Kia has long been a brand that has been known for
cars packed with value, and features that have a more clever and funky flavor
than the competition. Christopher Teague of the very prominent and
front-running Forbes Magazine recently spent a week with it, and
immediately claimed that there is very “little to differentiate this car from
many of its European counterparts”. Beginning by stating that it is an
amazingly solid entry into the executive sedan segment, but buyers will also be
laughing all of the ways to the bank with the money they save.
Christopher admitted that the overall design
doesn't necessarily take heavy risks, but the function-over-form shape conveys
the brand's confidence in their full-size sedan. The trademark “Clenched teeth”
grille was dialed back a bit for this car, and he is right in stating that the
buttoned-up profile works quite well. Once inside, the steering wheel is
covered in leather and wood, and feels prominently high-dollar. It is also
fairly noted that there are many times a big difference between a car's specs
on paper, and how it actually feels when you put your foot down, and the
verdict here was firmly attested that the K900 does not disappoint from either
standpoint.
Sporting a 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6 with 365
horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque, you wonder just how the K900 will behave
when you really bury your foot into it. Chris definitely reflected that “it's a
very short leap into varying levels of irresponsible speed, and the car
maintains its composure the whole time”. Even though breakneck speed is not
ultimately the core value of the K900, it's nice to know the power is there
when you want it. The treacherous potholes of the already cracked roads in New
England couldn't come close to foiling the K900's AWD,
electronically-controlled suspension, and torque vectoring.
Kia's UVO infotainment system is widely-known
throughout the auto industry as being one of the absolute best, and the apps in
use are segmented in a way that makes it easy to see elements such as music and
navigation collectively in one place. Chris also makes the claim that if
someone blindfolded you and sat you down in the K900, it would be hard to not believe
you were sitting in a classic German luxury sedan. Very deep front seats that
are well-padded and 20-way power adjustable seat on the driver's side make even
the longer of journeys conquered with ease, and truly evoke the sense of
stepping out for a formal celebration. With brands such as Ford and GM easing
up on their luxury sedan production, Kia strives to fill a gap that some who
are going crazy over crossover SUV's have simply stopped giving the appropriate
attention.
