Compare the2022 Honda AccordVS 2022 Kia K5

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Honda Accord has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The K5 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Accord deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Accord’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The K5’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Both the Accord and the K5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors 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 Honda Accord is safer than the Kia K5:

	Accord	K5
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	261	295
Leg Forces (l/r)	231/338 lbs.	444/276 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	266	373
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.5 inches
Neck Injury Risk	34%	50%
Neck Stress	140 lbs.	147 lbs.
Neck Compression	54 lbs.	58 lbs.

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 Honda Accord is safer than the Kia K5:

	Accord	K5
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.8 inches	1 inches
Abdominal Force	152 G’s	190 G’s
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	62 G’s	75 G’s
Hip Force	428 lbs.	687 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
HIC	242	297

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Accord, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 1.4% less likely to roll over than the K5, which received a four-star rating.

Warranty

The Accord’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the K5 runs out after 100,000 miles.

There are over 39 percent more Honda dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Accord’s warranty.

Reliability

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Accord’s reliability 14 points higher than the K5.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 10 places higher in reliability than Kia.

Engine

The Accord’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 12 more horsepower (192 vs. 180) than the K5 1.6T’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Honda Accord 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the K5 1.6T 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder:

	Accord	K5
Zero to 60 MPH	7.2 sec	7.8 sec
Quarter Mile	15.5 sec	16 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	92 MPH	87.4 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Accord gets better mileage than the K5:

			MPG
Accord
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	30 city/38 hwy
		Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	29 city/35 hwy
K5
	FWD	LX 1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	29 city/38 hwy
		1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	27 city/37 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/32 hwy
	AWD	1.6 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/33 hwy

Both the Accord 1.5T and the K5 LX have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stop lights and heavy traffic. All Accord 1.5Ts have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The Accord has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The K5 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda Accord higher (7 out of 10) than the Kia K5 (5). This means the Accord produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the K5 every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Accord 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the K5.

The Accord has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The K5 doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

The Accord stops much shorter than the K5:

	Accord	K5
70 to 0 MPH	162 feet	179 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	109 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Accord has larger standard tires than the K5 (225/50R17 vs. 205/65R16).

The Accord’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the K5 LX/LXS’ standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Accord has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the K5 LX/LXS.

Suspension and Handling

The Accord offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads. The K5’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

The Accord’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The K5 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The Accord Touring handles at .89 G’s, while the K5 EX pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Accord Sport executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the K5 EX (26.4 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

The front grille of the Accord Sport SE/EX-L uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The K5 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Accord uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The K5 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Accord has .3 inches more front shoulder room, 5.2 inches more rear legroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the K5.

Cargo Capacity

The Accord has a larger trunk than the K5 (16.7 vs. 16 cubic feet).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Accord easier. The Accord’s trunk lift-over height is 26.5 inches, while the K5’s liftover is 28.6 inches.

The Accord’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The K5 LX doesn’t offer folding rear seats.

With its sedan body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the Accord offers cargo security. The K5’s non-lockable remote release defeats cargo security.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Accord (except LX). The K5 doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

The Accord 2.0L Turbo offers up to a 1000 lbs. towing capacity. The K5 has no towing capacity.

Ergonomics

The Accord Touring has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The K5 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Accord’s front power windows 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 K5’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Accord the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the K5 can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Accord’s standard speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The K5’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Accord Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

Consumer Reports rated the Accord’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the K5’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

When the Accord Touring is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The K5’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Both the Accord and the K5 offer available heated front seats. The Accord Touring also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the K5.

Economic Advantages

The Accord will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Accord will retain 49.19% to 52.23% of its original price after five years, while the K5 only retains 45.29% to 47.51%.

Recommendations

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

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its May 2021 issue and the Honda Accord EX-L won out over the Kia K5 GT-Line AWD.

The Accord was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 25 of the last 27 years. The K5 has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

The Accord 2.0T Sport was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” in 2018. The K5 has never been an “All Star.”

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Accord as the 2018 North American Car of the Year. The K5 has never been chosen.

The Honda Accord outsold the Kia K5/Optima by almost five to one during the 2021 model year.