2015 Kia K900 Slashes Base Price, Gets New Quilted Leather Options
The K900 was always meant as more of a brand-building exercise than a flagship luxury sedan the automaker wanted to sell in great numbers, but that isn't stopping Kia from making notable changes in its first model year. The 2015 Kia K900 will now be offered in a new Premium trim that starts at $55,400 (including the $900 destination charge) and still offers a decent amount of standard equipment. On the higher end of the K900 lineup, a VIP+ package will offer new amenities including quilted Nappa leather in Indigo Blue or Tuscan Brown.
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What you still won't find on the 2015 Kia K900's list of options is a 3.8-liter V-6. While it's possible that engine might appear for the 2016 or 2017 model year, for now, all K900s continue to be powered by a 420-hp 5.0-liter V-8 mated to an eight-speed automatic. Differences on the new Premium trim compared to the $5000-more Luxury trim include HID headlights instead of LEDs, the front grille loses its chrome finish, the 19-inch wheels are painted instead of chromed, a 14-speaker sound system is available instead of the 900-watt 17-speaker system, and the seats are finished in leather instead of Nappa leather. Blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert systems aren't available on the Premium trim, nor is optional-on-Luxury 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster display and head-up display.
While the K900 will remain an ultra-low-volume luxury sedan, the new lower-priced Premium trim might allow Kia to be considered in a few more luxury-sedan searches than before. For those not afraid of a nearly-$70,000 Kia, the K900's new VIP+ package should be of interest. Raising the K900's price by $2000 over theMotor Trendlong-term car, a $68,400 2015 K900 with the VIP+ package will have features our car has -- a multi-camera parking system, adaptive cruise control, power soft-close door latches, power reclining rear seats, and the head-up display/digital instrument cluster combo. What's new is a split-opening center console, a "chauffeur seat switch" on the side of the front passenger seat the rear-seat occupant uses to move up the seat for more room, and the option of quilted Nappa leather in Tuscan Brown or Indigo Blue.
Even at $68,400, the 2015 Kia K900 is still priced well below all of its competitors except for the mechanically related Hyundai Equus. With a lower base price and a more luxurious cabin at the top of the range, the K900 might capture a couple dozen more sales every month. What would it take for you to consider a full-size luxury car like the K900 over a Lexus LS 460 or BMW 7 Series?
Source: Kia
I’ve come a long way since I drove sugar packets across restaurant tables as a kid, pretending they were cars. With more than 17 years of experience, I'm passionate about demystifying the new car market for shoppers and enthusiasts. My expertise comes from thoughtfully reviewing countless vehicles across the automotive spectrum. The greatest thrill I get isn’t just from behind the wheel of an exotic car but from a well-executed car that’s affordable, entertaining, and well-made. Since about the time I learned to walk I’ve been fascinated by cars of all shapes and sizes, but it wasn’t until I struggled through a summer high school class at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design that I realized writing was my ticket into the automotive industry. My drive to high school was magical, taking me through a beautiful and winding canyon; I've never lost the excited feeling some 16-year-olds get when they first set out on the road. The automotive industry, singing, and writing have always been my passions, but because no one seeks a writer who sings about the automotive industry, I honed my writing and editing skills at UC Irvine (zot zot!), serving as an editor of the official campus newspaper and writing stories as a literary journalism major. At USC, I developed a much greater appreciation for broadcast journalists and became acquainted with copy editing rules such as why the Oxford comma is so important. Though my beloved 1996 Audi A4 didn’t survive my college years, my career with MotorTrend did. I started at the company in 2007 building articles for motorcycle magazines, soon transitioning to writing news posts for MotorTrend’s budding online department. I spent some valuable time in the copy editing department, as an online news director, and as a senior production editor. Today, MotorTrend keeps me busy as the Buyer's Guide Director. Not everyone has a career centered on one of their passions, and I remind myself all the time how lucky I am.
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