2026 Kia K5
Price Range: $27,390 - $34,890
2026 Kia K5


360°



+122
Good
7.9
out of 10
edmunds TESTED
The 2026 Kia K5 stands out with its many standard features, reasonable pricing and long warranty. It's a pretty great deal for a midsize sedan. The base engine lacks verve, but there's a more powerful option, and all-wheel drive is offered on a midlevel trim, further increasing the K5's practicality.Read full review
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Pricing
Changing year or type will take you to a new page
Trims
LXS
MSRP $28,585- Editors' Pick
GT-Line
MSRP $29,585 GT
MSRP $34,685Edmunds suggests$34,443See All for SaleEX
MSRP $36,085
1 / 4
Prices based on sales in IA thru 9/8/25
Final assembly in South Korea
2026 Kia K5 Review
Pros
- Comfy and quiet highway cruising
- Powerful turbocharged engine in GT trim
- All-wheel drive available
- Lots of features for the price
Cons
- Sloping roofline makes rear seat access difficult
- No hybrid available
What's new
- No significant changes for 2026
- Part of the first K5 generation introduced for 2021
Overview

The 2026 Kia K5 is a midsize sedan that consistently ranks highly in our ratings and on our list of best midsize sedans. It's been around since 2021, which makes it one of the older models in its class. However, Kia updated it last year with mild exterior styling tweaks and a new bigger touchscreen to keep it fresh.
Cost to Drive
Monthly estimates based on costs in Iowa
$119/mo for K5 LXS
K5 LXS
vs
$154/mo
Avg. Midsize Car
Edmunds spotlight: A value-packed pick
If you're shopping for a midsize sedan, you'll be hard-pressed to find one that makes a more compelling case for value. The K5 comes with ample technology features, great warranty coverage, a roomy interior and a big trunk. It also has a smooth ride and quick acceleration if you pick the sporty K5 GT version. You get all of this at a price that's typically less than what you'll pay for the K5's main competitors.
Competitors to consider
Toyota's Camry and Honda's Accord lead this segment and are currently the only cars that outrank the K5 in our ratings of midsize sedans. Both are excellent choices and offer available fuel-efficient hybrid powertrains, which you can't get in the K5. The same can also be said about the Hyundai Sonata, which is mechanically related to the K5. Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of these sedans.
Edmunds Expert Rating
edmunds TESTED

Driven, tested, rated by automotive expert Brian Wong
Good
7.9
out of 10
We drove the 2026 Kia K5 on our test track and on real roads. Our Edmunds team conducts rigorous independent vehicle testing, driving 500,000 miles a year.
Performance
7/10
How does the K5 drive? We tested the K5 with its base engine, a 2.5-liter four-cylinder. Power is adequate and the shifts from the transmission are smooth around town, but when driven flat out at our test track, the K5 hit 60 mph in an uninspiring 8.5 seconds. Other sedans are better at getting you up to speed quickly for highway driving or passing slower traffic.
The body can wallow a bit around turns, but the K5 is an easy sedan to hop in and drive every day. There's also the available GT with its upgraded engine if you want sportier performance that better matches the car's styling.
The body can wallow a bit around turns, but the K5 is an easy sedan to hop in and drive every day. There's also the available GT with its upgraded engine if you want sportier performance that better matches the car's styling.
Comfort
8/10
How comfortable is the K5? The K5 is as silent on the highway as some luxury sedans. The front seats provide decent comfort over several hours, with a good amount of cushioning and moderate support from the side bolsters. The suspension ably soaks up road imperfections and avoids feeling overly soft. We're also impressed with the climate control system's ability to cool the cabin on hot days.
Interior
8/10

The cabin is relatively spacious too, with a modest amount of headroom but an abundance of legroom. Tall adults should have no problem fitting up front, though. Forward visibility is great thanks to unusually narrow front roof pillars. Rear visibility is squeezed a bit by a tall rear decklid, but it doesn't create any notable obstructions.
Compare dealer price quotes
2026 Kia K5 pricing in Des Moines, IA
What others are paying
Buying Tips for the 2026 Kia K5 for September
The 2026 Kia K5 is a hot commodity in the sedan market, with high demand and quick sales. Here are some tips to help you navigate your purchase:
- The K5 is selling fast, typically spending only 12 to 20 days on dealer lots.
- Kia is not offering general cash rebates, but military members can enjoy a $500 discount.
- Financing deals are attractive, with rates as low as 2.9% for 36 to 48-month terms, and 5.25% for 72 months.
- Leasing is a viable option, with monthly payments ranging from $362 to $498, depending on the trim, and around $3,000 due at signing.
- The market price is slightly below MSRP, with buyers paying about 1% to 2% less than MSRP.
- Inventory is decent, with thousands of units available nationwide, but act fast due to high demand.
- Contact your local dealers for the latest updates on incentives like cash bonuses and low financing rates.
Technology
8/10
How’s the tech? The K5's standard touchscreen is a sizable 12.3 inches. It is easy to use and includes wireless connectivity for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There's an available wireless charging pad that features a cooling fan and a smart spring-loaded section that keeps your phone in place. The K5 comes with plenty of advanced driver aids. They worked well in our testing and didn't issue any false alerts. Collectively, the K5 has one of the best tech setups in its class.
Storage
8.5/10
How’s the storage? Despite the K5's fastback roofline, it's not a hatchback. The traditional trunk has a capacity of 15.6 cubic feet, which is slightly better than average, and the wide and low opening makes for easy loading of bulky objects. The seatback releases are located in the trunk, making it convenient to load longer items.
The cabin offers plenty of places to store your personal items, including a charging pad, another rubberized phone tray and a big center armrest bin. Fitting a large infant seat should pose no problems, and the anchors are easy to access.
The cabin offers plenty of places to store your personal items, including a charging pad, another rubberized phone tray and a big center armrest bin. Fitting a large infant seat should pose no problems, and the anchors are easy to access.
Fuel Economy
7.5/10
How’s the fuel economy? The EPA estimates the K5 with its base engine gets up to 30 mpg in combined city/highway driving, which is comparable to the efficiency of most other base-engine sedans in this class. A hybrid K5 isn't available, however.
Value
8/10
Is the K5 a good value? The Kia K5 holds a slight advantage over most sedans when it comes to dollar-per-feature. The price-to-feature ratio improves with each successive trim level. There are some things missing from the options list such as genuine leather upholstery (the K5 has synthetic leather) and a head-up display, but we're convinced most will look beyond that.
The K5 is solidly built to boot, using a good amount of quality interior materials that outshine what's in other sedans in the class. Hard plastics are still present, but they're strategically placed away from high-touch areas to keep up appearances. Kia's warranty coverage is top-notch with 10 years/100,000 miles for the powertrain and five years/60,000 miles of basic coverage.
The K5 is solidly built to boot, using a good amount of quality interior materials that outshine what's in other sedans in the class. Hard plastics are still present, but they're strategically placed away from high-touch areas to keep up appearances. Kia's warranty coverage is top-notch with 10 years/100,000 miles for the powertrain and five years/60,000 miles of basic coverage.
Wildcard
8/10
The exterior styling is a standout in a traditionally dull sedan class. It's one of those cars that you could admire for a second before getting in. We have fairly low expectations for performance and entertainment in the family sedan class, but the K5 represents itself well enough.
2026 Kia K5 trim level differences
The 2026 Kia K5 is a midsize sedan available in four trim levels: LXS, GT-Line, GT and EX. All except the GT are powered by a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine with 191 horsepower. The GT gets a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 290 hp, making it one of the most powerful cars in its class. Front-wheel drive is standard, but the midlevel GT-Line is available with all-wheel drive. For more info, check out the highlights of the K5's standard and optional features below.
Which K5 trim does Edmunds recommend?
We like the midlevel GT-Line trim, which comes with bigger wheels, attractive styling tweaks and other usable features like a wireless phone charger. It's also available with all-wheel drive, increasing its usability.
Compare 2026 Kia K5 trim levels
Helpful trims summary and side-by-side comparison chart
Kia K5 Owner Reviews
Most Helpful Owner Reviews
Trending topics
Intermittent Engine Code, Huge safety concern.
1 out of 5 starsDustin D., 05/08/2024
2024 Kia K5 GT 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
I've had horrible luck with my 2024 Kia k5 GT that I got less than 6 months ago. Constant re-occurring Engine Code (P065312) that's happened from 1000-current (12,665) mileage. HUGE safety concern in my opinion. Also the exterior trim is falling off in certain places and is being replaced under warranty. I've had a few issues with the radio/back-up camera freezing up and becoming … unresponsive as well.
The primary issue is the Engine. When the Code occurs the car gets stuck at a certain rev point w/ no control from the accelerator, you have to pull over and restart the vehicle to resolve issue. Not the worst thing don't get me wrong, but if it happened on the highway? that's an accident waiting to happen.
I've had no luck with any of the dealerships I've been to, and my Kia Consumer Affair rep keeps advising me to give another dealership a chance. I've given the dealership/affair rep ample information to be prepared for the issue, but no luck so far.
A 4 Door Sports Car
5 out of 5 starsTJMac, 09/11/2024
2024 Kia K5 GT 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
I’ve owned or leased many vehicles in my time and many, many sedans. Ford Taurus, Dodge Intrepid, Hyundai Sonata 2.0T, and now a 2024 Kia K5 GT. I’ve also owned a Jaguar XK convertible and have a BMW 230i convertible.
I’ve had the K5 for a year now and put 10,000 miles on it and have enjoyed the heck out of it.
This is basically a 4 door sports car with tons of room inside and a … huge trunk. For long trips it’s phenomenal with a super quiet ride and awesome sound system. It’s quicker than the Jag and the Beemer and handles better too.
I’ve driven several long distance trips from my home in South Florida to Massachusetts, Virginia and other eastern states. Gas mileage at highway speeds, well over the limit, recorded 36+ mpg and when I backed off to 5 to 7 over it was pushing 40 mpg.
I’m an engineer and a car guy. For a sedan to have this kind performance is really impressive.
And the car looks great. I ended up with Wolf Gray thinking it would be less popular, I like to be different, but, it turns out there’s a lot these out there in that color.
Definitely shop around if you’re in the market for a sedan, but if you want above average performance, gas mileage, roominess, trunk space, comfort and cool electronics, and an outright stunning look, you have to check this car out.
Unbridled Power
4 out of 5 starsRuss, 09/03/2023
2024 Kia K5 GT 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8AM)
The K5 GT is a beast. I have to purposely dial it back or I'll get in trouble. Love it. Really impressed with the MPG I'm getting. Rated at 32 highway, over first 3000 miles of mostly highway driving it has returned 37 mpg. Very comfortable seats and interior. Not impressed with the Bose "premium" stereo system. The Fender system on my previous VW was MUCH superior to this Bose. … The car has just about every convenience features and options available but has no automatic windshield wipers. What's with that Kia? But overall I'm very pleased with my choice and how this car drives. For $37,700 this a lot of car and tons of value. Especially considering this seams to be a dying breed, the medium sized non-premium brand, non-EV sport sedan.
++
Great Dirving Sporty Looking Car
5 out of 5 starsJackster , 03/23/2025
2025 Kia K5 GT-Line 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 8A)
I only had the car 1 month but drove it to Florida (all around) and back and put on 3,500 miles. My car is a GT-Line, Wolf Grey with the Red interior, Bose speakers etc. The car is a real pleasure to drive. Very Quiet on the road, and my mileage exceeded the 37 mpg epa rating, and that’s while maintaining speeds of 80 mph with 2 people and fully loaded with luggage. Little if any … wind noise. Note that at times I hit much higher speeds not knowing since it was so quiet & smooth. The engine RPM was mostly between 2 to 2.1 at 80mph. The power of the 2.5 liter is good, and slightly better than the 2019 Camry I had, which was a very good car as well. The Bose system sounded great, and all the alert sensors and some other sensors like keeping your car steering between the lines worked very well, but I preferred to turn that off most of the time. If you turn on your turning signals to changing lanes, and a car is present, not only does your side mirrors alert you, but you’ll get sound notices and the steering wheel will vibrate. Triple redundancy. The handling is very good, and secure, brakes are excellent and has a very good feel to them. A very important note is, I appreciate that the 2.5 engine has both Direct & Port Injectors on each cylinder. Port injectors will help cleaned the valves and clear any carbon build up. This is the same arrangement my Camry 2019 had which greatly reduces or eliminates carbon buildup in these Direct Inject Engines. The Nav system worked flawlessly and quickly. I also love you can remotely start your car with the key FOB (No additional charge) or with Kia Connect though Kia connect is only free the 1st 3 years. Also, happily, it doesn’t have the stop & start engine control which can cause more wear on your starter motor with little gain on MPG. The seats are very comfortable as I can attest driving 12 hours straight on my first stop. The car’s 8 spd auto shifted smoothly in all conditions. Plenty of room inside. Lot of storage in the console area for incidentals and drinks. I enjoyed the Panoramic roof. The negative was the Combine toggle Climate & Media control is a bit counter intuitive and sometimes causes more effort to control. Trunk space is good, as I had lots of luggage. The car feels solid & hopefully reliable down the line. The only other negative which is because I do my own oil changes etc, is this car takes a Cartridge oil filter (Not spin on) and takes 6.1 quarts of oil, (Not 5 qts) but I knew this well before I bought it but it’s location and design is good. So it’s not a real big deal, but this will cost a little more for oil changes. Recommended oil chg is 7,500 but I’ll be doing it every 5 to 6K for sure. BTW recommended oil is 0 -30W. Based on my limited time but very heavy usage I highly recommend this car, and I really enjoy driving it. Very sporty looking.
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2026 Kia K5, so we've included reviews for other years of the K5 since its last redesign.
Helpful shopping links
2026 Kia K5 Features & Specs
LXS
Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee | $27,390 |
---|---|
Engine Type | Gas |
Combined MPG | 30 MPG |
Cost to Drive | $119/month |
Seating | 5 seats |
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place | 15.6 cu.ft. |
Drivetrain | front wheel drive |
Warranty | 5 years / 60,000 miles |
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Safety
Key safety features on the K5 include:
- Back-up camera
- Blind Spot Monitoring
- Lane Departure Warning
- Alarm
- Tire Pressure Warning
- Stability Control
- Pre-collision safety system
- Post-collision safety system
IIHS Rating
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.
Small Overlap Front Driver-Side Test | Good |
---|---|
Small Overlap Front Passenger-Side Test | Good |
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Original | Not Tested |
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Updated | Poor |
Side Impact Test – Original | Not Tested |
Side Impact Test – Updated | Marginal |
Roof Strength Test | Not Tested |
Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint | Not Tested |
FAQ
Is the Kia K5 a good car?
The Edmunds experts tested the 2026 K5 both on the road and at the track, giving it a 7.9 out of 10. Edmunds’ consumer reviews show that the 2026 K5 gets an average rating of 4 stars out of 5 (based on 28 reviews) What about cargo capacity? When you're thinking about carrying stuff in your new car, keep in mind that the K5 has 15.6 cubic feet of trunk space. And then there's safety and reliability. Edmunds has all the latest NHTSA and IIHS crash-test scores, plus industry-leading expert and consumer reviews to help you understand what it's like to own and maintain a Kia K5. Learn more
What's new in the 2026 Kia K5?
According to Edmunds’ car experts, here’s what’s new for the 2026 Kia K5:
- No significant changes for 2026
- Part of the first K5 generation introduced for 2021
Is the Kia K5 reliable?
To determine whether the Kia K5 is reliable, read Edmunds' authentic consumer reviews, which come from real owners and reveal what it's like to live with the K5. Look for specific complaints that keep popping up in the reviews, and be sure to compare the K5's 4-star average consumer rating to that of competing vehicles. Learn more
Is the 2026 Kia K5 a good car?
There's a lot to consider if you're wondering whether the 2026 Kia K5 is a good car. Edmunds' expert testing team reviewed the 2026 K5 and gave it a 7.9 out of 10. Our consumer reviews show that the 2026 K5 gets an average rating of 4 stars out of 5 (based on 28 reviews). Safety scores, fuel economy, cargo capacity and feature availability should all be factors in determining whether the 2026 K5 is a good car for you. Learn more
How much should I pay for a 2026 Kia K5?
The least-expensive 2026 Kia K5 is the 2026 Kia K5 LXS 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 8A). Including destination charge, it arrives with a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of about $27,390.
Other versions include:
- LXS 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 8A) which starts at $27,390
- GT-Line 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 8A) which starts at $28,390
- GT-Line 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 4cyl 8A) which starts at $29,990
- GT 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8AM) which starts at $33,490
- EX 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 8A) which starts at $34,890
What are the different models of Kia K5?
If you're interested in the Kia K5, the next question is, which K5 model is right for you? K5 variants include LXS 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 8A), GT-Line 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl 8A), GT-Line 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 4cyl 8A), and GT 4dr Sedan (2.5L 4cyl Turbo 8AM). For a full list of K5 models, check out Edmunds’ Features & Specs page. Learn more

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