Kia’s showcased its K5 facelift model in an event in South Korea on Thursday and confirmed the 2.5 Turbo model won’t be available in South Korea but that doesn’t mean it won’t be available in North America. Our colleagues at Motorsjason captured the US-spec high performance K5 GT.
Kia announced on the 2nd that it has officially launched ‘The New K5’ by holding a K5 Photo Media Day event at ‘Nudite Seoul Forest’ in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. The K5 is a commerciality improvement model of the third-generation K5, which was launched in 2019, and has a higher product quality by applying a futuristic and dynamic design and various advanced specifications.
The K5’s appearance has evolved more intensely, reflecting the offer. The front reinterprets the daytime driving light (DRL), which is reminiscent of a heartbeat, as ‘Star Map Signature Lighting’, creating a strong and futuristic impression, and adding a solid feel to the wing-shaped bumper design. The side has a new multi-spoke wheel and the rear has a star map lighting-shaped rear combination lamp that emphasizes the width and three-dimensionality.
Jeon Eun-seok, 3rd team leader of the Kia MLV Project, said, “I was worried about the high level of the existing design perfection (launching a product quality improvement model). I tried to change the vehicle design greatly while inheriting the design philosophy, but the customer’s current design satisfaction was so high, so I decided on the design direction to maintain the K5 DNA.”
The interior consists of a stylish and open space with horizontally oriented design elements with advanced technology such as panoramic curved display, infotainment and air conditioning switching operation system. The panoramic curved display, each with a smooth connection of a 12.3-inch cluster and infotainment system, creates a driver-centered, futuristic atmosphere and delivers a variety of information in a unified way with the application of the next-generation infotainment system ‘ccNC’.
In addition, Kia applied an infotainment and air conditioning switching operation system that optimized the button configuration to the K5 to simplify the crash pad and applied a smartphone wireless charging system to the front tray below to increase ease of use.
Kia brings an enhanced driving sensibility to the K5, providing customers with a comfortable and comfortable driving experience. The K5’s front and rear suspensions are optimized for its characteristics and materials to provide improved ride comfort by more effectively absorbing road residuals and shocks while maintaining agile driving performance.
The material where the body and the windshield meet is reinforced, and the impact-absorbing parts of the rear wheel member and the material of the front wheel member are optimized to reduce the load noise transmitted from the ground to the vehicle. The double-connected sound-up glass has been expanded from the existing front glass and the front seat to the rear seat to increase the quietness.Kia delivers advanced software experiences based on ‘software-driven vehicles’ (SDV) to customers through a range of connectivity features on the K5. The K5 has been natively equipped with a wireless software update to keep the functions associated with the vehicle’s main electronic controls up to date. In addition, ‘Streaming Plus’ was applied to enjoy video and high-quality sound content through the infotainment system.
However, the powertrain is the same as before. Nothing will be added or changed in the future. In particular, it dismissed that there are no plans to launch a 2.5 turbo model or ‘GT Line’. The 2.5 Turbo will be available only in North America.
Kim Jong-hyuk, head manager of Kia’s domestic product 2 team, said, “As Stinger was discontinued, there was a demand for a high-horse engine among consumers, so we considered adding it, but there are no plans to launch it at this time because of the customer’s economic burden while there are no plans to launch the PHEV (plug-in hybrid) model.”
Pictures by LaffeyChino
