2021 Kia K5 Review _ Sharp styling and a new name

It's funny how styles change. Ten years ago, if you asked yourself, I want to stand out on the road, you'd be in a sports car or a convertible. Now, standing out means buying a sedan from Kia. This is the 2021 Kia K5. It replaces the Optima with a new name. Turbo engines, all-wheel drive, and some very exciting design. Well-equipped for under $30,000. We're just starting to drive the latest 2021 models like the K5, and we've got more coming, so subscribe to the CarGurus YouTube channel. Alright, this car's really cool. The Optima was handsome, but the K5 has done crunches in a juice-fast. It's ripped. My first impression? It's an Audi A5 Sportback, right down to the flat gray paint, the black and chrome 5-spoke wheels, and red seats. But in many ways, it's a lot funkier than the Audi. I gotta sit down for this one. And I'm blocking the Kia badge because you gotta look at the K5 with fresh eyes. This trim is the GT line, and it wears the most aggressive face I've ever seen on a Kia. Until Kia redesigned its logo, and it's happening soon, it's changed the Optima's name to what they've always called the Optima in Korea, the K5. I don't like that name, because Optima has a nice ring to it. But you will remember the K5 coming at you from all angles. Compared to the Optima, the K5 is 2 inches longer. The wheelbase is 2 inches longer. The roof? Inch lower. And the whole car is an inch wider. These are all measurements in the right direction. It's why it looks so nice. Also, these amber LED running lights. They look like Zorro slashed his sword all over the car. I like it. You might not, but I absolutely love it. I love how this honeycomb grille wraps around underneath these triple LED headlights. And I like these 18-inch wheels. These come on the GT line. That's this car here. It blacks out more of the trim, puts a new bumper, changes that grille, puts more black trim throughout on the car. I definitely think it's the way to go. And especially these double stacked LED lights. These air fins mimic some other details inside the car. We'll get to those in a minute. The K5 cuts a fastback profile. It's got this thick D pillar and this big rear window that both angle back almost to the rear lip spoiler. But it's all just a visual trick, because instead of a hatchback, it's an ordinary trunk with 16 cubic feet. But you shut it, and you'd swear it looked like an A7, for example. I really like these dashed LED lights are coming in from opposing angles. These little fake vents here, but they all look really appropriate for the K5. It's just clean and mean. Now let's go inside. Does this not look amazing? The K5 is stimulating my senses, and it's easily one of the best interiors under $30,000. This red vinyl feels like leather, and the seats have black stripes, piping, and stitching. There's some clever, sporty touches inside the K5. The center stack is canted toward me, the driver, and it angles the opposite way toward the passenger. There's a flat-bottom steering wheel on the GT line. Most of the controls here have a nice, polished black plastic. And most everything that's not is either has a nice padding to it, or the rougher plastic actually has a nice grain. And at this price, it's completely acceptable. This is what GM and Ford can't do in their interiors. Kia proves that you can make a cheaper car look and feel expensive. More cool details. The dash overlaps this air vent, and the side piece on the door armrest curves upward. These details mimic the air vent fins from the outside. I like it. It's set up for sporty driving, so is it a sports sedan? Let's find out. Nope, not this one. This is the GT line, not the GT. These are two very different cars, so let me explain. This one has the base engine that used to be the optional engine on the Optima. It's the 1.6-liter turbo 4, 180 horsepower, 195 pound-feet of torque, an 8-speed automatic transmission that replaces the 6-speed, front-wheel drive, and now all-wheel drive is optional. This one is front-wheel drive. It really is a lot better than the 2.4-liter 4 that was the standard Optima engine. A lot more power, a lot more response from a much smaller engine. These turbo engines today are great, and this is one good example of that. But all-wheel drive is optional only on the GT line, which is the third of five trims, and on one trim down, the LXS. The GT, you can't get it. And that has a 2.5-liter turbo inline 4 that's shared with Genesis. 290 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque, hooked up to an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic. I don't know why they're not adding all-wheel drive to a car with that much power. There's a bit of understeer at the limit, but only if you really chuck the K5 hard into a turn. There's Pirelli PZero all-season tires, which are more of a performance type of all-season tire. Those come standard on the GT line. They're not really that great. The suspension is more of a softer tune. It's more for a better ride. The handling is still pretty good, but it's just not quite to the expectation that I'd have from a car that says GT. Maybe you might disagree, but this is really just an appearance package. It's a really good appearance package. But the thing is, I'm still happy with the steering. The steering has a really nice road feel. You're getting more of that sense of the road than versus other cars, say, like a Camry. It's not up to the level of the Accord. The Accord, I think, is still the best driving car in the segment of midsize family sedans. This is getting close, but it's just not tuned enough for a sporty driver. So I'm curious what Kia has done with the actual GT, which has a lot more power. I think they got to get that a little more dialed in. If you're not a performance driver, you're not going to mind, because the car really is very good. Kia's 10 years ago did not drive this well. This one's great. But I want a little bit more from this car, especially when it's giving off this performance impression. What do you think? Fuel economy is exceptional. 27 mpg city, 37 highway, 31 combined on this 1.6 liter turbo front wheel drive K5 that I'm driving right now. I've been doing 642 miles and indicated 36. And the tank is big enough, too, so you've got a nice long range. Honestly, you could never get this type of thing with cars before. Tiny little engine, big car, good power, good fuel efficiency. All-wheel drive will dent that a little bit, but man, these numbers are great. Standard is an 8-inch touchscreen with hard buttons surrounding it. A 10-inch screen is optional and comes with a lot more fun stuff, like voice commands to switch on the heated seats, which this car doesn't have. Read my review at CarGurus.com for those details. The infotainment is simple and fast. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, and they're both wireless. The wireless charging pad is in the perfect spot. Secures your phone with a slot and has a cooling fan behind it. No more hot phones. Other cool features. The car will recirculate the air when you activate the windshield washer, and you can program this button as a personal shortcut. Forward emergency braking, pedestrian detection, lane keep assist, driver attention monitor, and auto high beams come standard. So do rear side airbags. That's uncommon in any car. I wish there were some rear air vents and that these rear seats had some heat. But otherwise, the K5 is a pretty good place to sit in the back. There's room. Like, lots of it. The K5 starts at $23,490. My car is the GT line, in the middle of five trims. It's $28,400 with destination. All-wheel drive and the optional infotainment will make this car $31,000. Still a really good deal. The GT is fully loaded at $35,000. Remember, it's got a lot of power. Before you get into a small crossover, for the same price, try a midsize sedan. And try a sedan that's as good looking inside and out as the Kia K5. Now, on the GT line like this, I really want a sportier suspension tune, because it doesn't drive with the same excitement as all the style. But for a family car, I'm pretty impressed with the K5 as it is. For full details, read the review at CarGurus.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.