Kia has unveiled at the 2018 New York Auto Show the second generation of its flagship luxury sedan, the K900, and with it, comes an elevated luxury experience with more tech and refinement.
The Kia K900’s development was centered around “The Gravity Of Prestige”, in which the focal point was going back to the basics of what makes a car prestigious in the first place. It starts with the car’s all-new design, in which a completely different character was aimed by the designers for this new K900. While its predecessor had a sporty demeanor, this new one solely focuses on having a sophisticated and stately appearance. Kia says the new K900 brings a “modern air of elegance to the large sedan segment” and this was achieved through the use of flowing lines, tensioned surfaces, and geometric details, making the car look leaner, longer, and more stately than its predecessor. Up front, the new “Quadric Pattern” grille take center stage, which consists of 176 jewel-like “cells” within the grille. This new grille is flanked by LED “duplex” headlamps, giving the K900 a unique and authoritative presence up front. Likewise, the rear receives the same LED “duplex” design for its tail lights, which create a sense of unity between the front and rear. At the side, a satin chrome finish runs along the side that enrich the car’s side profile, which Kia says will make people be drawn to the car’s 19-inch alloy wheels.
The inside is also all-new, with Kia focusing on de-cluttering the interior and making the interior have leaner space for its occupants. The interior has a wrap around design, which creates a sense of being coccooned from the outside world, and this is achieved through a design wherein the lines from the doors and the dashboard run along uninterrupted, and through the use of leather, wood, and satin chrome bits, Kia was able to create a fully immersive and luxurious interior. The infotainment system, which is 12.3-inch in size, has a floating design like in most modern cars nowadays. The interior also now has fewer buttons, and as standard, a 7-inch TFT multi-information display is in front of the driver in between the gauges. As an option, this can be replaced by a 12.3-inch TFT LCD digital gauge cluster that’s highly customizable, and offers different themes depending on the drive mode.
As with these class of cars, the K900 can be optioned with lavish features. An available 20-way electronically adjustable seat, featuring air cells, changes the seat’s contours to conform to the driver’s body shape. 12-way electronically adjustable seats come as standard for the front and rear driver side passenger seats, while the rear passenger side seats have 14-way adjustments through the front passengers seats being able to be electronically moved for greater legroom. There is also an optional 900-watt 17-speaker Harman Kardon/Lexicon sound system, which features QuantumLogic Surround Sound technology and Clari-Fi technology.
Powering the Kia K900 is a 3.3 liter twin turbo V6 that’s derived from the highly-acclaimed Stinger sports sedan. It produces 365 hp and 510 Nm of torque. Power is sent via an 8-speed automatic transmission through all four wheels via a Dynamic Torque Vectoring AWD system that is rear biased and has an electronic rear differential. The AWD system can send up to 80% of the power to the rear wheels, and up to 50% to the front wheels, depending on road conditions. An all-around independent multi-link rear suspension ensures excellent handling and ride comfort, while an optional electronically controlled suspension further elevates the ride and handling experience.
As with many of these modern cars nowadays, the Kia K900 comes with a slew of active driver aids under the Advanced Driver Assist System suite of safety technologies, which include features such as Surround View Monitor (SVM), Blind Spot View Monitor (BVM), Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS), Forward Collision Avoidance Assist (FCA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), and Rear Cross Traffic Avoidance Alert (RCAA). Highlights of the Kia ADAS include Safe Exit Assist, which warns the occupants who are about to open one of the car’s doors if there is an oncoming hazard, Lane Follow Assist (LFA) which is a semi-autonomous driver convenience feature wherein the car can steer itself in optimum circumstance, and Adaptive Smart Cruise Control (ASCC) which in conjunction with the Lane Follow Assist, provides a certain degree of semi-autonomous driving.
The Kia K900 will go on sale in the North American market on the fourth quarter of 2018, and the K900 will be built in Kia’s Sohari plant in South Korea, alongside the Kia Stinger sports sedan.
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