Many people feel nostalgic over the Audi Allroad. But between the $66,000 base price of a new A6 lifted wagon and the niggling reliability issues of older models, buying one is tricky. Wouldn't it be cool if Kia could make a K5 "Allroad" for half the money?
Kia is the type of automaker who likes to offer something for everybody. It's got sedans, the Stinger four-door coupe, lots of hybrids, and a minivan. But crossovers are the Koreans' most popular type of vehicle, and we're getting a little tired of Telluride and Sorento commercials.
So maybe an anti-SUV really is needed. And in theory, one can be made. Before the K5, Kia had the Optima, and the old generation was available as a wagon in Europe. The Russians must have really found it interesting because local website Kolesa just made sure to turn the 2021 K5 into an adventure vehicle.
The seductive long body of a D-segment wagon is wrapped up with just enough black plastic trim to make it appear rugged. That is the automotive equivalent of intentional negligence, of a 5 o'clock shadow.
Such cars have been built multiple times in the past. The most famous example outside Audi would probably be the Volvo Cross Country series, preceded by the XC70 wagon-based crossover.
Volkswagen also presented a Passat Alltrack in Europe a few years back, and in the segment below that, we find representatives from Ford, Skoda, or SEAT, to name but a few. While we'd love for Kia to make this version of the new K5, preferably with the AWD system motivated by a 2.5-liter turbo, it probably won't happen.
It is a tricky thing to explain, but an otherwise competent car can fail because it's not successful on the mass market. The older Optima was cheaper and arguably better-looking than the VW Passat, but it never managed to conquer Europe.
Brand awareness is one thing, but once the sales of a car are super-low, the ownership experience goes south. Carwow once made a report of the most expensive cars to fix in Europe, and the Optima was on it because its infotainment was expensive to replace.
Imagine crashing your Korean lifted wagon ten years from now, and there are only about a hundred of them in your country. Getting replacement parts will be impossible.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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