Let’s say you’re looking for a full-size luxury sedan. Immediately, without thinking about it, some automakers should instinctively come to mind. BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Jaguar and even Maserati. All of these brands are as normal for a luxury sedan as Rolex and Breitling for luxury watches. And no one can deny that in this well-established sea of full-size luxury land yachts, it’s not easy for beginners, since previously existing champions can hardly overcome difficulties.
Welcome to the all-new Kia K900. Like the aforementioned Equus, on which the K900 is based, the K900 is the most extravagant, most luxurious in the world and the most expensive car in the world ever created in the Kia portfolio, and is their first attempt to create a full-fledged full-size luxury sedan. I bet that many of you are sitting in front of your computer screens, infuriated and thinking that in no case can Kia create a real full-size luxury sedan. Since let’s face it, the descriptors, dear, generous and Kia are likely to be found in the same sentence as Zegna, Burberry and Wal-Mart. But I would not get too far with this assessment …
Given the history of Kia’s reengineering Fords and Mazdas sales when they were just starting out, they were always a little plebeian. That was until Kia was acquired by Hyundai Motor Company in 1998, which saved the oldest automaker in Korea from bankruptcy. Hyundai not only saved Kia, but also took a much-needed turn, leaving Kia’s anemic history of manufacturing simple household appliances, which was as memorable as your last visit to a local fast food, in the past. So, does the K900 meet these expectations?
-Jack Wilson
