Every auto manufacturer out there is no stranger to the midsize sedan segment, but here at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis, we have long been determined to achieve complete domination of the category! The entire market has seen dire disruption once again with the introduction of the 2021 K5 GT-Line AWD, which slots into the sedan category but has all of the class-leading features of an all-out luxury car. Outside there are bold, powerful design lines and a much thinner front grille to evoke an elegant appearance.
The serious track hounds out there will tell you that the “sound of the symphony is in the piping”, and the K5's rear end sports two very unique dual chrome exhaust pipes, which add an ideally aggressive nature to the sedan's look. The writers on duty at Rollingout.com claimed that the 4-cylinder 1.6-liter 180-horsepower turbocharged engine has some massively serious get-up-and-go, and is perfectly mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Ideally set up for extreme comfort with cockpit seats, you'll also enjoy utilizing 16 cubic feet of space in the trunk, with plenty of legroom in the front and rear to easily accommodate a six-foot-tall passenger comfortably.
The Car And Driver testing crew got the chance to get a little wild with the K5 GT-line last fall and loved how the low-end torque feels more abundant than its peak of 195 lb-ft at 1500 rpm, and the turbo is noticed right away when you stomp on it. You'll get up to 60 mph in just 7 seconds, and the steering is ideally stable at highway speeds and responsive when paring your way through the noticeable incline of an on-ramp. A well-angled windshield adds a sporty touch to the driving experience, and included with the GT-Line is an 8.0-inch touchscreen.
We have to agree with a few other expert testers that claimed the instrument panel closely resembles the clean aesthetics of a very well-known German competitor, and you'll love the Apple and Android phone mirroring available as wireless on all models. Creating the hottest new sedan in existence is very big news, and the amazingly low entry price as well as the thinning out of the signature “tiger face” front end has very adamantly turned many heads in the auto world!
The K5 GT-Line boasts the very first front-wheel-drive-based system in a Kia sedan, employing an elaborate electro-hydraulic system to control AWD coupling for a precision sense of handling. We had our share of the white stuff just this year here in Missouri, and the K5 GT-Line's “Snow” drive mode boosts the AWD system for stealth control and traction during or after a storm. All K5 models that carry the 1.6-Liter have now been equipped with Continuously Variable Valve Duration, which provides completely independent control of valve duration to add a noticeable boost to the K5's efficiency.
