The old school American
luxury car is alive and well. Except now it’s made in South Korea.
The 2016 Kia K900 may look like it’s trying to be
a European sports sedan, but it’s really more of a plush boulevardier in the
spirit of the Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac Fleetwood, and all the old boats on
the block. This isn’t a bad thing.
Admit it, the only time you
do anything in your luxury car that requires “handling” a Big Gulp is involved.
The K900 doesn’t know the word.
It’s an enormous, Iowa-class
battleship of a vessel. LeBron James is the pitchman for the K900 and, while
I’m still skeptical that he’d actually buy one if he weren’t paid to, I have no
problem believing that he and three of his clones would fit comfortably in it.
It’s King size, for sure.
When the rear-wheel-drive
K900 launched last year, it was only offered with a 420 hp 5.0-liter V8, but
now there’s also a 311 hp V6 that’s more than adequate for the tasks that will
most commonly be at hand: crawling through city traffic and making
sleep-inducing freeway runs.
The new engine brings the
starting price down to $49,950, which maxes out at $60,850 with all of the V6
model’s options boxes checked. That’s either a lot for a Kia, or really cheap for an alternative
to an executive full-size like the BMW 7-Series or Audi A8.
The rear cabin can be
furnished with heated, ventilated, reclining seats with adjustable lumbar
support, plus its own climate control system. Up front, the wood trim is rich
and glossy, the dashboard is upholstered in stitched leather, and the seats can
handle a broad backside.
If you don’t think the name
is prestigious enough to justify the price, don’t worry. Everyone who got in it
gave me the “oooh, this is nice, what is this?” reaction, just like in a cliché
commercial. When I told them, it didn’t seem to change their impression either
way. It may not be quite as elegant as a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but it is
dressier than a Tesla Model S.
It’s not as high-tech as
either of those, however. It won’t park itself or steer between the lines, but
you can get adaptive cruise control with automatic emergency braking, blind
spot and lane departure warning systems, and a 360-degree parking camera.
Both engines are silky, as
are the 8-speed automatic transmission and the ride. The cabin is so quiet it’s
like someone put it on mute. I’ve put 750-plus miles on K900s and loved every
one of them. Well, almost.
While its smooth sailing
most of the time, some harsh bumps can twerk the steering wheel in your hands.
Passengers don’t notice, but I did, and I can’t think of the last car, luxury
or otherwise, that’s happened in. It seems like something that could be easily
rectified, though, and is the only blemish on the K900’s “serenity now”
experience.
The K900 is not an exciting car to
drive or look at, despite its phony fender vents, so it’s appropriate that it’s
only available in four colors: Black, white, and two silvers. Livery drivers
would love it and, with that back seat, your Uber rating would go through the
roof – which in this case features panoramic glass that covers both rows.
But can it handle twisty
mountain roads like those imports? I don’t know, because unless I go out of my
way to find one, I never have to drive on any. Likely neither do you. President
Eisenhower’s interstate highway system and the efficient suburban development
it helped spawn saw to that. The K900 may be an immigrant, but it’s clearly
pledged allegiance to the American way.
At least the way things used
to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment