Compare the2022 Kia K5VS 2021 Nissan Altima

Both the K5 and Altima have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The K5 EX Premium/GT-1 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Altima’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

Both the K5 and the Altima have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia K5 is safer than the Nissan Altima:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Kia K5 is safer than the Nissan Altima:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the K5 its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 102 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Altima is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2019.

The K5 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Altima’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the K5 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Nissan covers the Altima. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Altima ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the K5 has a standard 130-amp alternator. The Altima’s standard 120-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 25 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 13th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Nissan vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 31 more problems per 100 vehicles, Nissan is ranked 21st.

The K5 has more powerful engines than the Altima:

As tested in Car and Driver the K5 1.6T 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Nissan Altima 4 cyl.:

As tested in Motor Trend the K5 GT 2.5T 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Nissan Altima 2.5:

On the EPA test cycle the K5 1.6T LX FWD gets better fuel mileage than the Altima SR FWD CVT turbo 4 cyl. (29 city/38 hwy vs. 25 city/34 hwy).

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia K5 uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Altima SR requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

For better stopping power the K5’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Altima:

The K5 stops shorter than the Altima:

For better traction, the K5 GT’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Altima (245/40R19 vs. 235/40R19).

The K5 GT-Line AWD handles at .86 G’s, while the Altima SV AWD pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The K5 GT executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the Altima SV AWD (26.3 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the K5’s turning circle is .1 feet tighter than the Altima S’ (36 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The K5’s turning circle is 1.4 feet tighter than the Altima SR/SV/SL/Platinum’s (36 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the K5 EX is quieter than the Altima SR AWD (67 vs. 70 dB).

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the K5 a Large car, while the Altima is rated a Mid-size.

The K5 has 4.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Altima (105.3 vs. 100.8).

The K5 has 1 inch more front headroom, 2.3 inches more front legroom, 1.9 inches more front hip room, .9 inches more rear headroom and 2.1 inches more rear hip room than the Altima.

The K5 has a larger trunk than the Altima (16 vs. 15.4 cubic feet).

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the K5 LXS/GT-Line/EX/GT’s trunk can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Altima doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The K5 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Altima uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The K5’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Altima’s parking brake has to released manually.

The power windows standard on both the K5 and the Altima have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the K5 is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Altima prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The K5 EX Premium/GT-1’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Altima SL/Platinum’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The K5’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Altima’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The K5’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Heated mirrors cost extra on the Altima and aren’t offered on the Altima S.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the K5 (except LX/LXS/GT-Line) keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Altima doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The K5 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Altima SL/Platinum.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia K5 GT-Line/EX/GT has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Altima doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Kia K5 and the Nissan Altima, based on reliability, safety and performance.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its May 2021 issue and they ranked the Kia K5 GT-Line AWD five places higher than the Nissan Altima SR.