The refreshed 2025 Kia K5 midsize sedan rolls into the new year with a fresh look, a standard 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a starting price of $28,145, including a $1,155 destination fee, Kia announced Friday.
That’s a $1,630 price increase over the 2024 Kia K5, which used to be known as the Kia Optima sedan. That costs less than the 2024 Hyundai Sonata that shares a platform and it’s less than the $29,000 Honda Accord that was redesigned for 2023, but it’s not the value play it once was. The carryover 2024 Nissan Altima starts at $26,825, and the 2025 Subaru Legacy starts at $26,040 with standard all-wheel drive, making it the value play of the segment.
The only 2025 Kia K5 with all-wheel drive is the GT-Line, which is $30,745.
The LXS, GT-Line, and EX now have a new 2.5-liter inline-4 that replaces the old 1.6-liter turbo-4. Output increases 11 hp to 191 hp and 181 lb-ft. It has an 8-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive standard.
2025 Kia K5
The interior sports more significant changes with the new large touchscreen that sidewinds into an available 12.0-inch digital instrument cluster. A narrow climate control screen sits below the touchscreen and has two climate dials as well as haptic touch controls for other features.
Every model comes equipped with driver-assist tech such as automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, active lane control, blind-spot monitors, adaptive cruise control, and a driver-attention monitor. Along with the Hyundai Sonata, the K5’s biggest advantage over rivals is a 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty.
The base XLS rides on 16-inch wheels and has cloth upholstery.
The GT-Line costs either $29,145 with FWD or $30,745 with AWD. Those are increases of $1,130 from last year. In addition to heated front seats, it has synthetic leather upholstery, and acoustic glass on the front windshield. It rides on 18-inch alloy wheels.
The EX gets the biggest price increase and the biggest boost in features, and tops the lineup now. At $35,645, it costs $5,230 more than the 2024 EX, adds cooled front seats and a sunroof, a 10-way power driver seat, a heated steering wheel, power folding mirrors, and a Bose 12-speaker sound system that was optional last year.
The GT carries over its 2.5-liter turbo-4 that makes 290 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque. It has an 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission sending power to the front wheels only. It costs less than the EX at $34,245.
The 2025 Kia K5 arrives at dealers this spring.