Affordable midsize cars used to be the default choice of family car shoppers, but we’ve left that world behind. SUVs outsold cars and trucks combined last year.
In that world, who still buys affordable midsize sedans? In some cases, it’s drivers who need comfortable seating for four or five and have a typical middle-American budget to work with but care about how it feels to drive.
The Kia K5 is waiting to surprise them.
With prices ranging from $23,790 up to the mid $30,000 range, the Kia K5 is one of the sharpest performers in the affordable midsize car class.
Power
The Kia K5 comes in five trim levels for 2022: base LX, well-equipped LXS, a GT-Line model with sporty appearance upgrades, luxurious EX, and high-performance GT.
The first four in that list use a turbocharged, 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine making 180 horsepower. That’s fairly standard for the non-luxury midsize car class. It beats the 163 horsepower of the Chevy Malibu’s base engine but trails the 202 hp of the Toyota Camry’s. Power goes to the front wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission. The Kia’s engine is tuned to offer most of its torque at neighborhood speeds, meaning that even the slowest K5 manages a respectable zero-to-sixty time around seven seconds.
If performance is your concern, though, you’re better off springing for the K5 GT. This is something not every manufacturer bothers with anymore – a performance-oriented version of its midsize car. The GT is carried along by a 2.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder mill making 290 horsepower. Competitors like the Malibu and Honda Accord can’t match it. Toyota offers a 301-horsepower option in the Camry, but the Camry also outweighs the K5. The K5 GT may be the quickest family car in its class, going from a standstill to 60 mph in just over five seconds. It uses a wet dual-clutch transmission for quicker shifts. There’s no manual transmission option, but paddle shifters give you some added control.
Handling and Braking
The K5 is among the liveliest handling midsize sedans. The base LX and EX, as well as front-wheel-drive editions of the LXS and GT-Line, all provide light, responsive steering feel by the standards of family cars.
The LXS and GT-Line are each offered with all-wheel-drive (AWD). They sacrifice a barely-detectable amount of acceleration in exchange for surer all-weather grip.
Braking feel in these models is typical, though some rivals have shorter braking distances in tests.
The GT, however, is a true sport sedan. Engineers retuned the suspension and steering rack, giving it a firmer ride and more responsive steering feel. It rides on wider, grippier Pirelli P-Zero tires.
The GT also uses bigger brakes, and they’re easy to feel – braking distances are shorter than average.
More 2022 Kia K5
Read our full review or build and price your own Kia K5. If you’re ready to pick out your very own, take a look at the Kia K5 models for sale near you.
