2021 Kia K5 Road Test and Review

2021 Kia K5 GT-Line ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Ten years ago, Kia took its unassuming Optima midsize sedan and turned it from a wallflower into a striking, sporty, and luxurious vehicle. But after that, the Optima received only incremental upgrades and cautious styling changes — eventually leaving Kia once again with a relatively anonymous midsize sedan.

That changes with the 2021 Kia K5, the all-new replacement for the Optima. A swoopier shape and edgier details help this sedan stand out in a crowd, while its more advanced powertrain provides smoother, quieter, and more economical performance. Upgraded infotainment, a spacious cabin, and an optional all-wheel-drive system round out this sedan’s diverse strengths. With prices starting at just $23,490, it’s a lot of car for the money. Let’s go over the pros and cons of Kia’s new midsize sedan.

Striking Design

The new K5 shares no visual cues with its Optima replacement, from its nose to its tail. A blunter front end has slim headlights bookending a slim vertical grille. The lights split off in twin spears, one toward the wheel and the other up above it along the hood.

In profile and around the back, things become more curved. The roof drifts back almost to the vehicle’s tail, accentuated with a chrome strip that drops down from the top of the side window to wrap around below the rear windshield. Black plastic trim between the chrome and the windshield glass makes the windshield look bigger than it is, almost as if the K5 were an Audi A7-style liftback. (It’s not; it’s a conventional sedan with a conventional trunk.) The curved taillights spread horizontally across the K5’s rear end, joined by an LED lightbar. Some might find the design a little busy and not entirely cohesive; the sharp-edged front end doesn’t really match the curves elsewhere on the vehicle. But it’s undeniably distinctive, not a sedan that will get lost in a crowd. Our GT-Line test vehicle adds more aggressive bumpers and other sport-themed design tweaks.

Photo by Brady Holt

High-Tech Interior

The K5’s interior is high-tech and contemporary. The housing for the dashboard infotainment screen integrates smoothly with the gauge cluster, and the rounded-off-rectangle interior design reminds us of recent Audis. The materials aren’t Audi-grade, but the buttons and knobs feel nice enough, and Kia provides a mix of appealing textures. Shiny black plastic around the touchscreen looked cheap in bright sunlight, though.

Importantly, the K5’s controls are easy to use. The infotainment touchscreen is surrounded by simple buttons and knobs for common features, so you don’t have to rely on the screen. Most models, including our GT-Line test vehicle, have an 8-inch screen — already bigger than the base infotainment screens on many competitors — along with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration. You can also upgrade to a plus-size 10.25-inch screen, which lets you see more information at once without changing views. However, the bigger screen does displace some of the useful buttons and knobs, so choose carefully.

Photo by Brady Holt

Plenty of Space

The K5 is a sporty-looking sedan, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t provide a family-friendly interior with comfortable seating for five. Up front, the seats are well-shaped and comfortable, and there’s no shortage of space. The rear seat has generous legroom and a comfortable cushion. There’s plenty of rear headroom if you skip the optional panoramic sunroof, but it makes things tighter for taller adults. Trunk space is above-average at 16 cubic feet, and the trunk opening is larger than it looks.

The base LX and LXS trim levels have cloth upholstery, while the GT-Line’s seats are a mix of cloth and Kia’s SnyTex leatherette. The top EX and GT have full SynTex with heated and ventilated front seats (the latter optional on the GT), but genuine leather isn’t available on any K5 model.

Photo by Brady Holt

Peppy and Fuel-Efficient

Most K5s have a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that makes 180 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque, both solid figures for a midsize sedan. This little engine is quiet when you’re driving gently — neighbors asked us if it was an electric car after we glided past — but it wakes up with a pleasant growl if you dig in to the throttle. The GT will include a 2.5-liter turbo with 290 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque; it’s due on sale in late 2020.

Most K5 trim levels earn EPA ratings of 27 mpg in the city, 37 mpg on the highway, and 31 mpg overall, quite good for a midsize sedan. And we beat the EPA estimates to average 35 mpg. The base LX trim level earns slightly higher EPA ratings, while the optional all-wheel-drive system knocks mileage to a still-decent 26 mpg city, 34 mpg highway, 29 mpg combined. The EPA hasn’t yet rated the upcoming 2.5-liter engine as of this writing. The 1.6-liter uses a smooth-shifting conventional eight-speed automatic transmission; the 2.5-liter will use an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, a setup that promises greater efficiency and faster shifts, but which sometimes isn’t as smooth.

Photo by Brady Holt

Smooth and Agile

The K5 isn’t the sportiest sedan in its class, but the peppy 1.6-liter engine is complemented by respectable suspension composure. This Kia rides smoothly, if not with the serenity you’d find in a Toyota Camry. It’s comfortable and quiet, and it absorbs bumps better than we remember from the old Optima, but it sometimes feels a little busy on the highway.

The car’s steering is accurate and decently responsive, though it doesn’t feel as connected to the wheels as a Honda Accord’s or Mazda6’s. This car goes where it’s pointed, but not with great excitement. That said, in a world where most people are buying crossovers instead of sedans, the K5 does deliver the agility — and the sporty feel of a lower, sportier seating position — to justify giving cars a second chance. The GT model will bring a sport-tuned suspension, but the GT-Line we tested has only the appearance of extra performance.

Photo by Brady Holt

Strong Safety

The 2021 Kia K5 hasn’t yet been crash-tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, but its mechanical cousin (the Hyundai Sonata) earned an IIHS Top Safety Pick designation for its own performance. Over at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the K5 earned a top overall score of five stars.

In another important benefit, lots of advanced safety technology is standard equipment even at the K5’s low starting price: a forward-collision warning with automatic emergency braking and pedestrian detection, a lane-departure warning with lane-keeping and lane-following capabilities, a leading-vehicle-departure alert, and automatic high beams. Step up one trim level, just $1,000 more, and you also get blind-spot monitoring with a rear cross-traffic alert. However, adaptive cruise control is only available in expensive options packages on upper-trim K5 models; it’s standard on several competing midsize sedans.

Photo by Brady Holt

Unusually Affordable

The K5 starts at $23,490 for its base LX model, which comes well-equipped with the safety features we mentioned before plus higher-end goodies like automatic climate control, an 8-inch infotainment touchscreen, heated side mirrors, and 16-inch alloy wheels. The LXS, $24,490, adds push-button starting, blind-spot monitoring, and some should-be-basic rear seat features: a fold-down armrest, a folding rear seat, and adjustable rear head restraints. (Basically, Kia wants you to skip the LX.)

The GT-Line, like our test vehicle, starts at $25,390 with flashier exterior details (including 18-inch wheels), partial leatherette upholstery, and a power driver’s seat. The EX starts at $27,990 with full leatherette, heated and ventilated front seats, a panoramic sunroof, a wireless smartphone charger, and rear parking sensors. A $3,400 package brings the 10.25-inch infotainment screen, navigation, a 12-speaker Bose sound system, a power passenger seat, a memory system for the power driver’s seat, a heated steering wheel, and adaptive cruise control. The GT, $30,490, brings the bigger engine and sport suspension but otherwise most of the same standard and optional features as the EX. All-wheel drive costs an extra $2,100 on the LXS and GT-Line.

Photo by Kia

Competitors to Consider

The K5 delivers a compelling blend of value and substance, but it faces some strong competitors. Its closest rival is the Hyundai Sonata, which is closely related to the K5 mechanically. The Kia has more features for the money, has the excellent 1.6-liter engine as standard equipment (it costs extra on the Hyundai), and offers all-wheel drive that’s missing from the Sonata’s options list. However, some buyers might appreciate the Sonata’s different aesthetics, its optional genuine leather upholstery, and its available gas-electric hybrid powertrain.

Value seekers might also be interested in the frequently discounted Ford Fusion and Volkswagen Passat, which are older sedans that remain competitive today — if not cutting-edge — as well as the sporty and stylish Mazda6. Or you could pay a few thousand dollars extra for a more fun-to-drive Honda Accord or a more exquisitely comfortable Nissan Altima or Toyota Camry. And if all-wheel drive is your plan, the comfortable but humdrum Subaru Legacy provides the system for less money than the K5 (or the Altima and Camry, which also now offer it as an option).

Photo by Brady Holt

A Fresh Choice

The 2021 Kia K5 combines flashy styling, all-around competence, and affordable pricing. We can quibble about some of the details, and some buyers will prefer a car that’s either more fun to drive or more comfort-focused. But overall, this is a pleasant, spacious, fuel-efficient sedan at an affordable price.

The K5’s excellent powertrain, decent ride and handling, adult-friendly back seat, long warranty, and optional all-wheel drive are all reasons to give it a look — even if the style hasn’t drawn you in already.

Photo by Brady Holt