When an automaker drops an ad comparing its car to a rival brand’s product, you know who’s going to win. Despite the predictable outcome every single time, people still watch these commercials. That’s why car companies are not giving up on this type of advertisement. Case in point, Kia’s latest marketing effort is to organize a drag race and a handling test between the K5 and a BMW 5 Series.
I know what you’re probably thinking by now – who is cross-shopping a Kia against a BMW? Nevertheless, the South Korean brand points out the K5 GT is a tenth of a second quicker to 60 mph. The Kia does the job in 5.4 seconds while the BMW takes 5.5 seconds. This unexpected duel continued with a cornering performance test. Guess what? The Kia won that, too. It pulled 0.93 Gs compared to the BMW’s 0.90 Gs.
Not that we’re trying to find any excuses for the 530i, but the 5 Series doesn’t really compete with the K5 GT. The “G60” is a luxury car, so it’s bound to be substantially heavier. The latest 5er is also a much bigger car. In addition, we can’t help but notice that Kia deliberately picked a base 5er while the K5 is conveniently the hotter GT.
Then there’s the massive price difference between the two. The 530i starts at $59,375 whereas a K5 GT will set you back $34,245 before options. Does Kia really think there are people out there saying: “I’ll save $25,130 by getting the K5 GT instead of a 530i”?
Kia did have a legitimate sports sedan that had bigger chances of luring in BMW fans. We’re talking about the Stinger, but the V6-powered, rear-wheel-drive vehicle went out of production last year. It was more along the lines of a 3 Series rival rather than a 5 Series competitor anyway.
Source: Kia America / YouTube