K5 GT, Kia has impressed me

[Jmitchelltfo]

Picked this car up last month after searching a large part of the country for the right colors and options that my wife wanted.

Put on some new wheels and tires to replace the 61 pound stock versions. The Enkei and Michelin combo is 45 pounds and the tires make a huge difference on this car.

I’ve been very impressed with the 2.5T and DCT. It’s quick and gets decent fuel mileage when you can keep your foot out of it. My wife loves it and says she will never go back to a crossover or SUV since she loves how this sedan handles. I think she will love it a little more with the PS4S tires.

 

[Rand]

looks nice but watch out for bending wheels.. the stock heavy ones bend.... let alone lighter ones.
Check where the "inside" sidewall meets the rim. when you are rotating the tires.

Those tires are a great option without being ridiculous on a daily driver.

 

[Nick1994]

The K5 is a good looking car with a nice interior too.

 

[CKN]

Picked this car up last month after searching a large part of the country for the right colors and options that my wife wanted.

Put on some new wheels and tires to replace the 61 pound stock versions. The Enkei and Michelin combo is 45 pounds and the tires make a huge difference on this car.

I’ve been very impressed with the 2.5T and DCT. It’s quick and gets decent fuel mileage when you can keep your foot out of it. My wife loves it and says she will never go back to a crossover or SUV since she loves how this sedan handles. I think she will love it a little more with the PS4S tires.

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The DCT in the TURBO KIA Sorrento is quickly becoming a disaster. If this is indeed the same power train (2.5 turbo w/the DCT) as your vehicle-I have no idea why the owner reviews are so bad with the same power train in a different vehicle. Maybe tuning?

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

looks nice but watch out for bending wheels.. the stock heavy ones bend.... let alone lighter ones.
Check where the "inside" sidewall meets the rim. when you are rotating the tires.

Those tires are a great option without being ridiculous on a daily driver.

That exactly why I went from 19’s to 18’s. The extra sidewall (245/45/18) will help mitigate pothole and curb damage.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

The K5 is a good looking car with a nice interior too.

We got the brown interior, it is sharp for sure.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

The DCT in the TURBO KIA Sorrento is quickly becoming a disaster. If this is indeed the same power train (2.5 turbo w/the DCT) as your vehicle-I have no idea why the owner reviews are so bad with the same power train in a different vehicle. Maybe tuning?

No clue about the Sorrento, but I have a deposit on a Santa Cruz with the 2.5T/DCT (my wife’s car has impressed me that much) and the majority of owners on that forum seem to be happy besides not getting great fuel mileage since they can’t keep out of the boost.

 

[Zaedock]

We test drove one and really liked it. It was punchy and quick. My wife wanted something with a little more power, but the K5 was a close second.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

We test drove one and really liked it. It was punchy and quick. My wife wanted something with a little more power, but the K5 was a close second.

I’m guessing that the Stinger in your signature is what she chose. We test drove a 2.5T and 3.3TT Stinger. My wife loved the hatch but the rear seat room and the fact that the tech is a generation behind, made the K5 her winner. I would have loved to have AWD for my wife, but I’ve been impressed with the FWD as long as you use the throttle judiciously coming out of corners.

 

[Rand]

We test drove one and really liked it. It was punchy and quick. My wife wanted something with a little more power, but the K5 was a close second.

So I'm guessing you test drove the 2.5 k5 not the 1.6? and bought the 3.3 stinger?
because the gt 2.5 k5 has more hp than the 21 stinger base 2.0?

 

[benjy]

looks nice + the smaller + lighter wheels were a good move! quality lighter aftermarket are often stronger than cheep cast OE wheels + not using typical rubber band tyres give a better ride while protecting the wheels. i surely agree with the sedan choice as they are cheeper, handle better + generally better performance + or mpgs. girlfriends 18 optima 2.4 has been great + she loves it!

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

looks nice + the smaller + lighter wheels were a good move! quality lighter aftermarket are often stronger than cheep cast OE wheels + not using typical rubber band tyres give a better ride while protecting the wheels. i surely agree with the sedan choice as they are cheeper, handle better + generally better performance + or mpgs. girlfriends 18 optima 2.4 has been great + she loves it!

Enkei has perfected their MAT process which is a combination of forging and casting. I’m sure that’s a terrible oversimplification, but that’s how I understand it anyway. I just know that they are lightweight, strong and not terribly expensive.

I bought a set of RPF1 wheels for my Santa Cruz which I have wanted ever since I owned an Integra about 20 years ago. These should be a nice improvement over the stock 20’s.

 

[Finklejag]

Hope she doesn’t drive like every Optima/K5 owner here in the PNW.

 

[RooflessVW]

That exactly why I went from 19’s to 18’s. The extra sidewall (245/45/18) will help mitigate pothole and curb damage.

19s are a stupid size and I don't know why manufacturers keep forcing them on us. 18 or 20 inch wheels have more tire choices and they're cheaper to boot.

 

[Rand]

19s are a stupid size and I don't know why manufacturers keep forcing them on us. 18 or 20 inch wheels have more tire choices and they're cheaper to boot.

esp when 16's clear the brakes? (not on this specific car perhaps , but in the past)

 

[RooflessVW]

esp when 16's clear the brakes? (not on this specific car perhaps , but in the past)

16's were the oddball size before 19's. If you had a car with 16's 20 years ago you were better off going with 15" or 17". That's still true.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

esp when 16's clear the brakes? (not on this specific car perhaps , but in the past)

18’s are definitely the smallest I can go with a 13.6” rotor up front. Kia upgraded the brakes quite a bit from the other K5’s for the GT.

I think it is a similar setup to what they put on the non-brembo equipped stingers.

It will stop from 60-0 in 103 feet when equipped with PS4S tires according to some instrumented tests I saw. So they are plenty good enough……..just dusty as hell due to all that “grab”.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

19s are a stupid size and I don't know why manufacturers keep forcing them on us. 18 or 20 inch wheels have more tire choices and they're cheaper to boot.

I’m a cheapskate along with wanting to make incremental improvements to my wife’s daily driver.

18’s were my only option.

It ended up saving me 20-25 pounds and $300 vs a comparable set of 19’s. And I still would have been paranoid about potholes and curbs since my wife isn’t quite as careful as I am when it comes to avoiding obstacles.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

Hope she doesn’t drive like every Optima/K5 owner here in the PNW.

Sounds like Texas and PNW are similar. If you are referring to aggressive and idiotic drivers that make a normal person want to commit an act of road rage.

 

[Zaedock]

So I'm guessing you test drove the 2.5 k5 not the 1.6? and bought the 3.3 stinger?
because the gt 2.5 k5 has more hp than the 21 stinger base 2.0?

That's correct. She had no interest in the 1.6.