Kia's making a new petrol-engined manual estate car for the UK!

Good grief, when we fell asleep last night we’re sure it was 2026. Somehow we must have woken up in 2006, because Kia has just announced a new affordable estate car with a petrol engine and a manual gearbox.

This is the K4 Sportswagon, and it’s Kia’s first new estate car since it gave the old ProCeed a mild facelift in 2021. The headline figure is 604 litres of boot space, which is 166 litres more than the related K4 hatchback that was first unveiled in September 2025. Or was that 2005?

Anyway, that’s ever so slightly more luggage space than you’d find in a Toyota Corolla Touring Sports or Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer. Slightly less than the Peugeot 308 SW though, and a whole lot less than the cavernous 640 litres of room in the back of a Skoda Octavia Estate.

The Kia is essentially the same size on the outside as the Skoda (give or take a few millimetres), and we’re told it was designed to be a “distinctive, tech-focused wagon”. If you know Kia’s Opposites United’ design language then you certainly won’t be mistaking this for the work of any other brand, but it’s a pretty sleek design with funky lights at each end. Hidden rear door handles are a neat touch, and we’re promised a GT-Line trim with gloss black wheel arch cladding, sportier front and rear bumpers and “an exclusive high-gloss black beltline”.

On the inside, the K4 Sportswagon gets Kia’s 12.3in instrument cluster, 5.3in climate control screen and 12.3in infotainment touchscreen. There’s standard wireless phone mirroring and optional fake leather.

But the best bit? Much like its hatchback sibling, the Sportswagon will be available with a 113bhp 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine and a six-speed manual gearbox. Retro! You’ll also be able to have that combo with a bit of mild-hybrid assistance, and if you tick that box you can then select a seven-speed DCT auto ‘box.

Want more grunt? There will also be a 1.6-litre turbo petrol with said seven-speed auto. That engine is available in either 148bhp or 178bhp forms, and a full hybrid setup is also on the way.