Compare the2023 Kia K5VS 2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Kia K5 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Alfa Romeo Giulia doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the K5 and Giulia have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The K5 EX/GT offers optional 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 Giulia’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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the K5 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Giulia doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The K5 EX/GT offers optional Parking Collision Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Giulia doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The K5 EX/GT offers an optional Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Giulia only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the K5 has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Giulia.

Both the K5 and the Giulia have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.

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 vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the K5 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 81 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Giulia has not been fully tested, yet.

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 Giulia’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the K5 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Alfa Romeo covers the Giulia. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Giulia ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 6 times as many Kia dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the K5’s warranty.

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 K5’s reliability 31 points higher than the Giulia.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the K5 second among midsize cars in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The Giulia isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 55 more problems per 100 vehicles, Alfa Romeo is ranked 27th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 100 more problems per 100 vehicles, Alfa Romeo is ranked 29th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Alfa Romeo vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 14 places higher in reliability than Alfa Romeo.

The K5 GT 2.5T’s standard 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 10 more horsepower (290 vs. 280) and 5 lbs.-ft. more torque (311 vs. 306) than the Giulia’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the K5 GT 2.5T 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Alfa Romeo Giulia:

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

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia K5 higher (5 out of 10) than the Alfa Romeo Giulia (3). This means the K5 produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Giulia every 15,000 miles.

The K5 offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Giulia doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

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

The K5 stops much shorter than the Giulia:

For better traction, the K5 GT’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Giulia (245/40R19 vs. 225/40R19).

The K5 has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Giulia; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the K5’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the Giulia (112.2 inches vs. 111 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the K5 is 2.5 inches wider in the front and .1 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Giulia.

The K5 GT handles at .86 G’s, while the Giulia Ti Q4 pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The K5 GT executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Giulia Ti (26.3 seconds @ .69 average G’s vs. 27.1 seconds @ .66 average G’s).

The Kia K5 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 100 to 350 pounds less than the Alfa Romeo Giulia.

As tested by Car and Driver while cruising at 70 MPH, the interior of the K5 EX is quieter than the Giulia Ti (67 vs. 68 dB).

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

The K5 has 9.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Giulia (105.3 vs. 95.4).

The K5 has 1.6 inches more front headroom, 3.7 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more front hip room, 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, .2 inches more rear headroom, .1 inches more rear legroom, 2.9 inches more rear hip room and 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Giulia.

The K5 has a much larger trunk than the Giulia (16 vs. 12 cubic feet).

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

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

Consumer Reports® recommends the Kia K5, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Alfa Romeo Giulia isn't recommended.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the K5 first among midsize cars in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Giulia isn’t in the top three.

The Kia K5/Optima outsold the Alfa Romeo Giulia by over five to one during the 2021 model year.