When it comes to midsize family sedans, there are likely two names that immediately spring to mind: Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. While the latter may be the perennial sales king, for the better part of the past five years, the former has been a MotorTrend go-to pick for family sedan recommendations. The 10th-generation Honda Accord does so much so well, with handsome sheetmetal, a spacious cabin, great powertrains, and even better driving dynamics. But, as the current Accord grays, a stylish new challenger has appeared on the horizon with the hopes of upsetting the “Camcord” family sedan dynamic: the 2021 Kia K5. To find out if the new kid on the block has what it takes to take on the segment leaders, we got our hands on a 2021 Kia K5 GT-Line AWD and a 2021 Honda Accord 1.5T EX-L and put both to work in a battery of tests.
Spec Showdown
You’re probably more familiar with the Accord than the K5. On sale since 2017 and mildly refreshed for 2021, the 10th-generation Honda Accord is one of the best yet. Its lineup runs the gamut from fuel-sipping hybrid to premium sport sedan—with the latter example even besting the likes of the Audi A4 in our “Is Luxury Worth It?” comparison test. For this comparison, we opted for the basic family transport iteration, a near-top-spec Accord EX-L model. Sporting a standard 1.5-liter turbocharged I-4 engine, this Honda makes a healthy 192 hp and 192 lb-ft of torque and pairs it to a CVT automatic. Like most vehicles in the segment, the Accord is front-wheel drive.
“K5” may bring to mind the legendary Chevy off-roader of the same name stateside, but in its home country of South Korea, Kia has been selling what we knew as the Kia Optima as the K5 for over 10 years. Seeking to simplify its international naming structure, Kia dropped the Optima name upon the introduction of what would have been the fifth-gen version last year.
The new 2021 Kia K5 picks up where the old Optima left off, with sporty Kia Stinger-inspired styling, premium cabins, and, like the Honda, a multitude of different powertrain options. For this comparison, we opted for a racy-looking (but midlevel) K5 GT-Line. It, like most K5s, comes standard with a 1.6-liter turbocharged I-4 making 180 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. Paired with an eight-speed automatic, Kia offers the K5 in either front- or all-wheel drive. Kia sent us the latter for this comparison.
What’s Cooking, Good-Looking?
Parked next to each other in a parking lot, there’s no denying that the new K5 is the sharper of the two cars. “I’m glad someone is trying to be different, and with Kia’s design language, it works,” staff editor Conner Golden said. With styling inspired by the criminally overlooked Stinger, the K5 is a looker, with its sporty, sharp lines, fastback roofline, racy rear “diffuser,” and its arresting S-shaped amber daytime running lights.
The Accord isn’t an ugly car—just the opposite, in fact—but alongside the Kia, the Honda looks almost homely. “Everything about this car strikes me as a little more formal, a little more mature,” features editor Scott Evans said. “It’s stylish but not as youthful and playful as the K5.”
Inside, it’s much the same story. The K5 makes a killer first impression, with red leather, a flat-bottom steering wheel, and an expansive infotainment screen. The feel-good details weren’t missed, either, with editors liking the artfully designed speakers, HVAC vents, and radio “tube” graphics, even if overall materials quality paled in comparison to the Honda.
Like the company it comes from, the Accord’s cabin is reserved, but well thought-out. “The fake wood trim looks real, the leather feels soft, and the seats are supportive,” MotorTrend en Español managing editor Miguel Cortina said. But the 2021 Accord is beginning to show its age, somewhat. “The Accord’s instrument cluster and infotainment screen—in comparison to the K5’s—seem small and are beginning to show their age,” Cortina added.
When it comes to space, the K5 and Accord are closely matched. The K5 has more headroom and front legroom, but the Accord wins on rear legroom and shoulder room. In our minds, as long as your head isn’t touching the headliner and you have enough room to stretch your legs up front (which both cars offer), we’ll happily take a more spacious, adult-friendly back seat. Kids don’t stay small forever, after all.
Both Accord and K5 are evenly matched when it comes to trunk space. The South Korean-branded car (interestingly, both the K5 and Accord are made stateside) has a slightly smaller trunk than the Japanese one, at 16.0 cubic feet versus 16.7 cubic feet for the Honda.
Accord vs. K5: Behind the Wheel
Evenly matched in the battle of the back seat, the Honda and Kia remain stuck in a stalemate at the test track. The Accord is the quicker of the two sedans. It accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds, aces our 45-65-mph passing test in 3.7 seconds, and it goes through the quarter mile in 15.5 seconds at 92.0 mph. The AWD hardware slows the Kia down a touch in all regards: 7.4 seconds to 60 mph, 3.8 seconds from 45 to 65 mph, and 15.7 seconds for the quarter mile at a time-travelin’ 88.8 mph.
But the Kia makes up some serious ground in our braking and handling tests. The K5’s best 60-0-mph panic stop was in 116 feet, while it lapped the figure eight in 26.8 seconds at 0.64 g average. Hobbled by low-rolling-resistance tires, the Accord’s best 60-0 stop was in 129 feet, and its best figure eight lap was 27.1 seconds at 0.63 g.
Although the tires hurt the Accord’s braking and handling numbers, they do help the Honda in EPA fuel economy tests; it’s EPA-rated at 30/38/33 mpg city/highway/combined. The Kia, meanwhile, nets 26/34/29 mpg–largely in part to its optional all-wheel drive system and extra 243 pounds of curbweight.
Once we leave the confines of the test track, the Accord and K5 really begin to separate from each other.
Where the Kia’s wrapper promises sporty, Stinger-like performance, the K5 GT-Line is pretty underwhelming to drive (especially given how enjoyable the full-bore K5 GT is). The Kia’s little engine is probably the biggest offender. Getting the K5 moving feels like squeezing toothpaste out of an empty tube, with the engine making what little power it has high up in its rev range. Worse, the engine is unrefined, vibrating the steering wheel and pedals both at idle and at speed, and filling the cabin with an unpleasant, agricultural-sounding engine note under modest acceleration.
The K5’s ride and handling could use some work, too. While some editors thought it felt a bit sporty, all agreed that it had a tendency to find bumps that simply don’t exist when driven over in the Honda. And, unlike some of Kia’s other products, the K5 GT-Line’s steering feel is vague and uninspiring. “Wholly unremarkable,” Golden said. “Acceleration? Fine. Braking? Fine. Steering? Fine. Nothing to see here, Captain.”
The Accord, on the other hand, drew comparisons to the likes of Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, and even Porsche. “It doesn’t seem to do anything particularly well at first, but then you realize how everything about it just works,” executive editor Mac Morrison said. “The quality of the engineering just shines through.”
From a driver’s perspective, Honda, somehow, has managed a near-perfect balance of engagement and comfort. It’s not outright sporty like the Accord Sport or Touring 2.0T, but the Accord EX-L handles wonderfully, with light, smooth, predictable steering and a firm but well-damped ride. And although the Accord’s powertrain is hardly a paragon of excitement, the engine has a broad powerband that starts where it matters—low in its rev range—and the CVT works to keep the engine spinning there, resulting in plenty of get up and go.
Accord vs. K5: Pricing Breakdown
When it comes to pricing and features, Honda and Kia are pretty evenly matched: Both have a full suite of driver assist and active safety features, are Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-friendly, and have creature comforts like heated front seats—with the Kia even adding in a heated steering wheel. Honda sells the Accord like it does all its cars—with minimal options, so our EX-L example stickered for $32,285. Kia only offers a handful of options on the K5; our tester had the aforementioned all-wheel-drive system and the GT-Line AWD Special Edition package, which included its neat gray paint, red faux-leather seats, navigation, and radar cruise control. It costs $31,430.
The Verdict: Which Is Better, the Accord or K5?
Although the K5 and Accord are fairly evenly matched, for our money the Honda is the clear winner. The K5 offers up fantastic style and value, but it doesn’t quite feel like Kia’s engineering team held up its end of the bargain. The Accord may be less flashy, but it’s a remarkably well engineered, comfortable, and nice-driving family sedan. We’ll let senior features editor Jonny Lieberman have the final word:
“The Accord is, has been, and remains the benchmark against which all others in the segment should be rightfully judged. This is a car I could easily live with—yes, even a high-horsepower high-performance junkie like me. Not because the Honda Accord is so fast or handles so great, but there’s such a quality to its engineering. Probably the best midsize family sedan of all time.”
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