Rare Rides Icons: A History of Kia’s Large and Full-Size Sedan (Part XII)
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in us last time We’ve seen the second generation Cadenza in Kia’s history of large sedans. Kia Motors, which has done his second salvo in the likes of Toyota’s Avalon and Buick’s Lacrosse, planned to win over the value-conscious, mostly-luxury sedan customer. Unfortunately, Cadenza didn’t excel and couldn’t compete with more established competitors.
A similar story played out a few years ago when Kia Motors unveiled its first in-house designed, full-size, rear-wheel-drive luxury car. Called the K9 (Quoris or K900), this large sedan shared a platform with the rear-wheel-drive new Hyundai Equus. Both sedans were workhorses for their respective brands.
Whereas Equus was flashy and mostly American-influenced, K9 was conservative and understated. But it turns out that big, discreet luxury cars aren’t to the liking of most customers. Even in the domestic market, buyers were very fond of Equus and its large winged hood ornaments. What was Kia going to do?
The first-generation K9 was offered in the Korean market for model years 2013-2018, but only in North America from 2015-2017. Some international markets also sold his K9, but the sales story was pretty much the same everywhere. Landed. But that’s not to put Kia off, and in 2019 the company is ready for the second generation of his K9. It was bigger, bolder, more luxurious, and more impressive than before.
As before, the new K9 borrowed a platform from the existing Hyundai. Hyundai changed its branding methodology between the first and second generation K9. It launched another Genesis luxury brand and moved Equus from Hyundai to Genesis. The shift came in 2015 when Genesis debuted the new EQ900 in South Korea (the G90 elsewhere). The EQ(uus) part of the model name persisted until 2018 when the sedan was facelifted. At that point, all markets received the largest Genesis branded as his G90.
The G90 used the HI platform with rear-wheel drive, but Kia relabeled it to RJ for the purpose of the K9. Hyundai got his four-year head start over Kia with his EQ/G90, but that’s only because it needed time to debut the Genesis brand and convert Equus followers. Kia Motors was barred from designing a flagship as large as the G90 due to its tier two positioning.
The K9’s new wheelbase was 122.2 inches, while the G90 was 124.4 inches. The K9’s overall length, at 201.6 inches, was noticeably shorter than the G90’s 204.9-inch span. Both cars shared the same width of 75.4 inches and almost the same overall height (58.7 inches for the Kia and 58.9 inches for the Genesis). However, like the Equus before it, the G90 came in limousine form with his 135.8-inch wheelbase. Such luxury was not allowed for K9.
The engine was shared between the two cars as Hyundai and Kia closed the gap throughout the 2010s and eliminated the Kia-developed engine. Of his four engines available, he only had one new for 2019. It’s his 3.3-liter Lambda II turbocharged V6 with direct injection. The turbo engine produced impressive figures of 365 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque. The base engine of the new K9 is the 3.3-liter direct-injection Lambda II engine inherited from the previous model. It put out 250 horsepower and 256 lb-ft of torque, which doesn’t seem like enough for such a big car.
The largest V6 engine offered in the K9 was the naturally aspirated 3.8-liter Lambda II. With 311 horsepower and 293 lb-ft of torque, it outperformed the smaller turbocharged engines by a wide margin. The top spec is Hyundai’s 5.0-liter Tau V8. Direct injection produced an impressive 419 horsepower and 383 lb-ft of torque.
All versions of the K9 used the same 8-speed automatic transmission as the G90. And like its bigger brother, the K9 is now available with optional his HTRAC all-wheel drive. The K9 didn’t perform well with his 3.3-liter on the base. 62 mph was reached in 8 seconds for him with rear-wheel drive and 8.4 seconds for him with all-wheel drive. The 4,700-pound sedan is impressive with a V8, all-wheel drive and he accelerated to 62 rpm in just 5.7 seconds. All models had a top speed of 149 mph.
Styling-wise, the new K9 maintained its own identity, sharing no body panels with the G90. It also made a complete break with its former self, and with Kia as a whole. The K9, rewritten by Peter Schreyer, looked much more upmarket in its second iteration. The new K9 adds a few inches in wheelbase and overall length compared to the older model.
At the front, Kia’s Tiger Nose treatment has been toned down. There was still a top and bottom indentation in the center of the grill, but that was all that remained. Unlike previous models, his new K9 did not have a front end governed by the Tiger Nose principle. The grille had a large mesh design and was more premium than the vertical chrome slats of its predecessor.
The headlamps no longer flanked the Optima, but instead flanked the S-Class. The large, simple two-layer LED-element-filled headlamp seemed better suited to the large sedan than the old K9. The lower valance had several man-made vents on either side flanking the dark grille openings under the bumper. Other than that, there were no flashy decorations.
The bonnet swells with a subtle amount of force and flows into the gently creased front fender. Along the sides, the new K9 retained the same basic profile as the older model but executed it in a more upscale Germanic style. So did the lower chrome trim strip that runs from behind the tires to the rear doors.
That chrome strip follows the rear tire and wraps around the K9’s shapely new rear. Styling departs from the typical Toyota look of its predecessor in favor of sharper edges and a more upright rear clip. The brake lights were large, mostly square, and had the appearance of two-level LEDs. You could compare it to Mercedes or Bentley rear treatments, but the K9 was different from both. The trapezoidal exhausts on each side looked sporty and purposeful.
Inside, the K9 embraced the conservative side of modern luxury and technology, with strips of leather, including contrasting piping, and plenty of knotty wood. The dash had a large central screen, and the radio was all trimmed in metal. It also had the oldest luxury feature, an analog clock. Matching the extremely narrow panel gaps on the exterior, the fit, finish, and interior materials were all excellent.
The K9 will be ready for production by 2018, and Kia has again tweaked the K900’s branding, opting for a New York debut. Did it all swim? it’s not. Next time, we’ll talk about money, sales, and an urgent facelift.
[Images: Kia]
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https://ift.tt/tQBYn74 Rare Rides Icons: A History of Kia’s Large and Full-Size Sedan (Part XII)
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