Sooo…why does Kia need to build a luxury car? In some respects that feels like it’s a question for the marketing people; for me it’s much easier to focus on the car. The necessity of its addition to the lineup doesn’t really matter, because it’s here now. Speculate all you want; the K900 isn’t going away.
Kia says that its customers have been asking for more–a larger, more powerful and higher-tech vehicle. Also, Mercedes and other luxury brands have been moving into less expensive markets, so why shouldn’t Kia move up? Mobility goes both ways, after all. So, a $60,000 Kia? Perfectly feasible, if the car’s cool enough to live up to Kia’s unique, left-of-center style.
The K900 manages to fill those shoes adequately, as it turns out. Based on the Hyundai Equus and sold as the K9 in Korea and the Quoris in the rest of the world, the K900 aims to be a “different kind” of luxury. This car is very much an alternative to traditional luxury vehicles, matching the competition in technology in a package that’s familiar, but at the same time isn’t quite like anything you’ve seen before.
Without resorting to wild styling tricks, the K900 has a serious and significant curb presence. It’s a big car, with big wheels and a low stance. The 119.9-inch wheelbase and strong, muscular body give the K900 a substantial look. A broad shoulder line emphasizes the wide track, and nineteen-inch wheels fill the fenders. Kia’s got the details down, too. The family grille and headlight style are instantly familiar, while the fender badge is a tiger-nose grill motif. All of the exterior lighting uses LEDs, from the soft accent lights over the headlamps to the sixteen-bulb LED headlight “cubes.”
Inside the K900, an available high-contrast black and white leather interior looks like nothing else out there. It’s accented by a broad panel of piano-black trim and real wood, for a look that’s at once clean and opulent. There are a lot of buttons on the dash and high console, as well as the 9.2-inch navigation and information screen. Kia uses a rotary-dial on the console to navigate through infotainment functions, rather than a touch screen. Kia says this is so the dash can be farther away from the front seats, improving interior room. The K900 isn’t sterile inside, however; the warm curves of the dash provide a softer element that makes this car easy to live with. Real wood and Nappa leather trim are standard equipment. Standard equipment includes a panoramic sunroof, heated seats front and rear and three-zone climate control.
This car offers some real luxury, as well. The trunklid and rear doors cinch closed when latched. The upgraded VIP package provides rear privacy shades, adjustable winged headrests, reclining rear seats and center-console controls for the three-zone cimate control in the rear. An available 900 watt, seventeen-speaker Lexicon sound system was developed for the K900 by harman kardon. You’ve gotta have driver aids if you’re going up against Mercedes or BMW, so the K900 gets adaptive headlights, a remarkably loud and sensitive blind spot and lane departure warning system, intelligent cruise control with full auto-brake, 360-degree camera views for parking and a full-color head-up display.
The K900’s rear-drive platform balanced and smooth. The fully independent suspension uses a five-link rear and aluminum components for reduced unsprung weight. Nineteen-inch wheels are standard, and the rear wheels are slightly wider than the fronts. The K900 has no pretensions of being a sports sedan, but it does feel substantial and doesn’t float down the road. It’s taut enough to handle corners, though at high speeds its weight will get the best of it quickly. Kia’s blessed the K900 with a preternaturally quiet ride. The engineers went through the car with a fine-toothed comb, coating or covering over two hundred separate potential noise points.
The sound deadening is almost enough to cover up the growl of the 5.0 liter direct-injection V8 under the hood. This engine uses variable valve timing, and is Kia’s first V8 in a passenger car. Total output is 420 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque. An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard, and it’s of Kia’s own design, compact and lightweight. A V6 K900 is also planned to arrive some time in 2015.
Is Kia barking up the wrong tree here? Don’t tell the K900. Out on the road, this car is large and confident. It’s reminiscent of the long-gone Infiniti Q45, only a bit more upmarket, with powerful urge from under the hood, near-silent operation at idle, and a comfortable ride that masks its size just enough to keep it from feeling ponderous. And, since it’s Kia we’re talking about, the pricing undercuts the BMW 7-Series, Audi A8 and Lexus LS460 nicely, with a starting price of $65,500 for the uplevel VIP Package. The eventual V6 model will come in at around $50,000, according to Kia.
