If at first you don’t succeed… the 2019 Kia K900

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(April 7, 2018) Perhaps the biggest hurdles facing the Kia K900 (other than the name) is that — like Hyundai — the brand is best known for mainstream cars from South Korea, and — unlike Hyundai, but only recently — there’s no upmarket brand under whose name and in whose equally upscale dealerships its offerings can be sold.


This hasn’t kept Kia from trying, as shown by the second-generation K900 that debuted in New York this week. According to Orth Hedrick, vice president, Product Planning, KMA, “The all-new 2019 K900 is much more than a generational redesign…. Only its name — K900 — is carried over.”

Power for the K900 comes from a twin-turbo 3.3-liter V6 shared with the Stinger, mated to an eight-speed automatic. The turbos are integrated into the exhaust manifolds for faster spool-up, and the intake and exhaust cams are fitted with continuously variable valve timing. The combination is enough to produce 365 hp and 376 lb.-ft. of torque

Every K900 is equipped with a torque vectoring, rear-biased all-wheel drive system similar to that available on the Stinger. Built in-house, the system is able to shift 50% of the available torque to the front wheels though, when placed in Sport mode, up to 80% can be sent to the rear wheels. Unfortunately, Kia does not tell how much of the torque sent to the rear wheels can be shuffled from side-to-side, but it takes a surprisingly small amount to significantly alter corner turn-in and responsiveness.

The front suspension has been redesigned, and features a multi-link front design for a tighter, quicker turn-in. Variable-ratio electromechanical power steering is standard, and the optional Electronically Controlled Suspension reduces variations in wheel loading via wheel acceleration sensors that detect rough surfaces and adjust the damper settings accordingly.

Despite a longer wheelbase, the K900’s structure is notably stiffer than the outgoing model. In addition to increasing the amount of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel in the structure, Kia engineers also increased the use of structural adhesives from 279 to 676 feet, quadrupled the number of hot-stamped parts, and increased torsional rigidity by 33%.

In addition to the help a Cd of 0.27 gives to noise reduction, the engineers used new and enhanced insulation throughout the structure. It is found on the firewall, rear seat sandwich panel, underfloor cover, and in the vibration pad above the headliner. Resonance-chambered wheels — plastic bands located within the wheel wells that reduce road noise — increase the sound absorption capability, as does the use of acoustic film laminated glass in both the windshield and each of the front side windows.

Inside, there are four open pore matte wood choices — Walnut, Brown Olive Ash, Beige Olive Ash, and Engineered Wood — and four leather colors — Black, Beige, Espresso Brown, and Sienna Brown — with the option of premium Nappa hide. Interestingly, Kia says the quilting on the upper outer surface of the seats is there to mimic the clothing worn by Korean kings. We doubt, however, said kings had access to heated and ventilated front seats with 12-way power adjustment.



Though, if they were sitting in the back seat, the king on the driver’s side would have a 12-way adjustable seat, while the one on the passenger’s side would have a 14-way seat. Heating and ventilation for these thrones is an option, and there’s a separate rear cabin climate control in the back of the center console.

The occupants can use the new mood lighting system to call up one of 64 colors, seven of which were created with the help of the Pantone Color Institute. For further comfort and relaxation, drivers can adapt the cabin of the new K900 to personal preferences with a new mood lighting system developed in conjunction with the world-renowned Pantone Color Institute. These colors can be seen in the overhead console, door panels, and front and rear footwells. In addition, proximity sensors are used to individually brighten each instrument panel switch by 20% when the driver’s hand moves toward it, and there is a Maurice Lacroix analog clock in the center of the dash.

The sound system is a Harman Kardon/Lexicon system with 900 watts and 17 speakers. It features QuantumLogic, Surround Sound, and Clari-Fi technology, as well as selectable modes like Stereo Mode, Audience Mode and On Stage Mode. The last one is said to make listeners feel like they’re on the stage due to its ability to highlight 360-degree instrumentation. I could go on with a list of the available technology on the new K900, but doing so would be boring. Suffice it to say there’s a lot of infotainment and safety technology available.

The K900 will be built at Kia’s Sohari plant in South Korea alongside the Stinger. It’s slated to hit the U.S. market in the fourth quarter, and prices will be set closer to the launch date.

The Virtual Driver