Compare the2027 Dodge Charger VS 2026 Kia K5

The Dodge Charger has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help 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.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Charger. But it costs extra on the K5.

Both the Charger and the K5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear 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, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Dodge Charger weighs 1145 to 2598 pounds more than the Kia K5. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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

There are almost 3 times as many Dodge dealers as there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Charger’s warranty.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Charger has a standard 230-amp alternator. The K5’s 150-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Dodge vehicles are better in initial quality than Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Dodge above average in initial quality. With 1 more problem per 100 vehicles, Kia is rated lower.

The Charger has more powerful engines than the K5:

	Horsepower	Torque
Charger R/T 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder	420 HP	468 lbs.-ft.
Charger Scat Pack 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder	550 HP	531 lbs.-ft.
Charger Super Bee 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder	600 HP	531 lbs.-ft.
Charger Daytona Scat Pack electric motors	670 HP	627 lbs.-ft.
K5 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder	191 HP	181 lbs.-ft.
K5 GT 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder	290 HP	311 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Car and Driver the Dodge Charger is faster than the K5 GT 2.5 turbo 4-cylinder:

	Charger R/T	Charger Scat Pack	K5
Zero to 60 MPH	4.7 sec	3.7 sec	5.1 sec

On the EPA test cycle the Charger running on electricity gets better mileage than the K5:

			MPGe
Charger
	AWD	Scat Pack 305 Tires Electric Motors	93 city/79 hwy
		Scat Pack All Season 325 Tires Electric Motors	82 city/73 hwy
		Scat Pack Performance 325 Tires Electric Motors	80 city/70 hwy
K5
			MPG
	FWD	LXS 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	26 city/37 hwy
		GT-Line/EX 2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/36 hwy
		2.5 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/33 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	24 city/33 hwy

The Charger can travel with zero emissions for 223 to 267 miles (dependent on model). The K5 can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the Charger Daytona’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The K5 doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

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

The Charger Six Pack has 1.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the K5 (17.5 vs. 15.8 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Charger 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.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Dodge Charger higher (6 to 10 out of 10) than the Kia K5 (4 to 6). This means the Charger produces up to 25 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the K5 every 15,000 miles.

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

	Charger R/T	Charger Super Bee	K5	K5 GT
Front Rotors	13.9 inches	16 inches	12 inches	13.6 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	16 inches	11.2 inches	12.8 inches

The Charger’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the K5 are solid, not vented.

In an emergency stopping situation, many drivers don’t press the brakes with enough force to stop the vehicle in the shortest distance. The Charger has standard Brake Assist to detect emergency braking situations (by how hard and how quickly the brake pedal is pressed) and then automatically apply maximum braking immediately in order to help prevent a collision. The K5 doesn’t offer a brake assist feature.

The Charger stops much shorter than the K5:

	Charger	K5
70 to 0 MPH	151 feet	179 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	104 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

For better traction, the Charger has larger standard tires than the K5 (245/55R18 vs. 205/65R16). The Charger’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the K5 (F:305/35R20 & R:325/35R20 vs. 245/40R19).

The Charger R/T’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. The Charger’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the K5 GT’s 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Charger R/T has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the K5 LXS. The Charger Scat Pack’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the K5 GT.

The Charger has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The K5 doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Charger offers an optional 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Charger’s wheelbase is 8.8 inches longer than on the K5 (121 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Charger is 4.3 inches wider in the front and 4.4 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the K5.

The Charger’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (55.4% to 44.6%) than the K5’s (59% to 41%). This gives the Charger more stable handling and braking.

The Charger Daytona Scat Pack Four-Door handles at .97 G’s, while the K5 GT-Line AWD pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Charger Daytona Scat Pack Four-Door executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.9 seconds quicker than the K5 GT-Line AWD (24.6 seconds @ .84 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

The front grille of the Charger Daytona 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 Charger Six Pack offers available 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.

The Charger Four-Door has 2 inches more rear legroom, 1.2 inches more rear hip room and 2.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the K5.

The Charger Four-Door has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the K5 (22.7 vs. 15.6 cubic feet).

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Charger’s hatch uses gas strut supported hinges that don’t intrude into the cargo area. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the K5’s useful trunk space.

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

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the Charger offers an optional power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button. The K5 doesn’t offer a power trunk.

The Charger’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The K5 does not have an oil pressure gauge.

The Charger offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, navigation instruction and driver assistance information 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 Charger’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.

The Charger’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 Charger’s optional wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Charger to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The K5 doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Both the Charger and the K5 offer available heated front seats. The Charger also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the K5.

Both the Charger and the K5 offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Charger has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The K5 doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Dodge Charger comes in coupe and four door hatchback bodystyles; the Kia K5 isn’t available as a coupe.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Charger as the 2026 North American Car of the Year. The K5 has never been chosen.