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2021 Kia K5 GT-Line Review by Mark Fulmer


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Kia's Killer New Sedan with Flash and Dash

by Mark Fulmer
The Auto Channel


Flash. Looking like it just finished a blazing chase scene in a sci-fi thriller, the Kia K5 swaggers onto the sedan scene with a clean distinctive design and a sports car-ish low profile.


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The GT-Line’s interior has an upscale design usually found on cars twice the price. The seats are upholstered in breathable materials that are both comfortable and supportive. The center console includes wireless charging in a vertically-mounted charger which keeps your itchy fingers off your cell phone itself. After all, with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, and Bluetooth connectivity, there is no need to get tickets or cause accidents by handling your smart phone. A nice little sfx (sound effects) addition is environmental audio. You can select rain, forest, ocean, fireplace, or cafe sound files as a option from all the miryad music and talk channels to let your own imagination and memories wander.


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The second row seats are equally comfortable without cramping legroom or head room. Although it is legal to have three passengers back there, the one in the middle needs to be young, or thin, or cuddley.


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The trunk surprised me. And reminded me of the first time I went spelunking. The trunk hasn't a lot of height, but it does have an impressive depth to its 16 cubic feet when the rear seatbacks are flattened.


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Dash. Powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that creates 180 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque, the K5 has an eight-speed automatic transmission with a manual-shift mode. It performs like a luxury sport sedan and easily handles all types of roads. But driving a car that looks this quick, I found myself setting the driving mode to SPORT+ and enjoying its responsiveness, precision and agility. Freeway driving was relaxed due to its firm grip on the road and knowing that the turbo boost was ready when needed.


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Safety features on the GT-Line include rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist, forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping and lane-following assist, blind-spot collision avoidance assist, and leading vehicle departure alert.


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It is an understatement to say there is a good deal of buzz about the K5. It is well deserved for the flashy new K5.


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