2023 Kia K5

Pros

• It’s nice and quiet on the highway.
• You can choose from a powerful turbocharged engine and several technological options at the GT model level.
• Outstanding value

Cons

• The sloping roofline of the vehicle limits how fast it can go and makes it a hardback entrance/exit.

The base Kia K5 engine has 180 horsepower. It won’t blow your mind, but it’s more than enough for daily driving. It takes 8 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph, the same as the Honda Accord in a straight line. From 60 mph, it takes a little longer than usual to come to a complete stop, but stopping is otherwise accessible and comfortable.

The K5’s aggressive design might make you think it’s sportier than usual, but that’s not the case. The steering and handling would be taken into account. On the other hand, the K5 may be more critical because it is easy to use. When passing, the transmission downshifts quickly and smoothly.

Compared to the Optima, this is a huge step up. The only slight problem was that the panoramic sunroof blind was noisy. Aside from that, the K5 is just as quiet as other high-end cars on the highway. Seriously. The front seats have enough padding and light support from the side bolsters to make them tolerable for long periods. The suspension is not too soft, but it does absorb bumps in the road.

Also impressive is the climate control system, which has a particular three-mode auto setting that can limit fan speed. On higher levels, there are seats with ventilation.

The inside of the K5 has been carefully made to be easy to use. Even though there are a lot of technological features, all the controls are labeled and easy to find, so you don’t need an owner’s manual.

The cabin is also extensive, with a small amount of headroom but a lot of legroom. On the other hand, tall adults shouldn’t have any trouble getting in front. The narrow width of the front roof pillars makes it easy to see what’s ahead. A tall rear decklid makes it harder to see out the back, but not by much.

Despite how it looks, the K5 is a technological powerhouse. Apple Car Play and Android Auto have many limited numbers of smartphone connections in any class right now. There is also a wireless charging station with a fan to keep your phone cool and a clever spring-loaded part that holds your phone in place while it charges. The base system comes with an 8-inch touchscreen that is easy to use but takes a little while to respond to. On this system, physical shortcut buttons are better than the capacitive touch buttons on the improved 10.25-inch screen, which can only be found by looking. Our tester had a total of four USB charging ports.

The great advanced driver assistance systems didn’t give any false alarms. The optional Smart Cruise Control improves the current Adaptive cruise control and slows the K5.

Even though the K5 has a fastback roof, it is not a hatchback. The classic trunk has a capacity of 16 cubic feet, which is a little more than average. The vast and low opening makes it easy to load heavy items. The seatback releases are in the trunk, making loading longer things easy.

There are a lot of places to store things in the cabin, such as a large bin in the middle armrest, a second rubberized phone tray, and a charging station. The anchors are easy to get to, so it should be easy to fit a big baby seat.

It gets about 31 mpg combined, which is almost the same as most other base-engine sedans in this class. Based on what we saw during our usual evaluation loop of 115 miles, these numbers should be correct. The 33 mpg we got on our route, which was mostly highway but also had some city and mountain roads, was a good sign.

Consider buying the K5. Regarding price per feature, the Kia K5 is slightly better than other sedans that start at around $25,000. With each new trim level, the price-to-features ratio gets better. There are no options for genuine leather inside, an auto-dimming mirror, or a head-up display, but we think only some buyers will care. A fully loaded K5 will cost a few thousand dollars less than a Honda Accord with the same features.

The K5 is made well and has a lot of high-quality materials inside that are better than those in other sedans in its class. There are still hard plastics, but to keep the way they look, they are only in places where people touch them a little. With a powertrain warranty of 10 years and 100,000 miles and a standard warranty of 5 years and 60,000 miles, Kia has excellent warranty coverage. Only Hyundai has more to offer.

The exterior design stands out in usually boring cars, like sedans. It has a similar look to the Mazda 6, but it is much more sporty. Spectacular automobile before you get in.

The K5 performs and entertains as well as we expected from a family sedan. Are you enjoying yourself? The K5 GT could be good, but not in this setup.

You should choose the GT-Line trim level. With features like a power-adjustable driver’s seat, wireless smartphone charging pad, cloth, faux leather upholstery, and a larger 10.25-inch touchscreen display, the midlevel GT-Line trim already makes this sporty-looking sedan even sportier without making it too expensive.