While the GT-Line gets many of the cosmetics from the GT, only the GT gets the full-blooded 290-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged inline-4 engine that makes a massive 311 lb-ft of torque and is mated to an 8-speed double-clutch transmission.
All that power is delivered to the front two wheels which means lots of torque steer that requires a bit of steering wheel wrestling to keep the K5 pointed straight under wide-open throttle maneuvers. It’s not unmanageable, but a proper set of summer performance tires over the all-season performance tires would help tremendously.
Overall, this is a fantastic package but a lot of that power is wasted on the K5 without a full-effort performance offering. A limited-slip differential, proper tires, and a more aggressive suspension would help keep the rubber firmly planted on the road. As it stands, it’s still a lot of fun but it has to be used sparingly otherwise fun turns into frustration quickly.
That aside, Kia has done a great job of balancing performance and comfort. This isn’t an all-out performance sedan though, and shouldn’t be confused with some of the more extreme performance sedan offerings that are better equipped to handle the power. If it were left to us, we’d save ourselves some money and buy the K5 GT-Line which gives you 75% of the excellent experience of the K5 GT without the power that can’t quite be used to its full potential.
The Kia K5 GT starts at $32,285 after destination and our tester equipped with the GT1 package came in at $32,285.
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