For years, Kia has branded itself as an automaker that can compete with the big boys for a lot less. While the South Korean brand started off by targeting millennials, it’s moved to a different segment, the upscale luxury division to take on Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW.
Unfortunately, as Doug DeMuro finds out in his latest video, the move hasn’t worked for Kia.
The new Kia Stinger is a good car that has what it takes to take on rivals in the sporty sedan segment. But taking on BMW’s 3-Series, Mercedes’ C-Class, and Audi’s A5 Sportback is a different ballgame than taking on the 7-Series, S-Class, and A8 – heavyweights in one of the most loyal sections in the industry.
To compete with the aforementioned luxury cars, Kia came up with the K900. When the car came out a few years ago, everything looked really good on paper. It was a large sedan with an available V8 engine at the front and drive going to the back. It also had Kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile warranty and a bunch of high-end features scattered throughout the cabin.
Check out Kia’s latest attempt at a luxurious full-size sedan, the 2019 K900
But, as the video below points out, it just didn’t work. And fair warning here, if you don’t like watching a car get massacred, you’ll want to avoid watching it. The review goes off on the K900, holding nothing back and faulting for the sedan for anything he spots.
After going through the regular motions of finding the weird quirks of the vehicle, he goes into more details on things he doesn’t like. Oddly, it’s claimed that the K900 isn’t equipped to take on real high-end luxury vehicles. For instance, the sedan doesn’t have a heads-up display, there’s no electronically-adjustable headrest function, it doesn’t have a touchscreen, the rear seats are ventilated, and it doesn’t come with a 360-degree camera. Those are things you need in a $60,000 luxury vehicle.
At the end of the day, DeMuro claims the only reason to get a K900 is to take advantage of its price and equipment as a used vehicle. Compared to a used Toyota Camry, it really is a luxury vehicle, especially as the two cars can be found at a similar price point. Up against a S-Class or even an E-Class, it’s not nearly as good. Hopefully Kia addresses these issues with the new ’19 K900.