2021 Kia K5 GT review: Optima prime

The 2021 Kia K5 GT proves a undesirable name cannot torpedo a very good vehicle. Confident, Studebaker Dictator, Ford Probe and Toyota Estima Lucida G Luxury Joyful Cover are all much even worse monikers than K5, but this 4-doorway — primarily in pinnacle GT trim — is so pleasant and capable, attractive and swift you would not care what it can be referred to as.

Even if it isn’t going to automatically stand head and shoulders higher than the midsize-sedan group, the new K5 is around the prime of its phase in approximately each group. This Kia feels fresher than the gracefully ageing Honda Accord, is much extra exciting than the dowdy Subaru Legacy and it can be swankier inside of and out than Toyota’s preferred Camry. In limited, the K5 is as properly-rounded as a beachball.

Spicing points up, this sedan serves up a good deal of visible pizzazz. Front and centre, the K5 wears a reimagined model of Kia’s signature tiger-nose grille. The primary opening is filled with a geometric mesh sample and flanked by a pair of leering LED headlamp assemblies with pronounced tails that stream along the front fenders. This example’s Sapphire Blue paint is just about the excellent coloration. In profile, the K5 resembles a mashup of Volkswagen’s Arteon and an Audi A7 in advance of the A-pillars it can be shockingly very similar to the previous, aft of them, it can be the latter’s spittin’ impression.

That gracefully curving roofline terminates in a curt bottom that’s approximately as intricately designed as the car’s front stop. The trunk lid is shockingly limited, but the opening is a good deal large, so loading freight should not be an workout in actively playing cargo Tetris. The place itself measures sixteen cubic feet, a whisker significantly less than you get in an Accord but a skosh extra than supplied by a Camry. The rear backrests fold flat for toting more time items, while the passthrough opening just isn’t specially large.

As with other redesigned Kias, the K5’s inside wows, currently being both of those style-ahead and purposeful. The dashboard is strongly horizontal and deeply sculpted, plus the products on display screen are all of superb high-quality. The front doorway panels are wrapped in supple plastics that are handsomely grained, the frosty-silver accents sprinkled in the course of look terrific and do not result in aggravating glare in vibrant daylight and the locations where tough polymers are applied, none of them reek of pinched pennies. About the only thing I do not care for is the piano-black trim, which just isn’t all that top quality.

Maximizing usability, the car’s centre stack is at any time so somewhat angled toward the driver, so the infotainment monitor and local climate controls are easier to attain. Compared with numerous cars these days, the K5 arrives with a common mechanical shifter. With a meaty T-tackle, this gear selector seems to be cool and is tremendous gratifying to use. And so are this car’s seats, which are wrapped in a respectable-emotion leatherette product (legitimate cow hides are not out there, at minimum not on the seating surfaces). The front chairs get the job carried out and you will find a surprising amount of place in the back again. Lanky travellers will have a good deal of home for their heads and legs in this Kia.

Two infotainment methods are out there, one particular with an eight-inch display screen and an uplevel giving with a 10.three-inch touchscreen. Curiously, both of those multimedia arrays aid Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, while only the foundation method features wireless connectivity for these smartphone-mirroring methods. If you decide for the big monitor — which is charming and arrives with embedded navigation — make confident to carry a charging cable.

When it arrives to usability, Kia’s most up-to-date infotainment method is a winner. The upgraded method on the 10.three-inch monitor is not only lifeless very simple to use and blazingly responsive — never ever stuttering or lagging — it can be straightforward on the eyes, as well. House-monitor icons look like minor purple neon indicators and the radio tuner is displayed as a sequence of nixie tubes for a touch of whimsy, a thing we could all use a minor extra of these days.

Differentiating them from lesser K5s, sporty GT designs attribute a burly two.five-liter turbocharged engine. As strong as a fistful of fentanyl tablets, this 4-cylinder firebreather provides 290 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque to the front wheels, much extra of just about every than the foundation 1.six-liter turbo supplies. Why all-wheel generate is only out there with the smaller engine is anyone’s guess, but as you may possibly picture, the K5 GT has no trouble squealing its tires when you give it the spurs. This sedan pulls ferociously from about two,250 rpm on up, while it can be a good deal punchy under that speed. In use, some powertrain vibration can be felt in the cabin (bear in mind, two.five liters is a big 4-cylinder), but the engine is peaceful and generally properly-mannered.

Generating the most of that mountain of torque is an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. Once the K5 is rolling, this gearbox shifts imperceptibly and about as swiftly as a mind synapse, helping the vehicle hit 60 mph in as minor as five.eight seconds. The efficiency right here is outstanding, other than at very low speeds. Unfortunately, as with approximately all dual-clutch transmissions, using off from a standstill is never ever as easy as with a torque converter. At instances, faint but noticeable judders can be felt and when creeping along at idle, this sort of as in weighty targeted traffic, the vehicle appears to surge, to go inconsistently as you modulate the speed, a thing that gets aggravating.

At the pump, expect 24 mpg all around city and 32 mpg on highway drives. Blended, the 2021 Kia K5 GT should really return 27 mpg.

Apart from that all-you-can-eat buffet of torque, you will find nothing specially magical about the way this sedan drives. Dynamically, it can be solely capable, with middle-of-the-road steering, brake-pedal experience and chassis efficiency. Various driving modes are offered, but definitely, they only modify the steering pounds and transmission change timetable. This example’s ride is absolutely on the firm side, no doubt improved (or degraded?) by its 19-inch wheels wrapped in fairly very low-profile 245/40 Pirelli P Zero all-season tires. The K5 GT just isn’t rigid ample to shatter spines or result in heads to toss when you hit much larger bumps, but you undoubtedly experience the road.

When it arrives to driver aids, this Kia features a good deal. Attributes like ahead-collision warning with pedestrian detection, lane-maintaining guide, lane-departure warning, a driver interest observe and automatic significant beams are common throughout the K5 selection. Really common stuff. Naturally, all sorts of other facilities are offered, as well, from rear cross-targeted traffic alert and adaptive cruise control to parking sensors and blind-spot monitoring. For the most component, these systems do the job beautifully, while the automatic significant beams can be a little bit spastic and the lane-centering method does odd points in selected corners. Although navigating reasonable turns, the method will annoyingly and alternatively forcefully tug at the steering wheel, battling your grip as you do the job to hold the vehicle on your supposed line. On straight asphalt and via lesser corners the lane-centering attribute functions fantastically, it just gets a minor wonky when pushed.

As it sits, the K5 GT I am testing right here checks out for $35,705 such as $965 in shipping service fees. A $ninety five cargo protector and $a hundred and fifty five in carpeted ground mats pad the foundation value, as does the $4,000 GT1 Package. This pricey increase-on incorporates a bunch of facilities like the much larger touchscreen, a top quality Bose audio method, electrical power front seats with heating and air flow plus a slew of security tech. Still, this vehicle is reasonably priced thinking of how wonderful it feels and swiftly it moves.

Despite its questionable name, the 2021 Kia K5 GT is one particular of the most pleasant mainstream sedans you can get nowadays, primarily if you want a thing with a sporting edge and a lot of electrical power. Of training course, if K5 isn’t going to float your boat, you can always simply call this vehicle what it is: great.