2019 Kia K900 Luxury |
3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6 (365 hp @ 6000 rpm, 376 lb/ft. @ 1300 rpm) Eight-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive 18 city / 25 highway / 21 combined (EPA Rating, MPG) 19.8 (observed mileage, MPG) Base Price: $$60,895 US As Tested: $$64,895 US Prices include $995 destination charge in the United States. K900 not available in Canada |
I’m not quite to the tin foil hat stage, but I’m certain that Google’s ad servers have their cameras trained on me. No, I didn’t get caught up in that face aging app nonsense a couple weeks ago — and I’m not one for selfies. Rather, I’m sure I’m being watched, as with every new gray hair that sprouts on my beard, I seem to get more advertisements for products meant to help with aging.
From retirement planning advice, to literal beard dying products, to (ahem) virility potions and devices, there seems to be no end to the market reminders that I’m much closer to the dirt nap than I am to a nap in a crib. And the vitamin ads never stop.
Maybe this 2019 Kia K900 is yet another solution to my advanced years, with comfort and luxury meant to coddle my aching back. But I like to think of it as one of those once a day vitamins. It’s easy to use, just like a simple daily pill — but like that pill, you don’t think about it much when you’re done swallowing it. And, again like the daily dose, it’s forgettable for Kia, who sold roughly one K900 per day last year.
Not at all kidding. Per GoodCarBadCar, Kia moved 354 of their flagship luxury sedans in the 2018 calendar year, or fewer than one a day. The answer to why seems quite simple — it’s some mixture of unfamiliarity alongside the traditional misconception of Kia as nothing more than a budget brand. Really, have you seen a commercial or banner ad talking about the K900?
It’s a shame, really, as Kia leverages the value message nicely with this car. Other than a couple port-installed options like floor mats and wheel locks, the only option available on the K900 is the $4,000 VIP package, which adds a wide 12.3-inch infotainment screen that can display three functions at once — it looks like I had weather and a list of presets flanking the current song when I took these photos, though navigation is one of the options, and can be shuffled around the screen as you see fit.
Further, The VIP package adds 14-way power adjustment to the passenger seat, and 12-way power adjustments to the rear seats, as well as seat cooling ventilation to those rear chairs. Better still for those being chauffeured, a rear-seat wireless charging pad is in that VIP package as well. Try adding all of those bits to a European luxury sedan — the window sticker will groan under the weight of all the added ink.
A brilliant use of the LCD screen that makes up the driver’s gauge cluster is a screen showing a live view of the blind spot while the turn signal is activated. When the right signal is clicking, the display shows to the right in place of the tachometer, and when the left signal is on, it moves to the left where the speedo would sit. It’s intuitive, it’s clear, and it’s a great way to add a touch of safety. It’s a feature that’s trickling to more of the Kia lineup, but I’m enamored with this.
It’s also a feature that’s hard to photograph well, since it doesn’t work when the transmission is in park. Some jurisdictions might consider any handheld mobile device use in a car a violation, even while sitting at a light. So, take this cell photo with that caveat.
The interior is beautifully appointed, with plush leather seats the rival of anything in the class, and an optional suede headliner (part of that VIP package) adding a touch of bling. That said, it’s not exciting. If you want to be dazzled by crystal-clad shift levers and carpets deep enough to require a lifeguard, this is not your ride. It is, for better or worse, a Kia. It’s an Optima or a Cadenza with a bit more room and nicer materials. The controls are as simple to understand as you’d find in a Sportage.
Sadly, the exterior keeps up that “just another Kia” image. It doesn’t exactly stand out, even though the absurdly-low production numbers might lead you to think otherwise. Especially in this refrigerator white, it’s handsome but anonymous.
From the front, I’m reminded a bit of the Euro-market Ford Scorpio of the mid-Nineties. If you don’t recall that one, finish your lunch before googling it. The K900 is done much better, but the resemblance in the bulbous headlamps is especially hard to unsee. And, yes, I know I need to do a better job of washing off the dead insects.
Driving the K900 is surprising, as one would expect something powered by the Stinger’s twin-turbo V6 to be a bit more swift in operation. This bigger platform definitely swings the performance/luxury pendulum well to the plush side. The power, while plentiful, doesn’t make the big Kia sprightly. The suspension is well damped, but the steering is numb. It’s not a driver’s car, by any means — it’s a car for arriving refreshed rather than invigorated.
At my age, I’m beginning to see the appeal of maintaining the status quo. So a daily supplement that threatens to keep my joints relatively limber and my organs in roughly the right places is intriguing. The Kia K900, similarly, will not raise the heartbeat, but it will deliver the recommended daily dose of luxury and value.
[Images: © 2019 Chris Tonn]
People actually pay $65k for this?
No, I’m sure they’re discounted heavily, but as far as I’m concerned, this is a steal at that price – it’s probably 90% as good as the “base” S-class Benz, which also has a twin-turbo six, and pushes 100K.
The only thing this (and the Genesis G90) is missing is the prestige label.
If this is 90% as good as an S-class, Mercedes-Benz should be dismantled. It probably is once you consider durability. Does that make it a bargain? People buy the Benz so they can be seen getting in and out of it. This car delivers 0% of that for 60% of the price. No sale.
Well, like you say, lack of prestige is why this doesn’t sell. Ditto for the G90. It’s a shame.
I think the G90 is legitimate luxury, and this isn’t.
Depends on how define “legitimate luxury.”
If that means a car that has the equipment, fit and finish, refinement and performance you’d expect from a top-shelf car, then this car most likely fits the bill. But if you’re talking about prestige, it doesn’t. I’d argue the G90 fails the first test too – it’s not prestigious in the way a Mercedes is.
A lot of this is perception, and yes, when it comes to a brand like Mercedes, there’s marque history to consider, but in this game, labels do count.
“Be Seen”? By whom?
Being “seen” is about the most worthless thing I can imagine. Who would be shallow enough to project a false image of themselves to strangers for no appreciable gain? Yikes.
Isn’t the whole point of the <$80k Mercedes, BMW, Audi etc is to be “seen”? otherwise there’s nothing they do that something from FCA or Toyota can’t do, many times with more features.
…well, more features, yes, but top-shelf sedans typically add in higher quality materials, better workmanship, and higher (not to mention more refined) performance…
I guess the only real question is how important the Benz/BMW/Lexus/etc “designer label,” if you will, is to the buyer.
Good Lutheran that I am, I would NEVER consider driving a prestige car. That does not mean I don’t want a high level of comfort. Given these parameters, I would certainly spend good money on a really well made luxury Kia, while I would NEVER consider buying a MB/BMW/Audi.
I think GM understood this best. When a man becomes successful enough for more than a Chevy, he could move up to an Olds…then a Buick. For the buyer who wanted flash, there was Cadillac. I see this Kia as the Olds or Buick in that old, no-longer extant lineup.
@R Henry, back in the 60s more millionaires owned Buicks than Cadillacs.
People didn’t want to shove their wealth in other people’s faces.
What a quaint notion.
Some did. Many Caddies were sold in the 60s!
… sits quietly with PrincipalDan as he works through his post-purchase cognitive dissonance… KIDDING! :-)
To me Olds and Buick sound more prestigious than Kia.
It is okay for a Lutheran to achieve some level of wealth, but not to be ostentatious about it. A Buick was never ostentatious, just a nice, big, comfortable car for the person with some money.
For what it’s worth, TrueCar is showing a market average savings of about $1k for the K900 AWD.
In comparison, the G90 3.3TT AWD shows an average savings of about $2,500.
Something like the RLX Sport Hybrid shows an average savings of about $7,200.
The LS 500 AWD shows a higher savings of $2,700.
The 2G K900 sold worse than what the 1G model did for its first full year of sale – where the 1G did a little over 2,500 in volume.
While some of that is the increased movement to luxury CUVs and SUVs, a good part of that has to do w/ (1) less discounting and (2) really bland sheetmetal (likely a nod to the Korean market).
In pretty much all other areas, the 2G is vastly superior to the 1G model – from ride/handling to the interior (which is totally different from the quality of an Optima or Cadenza and not that far from the quality of the G90).
Still, the ride/handling component is tilted to the luxo-comfort side and portly weight doesn’t help.
Even tho only a couple years old (from the Korean launch), it will soon be outdated once the new G80 launches on an all-new platform.
Don’t think Kia is too worried about US sales – as the K9 (as it is known in Korea) still sells over 1k units monthly.
That’s more than LS 500 sales for the US and Japan combined.
Should see an uptick in G90 sales here once the refreshed model hits the lots.
On top of that – Autotrader is showing 126 new K900s listed for sale nationally and only 3 used 2G K900s (priced at $52k to $55k).
@FreedMike
Wouldn’t exactly place Lexus (or for that matter, Audi) w/ MB or BMW when it comes to higher-end lux sales.
Sales of the GS have fallen even behind the Infiniti Q70 and likely, we’re seeing the last days of the GS (and aside from when shipments had been halted due to the dealership licensing issue, the Genesis G80 has outsold the GS and pretty handily at that).
Sales of the LS 500 have been a major disappointment for Toyota – not even being able to hit HALF of its modest sales projection this year.
Well, if the “bring back the big, cushy sedan” crowd has it right, this should start selling like hotcakes any day now.
Not at $61k with a lowly V6.
But yes large cushy sedan please, restart the assembly line and give me a V8 Caprice for a lot less.
It used to have a V-8, and it still didn’t sell.
Meanwhile, the “base” S-class Benz has a six and actually sells.
I can’t argue that point, it’s not exactly bargain priced for a bargain brand, and they can’t sell a Kia Rio on the same lot as this and expect to have two subsets of buyers show up to the same seedy dealership.
I salute it for being an option but they aren’t going to sell a Chevrolet Sonic competitor at Mercedes dealers (forget smart existed) and they aren’t going to sell a luxury car at a Kia dealer.
Sell this car as a mainstream full sizer at Impala prices and watch it go
“Sell this car as a mainstream full sizer at Impala prices and watch it go”
Well, yeah, this car at $40,000 would be a no-brainer, but they wouldn’t be able to sell something built and equipped like this for that money, unless they just wanted to take a loss.
As it is, though, they have a damned nice $40,000 Impala fighter (the Cadenza), and it bombed too. For that matter, EVERY $40,000 Impala fighter has bombed, and that includes the Impala itself.
I just don’t see the market for full size cush-mobiles being revived any time soon. The buyers have died or moved on to trucks and SUVs.
The state of full-size sedans in America stresses me, FCA is the only one to sell a RWD V8 at a reasonable price, meanwhile the rest of the games are either FWD, or selling with 6 cylinders for hellcat prices.
…It used to have a V-8, and it still didn’t sell.
Meanwhile, the “base” S-class Benz has a six and actually sells…
Well, $60K puts an A6, A7, 5-series, a loaded Lexus GS, CT6, or E-class in my driveway. It isn’t an S-class, but it sure isn’t a Kia.
That’s the biggest problem as I see it.
The only justification is if you have a need or a stronger want for the larger platform.
Loaded 2020 BMW 540 RWD just priced at BMW build site $77480
MBZ 300E (4 cylinder) with reasonable options and leather $71500
I didn’t “load” the E series build but built a reasonable car with things like leather, heated seats, upgraded paint and safety features.
You want the 6 cylinder E series add about $6K.
The $60000 US E series is what they use as taxis in Germany. But they get stick as an option.
That “lowly” V6 pumps out more than 350 bhp and more torque. As such, it surpasses the old Cadillac 500 cid V8 by a very large margin…while consuming about 1/3 the fuel…
Sure, I like V8s too, but I wouldn’t own one in a daily driven vehicle today…not worth the money spent to fuel it.
“not worth the money spent to fuel it.”
I had a 345 “HEMI” and have a H/K 3.3T now.
The fuel economy difference is about 1.5 MPG between the two. With the turbo using premium instead of mid-grade my fuel cost is the same. Although it is nice to not need to deal with cylinder deactivation.
Point taken. I rented a Charger R/T two months ago…honestly loved driving it…for a week. The change in exhaust note, and vibration, when cylinder deactivation was initiated, was very off-putting for me. To avoid, I just put car in sport mode…but then that locked out 8th gear…frustrating!
This gets 25 mpg highway, and a Chevy SS or Charger SRT gets 22.
Assuming 12,000 miles per year and $3/gallon, that comes to less than $200 per year in cost difference for a more powerful V8.
Comparing a modern DI turbo V6 to a malaise era 500 ci Caddy V8 is not exactly a fair fight.
Jack,
A better comparison, since this is a turbo, would be the Caprice with DoD or the LT1 Camaro, both of which are essentially the same figures.
I understand our situation.
I drive 22k a year, and fuel is now $3.59/gal here in SoCal, so my cost differential is closer to $500.
Yes, a Caddie 500 and a H/K V6 are not comparable…but does address the ongoing V8 v V6 debate…which, as we know, is more than silly…but as enthusiasts….its ALL about silly!
This would be more comparable to a 300, not an SRT Charger.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/2019_Chrysler_300.shtml
Shows 25 hwy for the hemi powered ones.
That’s a… um… pretty muted praise to compare a modern engine to an engine from 50 years ago. A better comparison would be an LT1 which would probably return the exact same MPG as this V6.
This IS a luxury car, if 24-25 HWY of a V8 is too much fuel to daily drive then you probably aren’t in the new car market.
I drive 22k miles annually, much of it highway. I won’t consider a car that cannot reliably achieve 30mpg highway.
Hummer, I’m curious to get your perspective, please.
Curb weight on this vehicle is 4,376 to 4,700 lbs. In a perfect world, would that figure be higher or lower? (You said trucks should weigh as much as possible, sports cars should be as light as possible, I’m not sure what your protocol is for a vehicle like this one?)
I could just as easily say that my 512 ci V10 returns at least double the mileage of a 500 Caddy while making over 3x the power.
Large engines with tall highway overdrive gears return pretty good real world fuel economy. In stop and go traffic (or an EPA test), a small turbo engine probably does significantly better.
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSearch.do?action=noform&path=7&year=2016&make=Chevrolet&model=Camaro&srchtyp=ymm
According to .gov the 6.2L 8 speed Camaro gets 17 city, 20 mid, 28 HWY.
That highway number is better than this cars numbers.
As you said though, at 22k miles a year fuel economy may be more of a priority, in which case this car is certainly not on your radar.
Tool, luxury sedans should absolutely be on the heavier side, I want the most metal for my money, thicker metal, thicker, higher quality materials, lots of safety materials. Heavy is good when the goal is to cruise.
Hummer,
Got it, thank you.
I think this car is great. Too bad it is underpowered. I’ll bet it is a hell of a lot more reliable than the German competition.
I agree, and I wish H/K would get its’ marketing act together on it (and the G90) – Ze Big German Sedans (and the Lexus LS, for that matter) are ridiculously expensive for no real reason, and the best way to remedy that situation would be a bit of good old fashioned competition.
As long as people in this segment would rather pay 30k more to have a BMW/MD logo on their sedan, there will be no competition. Personally I’ll never understand that, but different strokes.
How is it underpowered?
A good portion of 5 Series and A6 buyers opt for the turbo-4.
Nonetheless, more power is on the way by way of a 400+ HP 3.5TT V6.
But at the same time, wouldn’t be surprised if the K900 eventually gets a turbo-4 as a base engine (may not be til the next gen model) as the 2.5T will be the new base engine for the Genesis G80.
Speaking of the G80, the interior of the K900 blows away that of the current G80 – for only about $4k more (in addition to having things like the full digital gauge cluster).
Just too bad the sheetmetal for the K900 wasn’t more compelling.
If this isn’t a generous dip into the Kia parts bin (just a super-size version of the next thing down), I’d have serious reservations on how long one could keep this running after it’s disco’d. (And if there’s anything weird about it’s systems, the availability of a mechanic that can fix it.)
The G90 is better and the Kia brand as of 2019 absolutely can not support a vehicle at this price point.
Agree.
Yep. I could see Kia selling it if they were trying to build some kind of luxury-brand cred, but if that’s the case, why do they totally refuse to promote the product?
I have a feeling this is just a “throw it up against the wall and see if it sticks” kind of exercise, which is a shame, because apparently the car itself is quite good.
The G90 is also an all new model, while this Kia is basically the twin of the G90’s predecessor, the Equus.
As for why this exists, it makes sense in Korea. You think H/K executives can show up in the back of a Mercedes? Plenty of other big corporations see the optics in providing domestic luxury cars. Selling a few in America isn’t costing them anything.
This is the 2G K900 which is based on the same platform as the current G80 and G90.
The new G80 (on a new platform) will launch later this year in Korea and the G90 is towards the end of its life-cycle (already got its refresh which has been on sale in Korea for about a year).
Interior-wise, the K900 compares well w/ the pre-refreshed G90 (the facelifted G90 takes it up a notch).
All-in-all, not worth it to Kia to spend a lot of $$ promoting the K900 here – and any sales here is just icing on the cake for what they sell in Korea.
But they put it on the menu for the same reason chain restaurants put a $45 main course on their menu – nobody buys it, but it helps rationalize the cheaper offerings.
Okay:
The styling is blobby and not handsome like the G90.
There is no V8.
A KIA badge continues to look like cheap trash on whatever it adorns.
The leather looks a weird color, and the interior needs more brightwork. The leather center console looks odd. The wood does not show up enough.
The blind spot gauge cluster is a very nifty integration.
There’s no reason to buy this over a G90.
This car is a compliance exercise, as it’s nearly free to send a few over from Korea, where they sell in reasonable quantity.
If someone buys this new they’ll experience such epic depreciation that they’ll probably never buy a Kia again.
The styling is rather bland, and it is true the car will suffer scary levels of depreciation, but then so will everything else in this class regardless of badge. $10k+ discounts are already available on the K900, meaning for the price of a Stinger GT you can own a genuine luxury car wrapped in a mainstream badge. I’d buy one long before considering something like an RLX, Continental or S90. At least this has proper hardware.
To me, the styling is a bit dowdy. The G80/G90 are a much cleaner design language. Great value, though the resale value/depreciation are pretty brutal. Not sure that I’d buy one new, unless heavily discounted… but it’s a no-brainer to pick up lightly used.
A 15/16 certified G80 with the 6 and less than 50K miles will run you from just under to just over $20K here. There are something like 90 available within 50 miles of me. A pretty nice grey one for $17K. That is alot of car for 17.
As someone who always keeps an eye out for good used deals in this segment,my biggest issue with the K900/G90 twins is that ES350s also have that huge initial depreciation hit. There are so many under $25K here in Orange County you can’t really even shop them effectively. And if you don’t mind a 10 year old car,there are dozens with under 75Kish for 10K or so. And finding them with around 36K is trivially easy. You aren’t going to stand out,but you aren’t standing out in OC for less than $200K or so anyway.
I would buy this after the depreciation stick hits it.
The nearest CarMax had a two year old model with V8 listed for a hair under $25K. Same refrigerator white color.
It would have been entertaining in its own way.
Correct… on the used market this car is insane value. To the point of almost being criminal in the amount of stuff you get for the money. If you don’t care about a badge and want to drive a top of the line, fully loaded, but generic car this your ride.
The problem is with the number sold good luck finding parts or getting it serviced. You’ll get lots of head scratching at your local auto parts counter when this thing doesn’t show up in the computer. Some thing as simple as a cracked headlight is likely to prove impossible to source.
The K900 is relatively awful to insure for this reason. A moderate front end impact will total the car almost 100% of the time – the front bumper assembly and electronics alone have a replacement cost of nearly $30k, and there arent a lot of K900 spare parts to be had in the US.
The 1G K900 is an entirely different proposition than the 2G model.
A big step up from the 1G to the 2G, just as from the Equus to the G90.
In a few more years, the 2G K900 should be a great used buy.
Nice enough car wrapped in generic 15 year old sheet metal. Would make a great sleeper value as a lightly used example for 20-30K off sticker price.
It is surprisingly dowdy looking, but this is a car for the Korean market, so I’m sure that’s a lot of it.
This class of car (and even smaller variants, like the Cadenza) are 100% what I would buy if I were forced to buy a used car. Luxury cars in general depreciate like crazy and at least with these two models, I’d be certain they were probably not driven hard. And a big, opulent interior is something I miss in the days of cramped cockpits, reduced knee room, and acres of black plastic that looks like crap after 2 years.
The only catch is, with 354 sales a year, good luck *finding* a used one.
Autotrader only showing 3 used for sale.
TTAC: “The power, while plentiful, doesn’t make the big Kia sprightly.”
Motor Trend: “With 365 hp and 376 lb-ft of torque from a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V-6, the new 2019 K900’s only powerplant hurtles all 4,717 pounds to 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds. Despite such a hefty curb weight, that’s three- to four-tenths of a second quicker than 2015 K900 V-8s we’ve tested and actually competitive with other luxury sedans. Sure, the 2019 K900 is at least a second quicker to 60 compared to BMW 530i and Mercedes-Benz E 300 sedans we’ve tested…”
5.2 seconds sounds pretty sprightly to me. I don’t shop in this class, but it would be – by far – the quickest car I’ve owned.
So you have to buy these at Kia dealers, right? Good luck getting anyone with money into those little shops of horror. I can be abused bu a much better class of sales-weasel at these price points.
“I can be abused bu a much better class of sales-weasel at these price points.”
Haha +1
FWIW, in 40 years of car buying the only dealer I’ve bought from twice was a Kia dealer about 15 miles away. But the one 7 miles away is filled with snakes.
Having sold Kias for a time, not every dealer is eligible to sell the K900. The only one Kia dropped off at my Akron, OH was a special order for LeBron (rmeember that he was in ads for the K900 back in the day). So, all these snarky remarks miss the mark. No, selling Rios and Optimas does not qualify a dealership to offer this.
Bloated center consoles annoy me. Take a nice wide interior and chew it up with a too-wide console (with storage cubbies the size of a matchbox). It looks like they may have done a coke-bottle-style nip and tuck on this one partway through the development process, but the tooling was already finalized on the shifter/cupholder escutcheon and it was too late to make any meaningful change.
10 pounds of scrap metal (springs, struts or rotors – you pay shipping) to the first person who can explain to me in a meaningful way the relationship between Kia and Hyundai. I’ve looked into it before and just got tired.
There are things that certain companies do well and there are things that they don’t do well and they should focus on the things they do well.
I can’t give a meaningful explanation, but I’ll take the scrap. :)
I’ve had both H and K. My understanding is that they are 35% joined at the hip. They obviously share drivetrains and suspensions, but all body and interior pieces are unique to each brand. I’m still amused to find the “H” stamped into some parts on my Kia, such as the control arms.
There are times I prefer the Hyundai design, and times I prefer the Kia design.
They don’t fit the old definition of ‘badge engineered’, their product lines do not completely overlap, options can be different, and sometimes their new products are introduced out of phase from each other.
Head south out of Seoul on the Gyeongbu Expressway (Route 1), and as you approach Highway 47, look to your left. You’ll spot a pair of nearly identical towers there, one with a Hyundai logo on the top, the other with a Kia logo. The Kia building is about 9/10 as tall as the Hyundai building.
If you won’t be in Seoul any time soon, this exercise can also be accomplished using the Google Earth streetview.
While the Hyundai Motor Group has a controlling 34% stake in Kia Motors, Hyundai/Genesis and Kia still see each other a competitors.
Thus, while they co-develop platforms and powertrains, they go their separate ways on many other things.
A lot of people state that the Stinger and K900 should be moved to the Genesis brand, but that’s not how it works.
Kia competes w/ Hyundai (and now Genesis) in the Korean market, not only in the mainstream space, but the luxury market, but w/o as much resources as Hyundai/Genesis.
Kia is contemplating developing a lux crossover based on the upcoming GV80’s platform, but they won’t ever develop as extensive a luxury lineup as Genesis due to more limited resources.
Based on G90 and K900 sales in Korea (which make combined LS 500 sales in the US and Japan pale in comparison) – think they know what they are doing (on top of the pre-refreshed G90 having beaten the LS in a # of comparison tests).
Thank you all – very helpful.
Big cars are dead enough as it is, now limit yourself to the overlap between the people who still like them and the people who’d be caught dead at the Dollar General of car dealerships, and on top of that are best known for Rocket Man and eating dogs, and it’s a wonder that they sold any of these at all.
If Kia had made this a hatch and styled it like a more formal Stinger, I might just be all over this thing.
I think you found a way for Kia to sell even fewer of these things….
That would have been my preference as well, but that’s not what the Korean market wants.
You have a typo in your article. 2109 is a bit too far into the future for this car.
D’oh.
Fixed.
Thanks for catching that.
It’s an official Gas Guzzler, congrats, and it’s the very first V6 to win the honor that I’m aware of.
I like the understated styling of the K900, but refrigerator white does this car no favors. Black looks much nicer, although the color I’d probably pick is “Lakestone”, which is kind of a bluish steel gray, with the beige interior. I did a search on cars.com but found only five of them at KIA dealerships across the US.
The black leather seats (at least in photos) have kind of a greasy sheen to them, and the stitching pattern on the seats and door panels is overdone IMO. The wood inlay on the steering wheel also looks out of place. Other than that, it’s the overly conservative looking luxury sedan that absolutely nobody is looking for these days, unfortunately.
Remove that ugly Kia badge from the steering wheel NOW! It hurts my eyes! And from elsewhere too. Mercedes?? S class??? You’ve gotta be kidding me.
A guy that I work with periodically, a Kia dealer, indicated awhile back one of the issues in selling the K900 was the insurance costs. Several have made the point that since it sells in such low volumes, getting repairs and parts in the future could be an issue. I think that is actually an issue from day one, crash parts that is. So few are here in the states that if you wreck, the parts are terribly expensive (for the insurer) and take quite awhile to arrive, so enjoy your $30 a day rental car for 3 months.
I am a huge fan of the 3 year old ‘near’ luxury car purchase from a value stand point. I paid 20k for my loaded LaCrosse with 34k miles on the odo. The Kia luxury sedan will have an even sharper depreciation curve than a Buick, and sell for about the same price 3 years old as the Buick. In the end, I would take the Buick again over the Kia for the afore mentioned potential parts and service issues.
All that said, honestly this car does not bother me much as I kind of like the bland large sedans. I am fine not being noticed, and besides the first thing I do on any car I buy is 15% window tint, so all that is noticed is a black window. 60k, is a non-starter but then again zero chance exists that I am buying an S class either regardless if I can afford one or not. I can not get over my mental hurdle of 20k for a car….
I’m not sure I buy that, if I can pay $800 a year for my SS when insurers have the history of the GTO and G8 (which the SS sold less than either of them) to go by then I don’t understand why Kia would be worse.
If I’m buying a full-size there better be some prestige, KIA does not have that, I would go as far as to say Hyundai but then again Genesis is killing the LS Lexus which I would say has(had?) prestige.
Listening to many, Kia and Hyundai (via Genesis) should never venture from cheapness because so many fools buy to flaunt their vanity (there is a youtube vlog about a guy who flaunts his Ferrari and modified his f-150 to the point of looking ghastly black on every inch and it is also gaudy loud).
I don’t need a car to flaunt anything. I buy the best I can for the price and if I get a bargain while enjoying the vehicle, then I’m even more pleased.
I don’t care if this car is but 90% of a Mercedes. I love the luxury and will gladly have the rest of you think I’m a schmuck. Don’t expect a ride.