Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Lexus and front in the case of the KIA). The first one has a Toyota-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 207hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 175hp engine designed by Hyundai.

The fact that the Lexus got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, puts it sky-high safety-wise, in my eyes at least. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. On the other hand, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, the Korean car offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Lexus does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the results of an independent reasearch, while our visitors describe reliability of Lexus with an average rating of 4.9, and models under the KIA badge with 4.6 out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the Japanese car rank it on average as 5.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Lexus is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 230 kilometers per hour, 40km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be the Korean car, averaging around 5.1 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (55 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 92% difference compared to the Japanese car!

Lexus appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the Japanese car beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Lexus being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... No mistake, whatever you decide here, but I'd still go for the Lexus. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.