re at $3,744. Adjusted for inflation, that’s $23,214. Finally, a car (slightly) cheaper than the K4!

Pre–Malaise Era, the beat goes on. (We have to work without destination and option charges, so keep the base-model ’25 K4 LX’s pre-destination price of $21,990 in mind.) 1965 Dodge Dart four-door, $2,112, which adjusts to $21,868. 1955 Chevrolet 150 four-door sedan, $1,728, or $20,907. Ford Deluxe Six for 1946 (when production restarted after the war), $1,198, which is $21,264 in 2025 dollars.

If we move forward to the 21st century, the trend continues. A 2005 Toyota Corolla S listed for $15,780 with destination, equivalent to $26,731 in 2025. A 2015 Honda Civic LX ran $19,325, or $26,713.

There’s Price, and Then There’s Value

Emerging from my books, I was feeling a lot better about referring to our $25,000 Kia as a cheap car. But there’s another dimension we must consider: What about all the stuff you get as standard in a modern-day car that was optional or not available on yesterday’s $25K cars?

Let’s get back to Dr. Brill, my plucky little 1995 Neon, of which (whom?) I hoped the K4 might be a spiritual successor. You already know I had to pay extra for things that are standard in the base-model Kia K4, like air conditioning, a remote trunk release, and a center console. Why is so much stuff standard nowadays? Because it’s cheaper to build cars alike than to offer choices. Henry Ford refused to offer options or even paint colors on the Model T, but once he joined the choir invisible, Detroit went crazy. Everything, from the radio to the tinted band on the top of the windshield, cost extra. Check out this 1971 Dodge Salesman’s Pocket Guide for a taste.

The Neon had a manual transmission (how I wish I could say the same for the K4!) and “upgrading” to an automatic would have cost another $1,260, or about $2,800 in 2025. (All the cars I cited above came standard with a manual transmission. Those were the days.) Power locks and windows—the latter only offered for the Neon’s front doors, believe it or not—and a tachometer were options my Neon didn’t have. Cruise control, a tilt-adjustable steering wheel, and alloy rims weren’t offered on the Highline, and keyless entry and a telescoping steering column weren’t available on any Neon. Keyless ignition, display stereo, adaptive cruise control, and lane centering hadn’t been invented yet.

And let’s not forget about all the safety systems. The K4 LXS has eight airbags; the Neon had two. Antilock brakes were another option I didn’t have, and the Neon had drum brakes out back, while the K4 (and most new cars nowadays) get four-wheel discs. The K4’s stability control, backup camera, and collision detection with automatic braking were still in the future.

If we go back to our $24,000 1975 Plymouth Valiant, that ol’ girl, as we priced her out, would have had a three-speed manual transmission and four-wheel drum brakes (which performed poorly at high speeds or in the rain). Power windows and locks cost extra—and so did power steering and power brakes. You know that little tab on the rearview mirror that flips between day and night settings? Even that cost extra on the Valiant (about $8). You couldn’t even get a side-view mirror on the passenger’s side.

Turns Out, the $25,000 Car Is Cheaper Than Ever

This little trip down memory lane was quite the eye-opener. I was one of those folks who longed for a return to the days of $3,500 Darts, or even my $12,000 Neon. But it turns out, once you factor in the staggering shrinkage of our dollar’s buying power, the $25,000 car has always existed—and factor in all the features they now provide (whether you want them or not), and it seems that cheap cars are cheaper now than they have been since World War II. Our Kia K4 is even more of a bargain than I realized. I sure do miss manual transmissions, though.

More on Our Long-Term 2025 Kia K4 LXS Sedan:

• Introduction: What Ever Happened to Cheap Sedans?
• Update 1: What Are We Missing in the Cheap(er) Trim?
• Update 2: K4 vs Kicks—Should We Have Opted for a $25,000 SUV?
• Update 3: That Time All the Warning Lights Came on at Once