Compare the2023 Toyota CamryVS 2023 Kia K5

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Camry have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Kia K5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The Toyota Camry 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.

The Camry has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats (WIL), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WIL system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The K5 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Camry has a standard Secondary Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The K5 doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

Both the Camry and the K5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, available 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 Toyota Camry is safer than the Kia K5:

	Camry	K5
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	140	295
Neck Injury Risk	20%	21%
Neck Compression	13 lbs.	21 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	335	373
Neck Injury Risk	21%	50%
Neck Stress	136 lbs.	147 lbs.
Neck Compression	45 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 Toyota Camry is safer than the Kia K5:

	Camry	K5
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.7 inches	1 inches
Abdominal Force	136 lbs.	190 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	48 G’s	75 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	164	297

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

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Camry its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The K5 has not been fully tested, yet.

Warranty

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

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Camry for 2 years and 25000 miles. Toyota will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the K5.

There are over 59 percent more Toyota dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Camry’s warranty.

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota first in overall reliability. Kia is ranked 9th.

Engine

The Camry’s optional 3.5 DOHC V6 produces 11 more horsepower (301 vs. 290) than the K5 GT 2.5T’s optional 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Camry 4 cyl. is faster than the K5 1.6T 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder:

	Camry	K5
Zero to 60 MPH	7.5 sec	7.8 sec
Quarter Mile	15.8 sec	16 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	90.4 MPH	87.4 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Camry
	FWD	LE/SE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	28 city/39 hwy
		XLE 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	27 city/38 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/34 hwy
K5
	FWD	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

Brakes and Stopping

The Camry stops much shorter than the K5:

	Camry	K5
70 to 0 MPH	156 feet	179 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	133 feet	140 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Camry has larger standard tires than the K5 (215/55R17 vs. 205/65R16).

The Camry LE’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the K5 LXS’ standard 65 series tires.

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

Suspension and Handling

The Camry TRD handles at .94 G’s, while the K5 EX pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Camry XSE executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the K5 EX (26.7 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The Camry has .2 inches more rear headroom and 2.8 inches more rear legroom than the K5.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Camry easier. The Camry’s trunk lift-over height is 26.8 inches, while the K5’s liftover is 28.6 inches.

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

Ergonomics

The Camry XLE/XSE offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, tachometer 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 Camry’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 K5’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Camry 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. (This window function must be activated by your Toyota service department.) The driver of the K5 can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Camry’s 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.

Recommendations

The Toyota Camry has won recognition from these important consumer publications:

	Camry	K5
Consumer Reports® Recommends	TRUE	TRUE
Car Book “Best Bet”	TRUE	n/a

The Toyota Camry outsold the Kia K5 by over four to one during 2022.

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