Compared: 2024 Kia K5 vs. 2024 Nissan Altima
The affordable Kia and feature-filled Nissan offer subtle differences if you're shopping for a midsize sedan.
Kia | Nissan
QuickTakes:
Car buyers looking for a midsize sedan should have the 2024 Kia K5 and the 2024 Nissan Altima on their radar. These five-seat family four-doors are relatively affordable in their class and offer various trim levels and options.
Kia
Kia K5 Is a Less Expensive Family Sedan Than the Nissan Altima
The Kia K5 and Nissan Altima are similar in offering four trim levels, four-cylinder engines, automatic transmissions, standard front-wheel drive (FWD), and available all-wheel drive (AWD). From the base to the top trims, though, the K5 is more affordable.
The base K5 LXS starts at around $27,000 and has a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine making 180 horsepower. The starter Altima S is priced around $27,000 and comes with a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine making 188 horsepower.
Nissan
The $3,000 K5 GT-Line AWD is the only way to get all-wheel drive with the Kia. In contrast, Nissan offers AWD as a $1,500 option on the SV, SL, and non-turbo SR trims.
More powerful engines are available in the sportier $33,000 K5 GT with its 290-hp turbo 2.5-liter four-cylinder and the $37,000 Altima SR with the 248-hp turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder.
Kia
The Nissan Altima Has More Standard Driver-Assistance Features
The Kia family sedan has many standard driver-assistance features for safety-conscious buyers, including auto emergency braking, blind-spot detection, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance, lane-keeping and following assist, and driver-attention warning.
Adaptive cruise control is an option in the K5's higher trims. Nissan's family sedan has all the same driver-assistance features on its lower trim levels, but adaptive cruise control is standard only on higher trims.
Kia makes front-seat heaters standard for buyers seeking cold-climate comfort in three out of four trims, with the GT-Line AWD getting a heated steering wheel.
For warmer days, the Kia K5 EX adds ventilated seats. The Nissan Altima makes seat heat and ventilation standard on its top two trims. Those versions also have a heated steering wheel.
Nissan
The tech setups are a little different. The K5 features an 8.0-inch touchscreen with the base trim but a 10.3-inch touchscreen on all others. The base Altima has a 5.0-inch driver display screen and a 7.0-inch touchscreen, with higher trims opting for a 7.0-inch advanced driver display and a 12.3-inch touchscreen.
K5 and Altima owners must plug in to connect to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, but wireless charging is only on higher trims. The Nissan offers a Wi-Fi hot spot on its middle trims, and it comes standard on the highest ones. The K5 does not offer a Wi-Fi hot spot.
Nissan
Altima Sips Less Fuel Than K5
Although both midsize sedans are relatively fuel efficient, the Nissan beats the Kia overall.
The Altima's fuel economy is 27/39/32 mpg city/highway/combined with the base four-cylinder. Opting for all-wheel drive nudges it to 26/36/30 mpg, while the turbo version is the thirstiest in the lineup at 25/34/29 mpg.
Kia
The K5 isn't quite as thrifty. Base versions are estimated at 27/37/31 mpg and 25/33/28 mpg with all-wheel drive. The turbocharged GT checks in at 24/32/27 mpg.
All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication) and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.
