A few weeks ago, I finally pulled the trigger on Kia's 2026 K4 Hatchback after countless hours of research. I looked into everything from gas mileage to interior quality, and even the reliability of the car's Android Auto and CarPlay connectivity. However, one key feature never crossed my mind: the speed of its USB-C and Qi wireless charging. Thankfully, I remembered 12V USB cigarette lighter adapters are a thing, and picked up a relatively cheap one from Amazon. I've owned an Ioniq 5 EV for a few years now, and the K4 is actually my family's second vehicle. As far as my Ioniq 5's three USB-A ports are concerned, I've never felt I could really rely on them to charge my phone, given they only output roughly 10.5W of power (yes, even though the car is a 2022, somehow it only features painfully slow USB-A ports). This problem gets even worse when using Android Auto or CarPlay. It sort of just maintained my Pixel 10 Pro's or iPhone 17 Pro's charge while running Android Auto/CarPlay, using apps like Waze and Spotify, and connected over 5G data. In most cases, my phones would get warm really quickly, and their batteries would hover at roughly whatever percentage I plugged them in at. I eventually resorted to just making sure my phone was adequately charged before heading out of the house. It's important to note that this is just my experience with a specific Kia car model, the 2026 K4 Hatchback. If your in-car USB ports charge your phone adequately, that's great. Generally, newer vehicles are more likely to feature USB-C ports capable of delivering higher wattage, while older cars are more likely to struggle. Car USB ports often offer lackluster charging speeds My K4's USB port charges my phone, just very slowly.