ibdriving 5pts This car will be cross-shopped with Equus and those who may have had issues with one of the mid-sized germans or Jag XF to perhaps gain more space and to stay within the same price range. The american full sized XTS/MK-S compare but so far they have marginal consumer ratings and the MK-S goes about still un-noticed. I once considered an Equus while shopping, but after closer scrutiny it became clear is NO A8,7series,S-class or XJ. It is nice like a Lexus LS but not a true driver car..strictly engineered to be luxurious. Personally, I wanted more...The Genesis has shown irself to be a far more driver oriented vehicle choice and does compare favorably with most if not all the current mid-to full-sized offerings. I recently attended a focus group for mid-to full sized sedans where the new Genesis faced the competition with impressive new interior upgrades and styling. IMHO still as Hyundai always has done, this will succeed by offering more for less. Once released with a few good long road tests, comparison tests and some personal test drives it might win a few more people over to Hyundai. This K900 is to later offer a lower priced 6cylinder offering. That model I think if priced agressively might do well for Kia and give to those more concered about economy than straight-line performance, "a nice luxury-tech laden sedan". It is indeed a risk but so far Hyundai/Kia are on a roll.
Jim Brashear 5pts The premise of this article is confused. There are quite a few cars in the 50-65K range and this will be cross shopped with all of them as it's more value for the same money. There is no mystery to that.
slvrkng1 5pts I think the number one cross shopped car for this will be the Genesis. BMW. MB. Lexus, Caddy buyers wont give it a second look. I see a flop in Kia's near future.
planblove 5pts I own a Kia Optima EX and love it as my daily driver. But even I realize this is a failed attempt. As it has been said before, the problem with this Kia equation is the market segment its being cross shopped, very few if any of these people with deep pockets will look at this car. Yes its luxury on a budget. Yes it looks great. But none of that matters when competing in this segment because they all look great and very few if any of these buyers are shopping on a budget. I think Hyundai/Kia are using these luxury vehicles as a test to see if they could pull off selling these cars without going through the financial burden of having to create a whole new luxury brand and separate dealer network. But they're about to find out it won't work. Kia could have created the segment leader (I doubt it) and these buyers still won't look at this car. Brand perception is far more valuable than they fail to realize it seems.
0-60 5pts Guys...NO one is going to cross shop this with a 7 series or S class. People who can afford 100k plus cars are not concerned with spending 35k less. The conversation would go like this: "your lease is almost up lets go look at the new s class and the new Kia." "Dear, I don't want a Kia". Anddd it's out. Those who spend 60-70 on their cars (5series, Eclass) would be more tempted to at least look at it for sake of more room.
Todd27 5pts I'll be stunned if anyone goes shopping for this car. As good as it may be it's been said to many times already...it's a 65K Kia. That's like paying $12,000 for a fancy Casio watch.
Billy Sou 5pts I think due to its price point, the Kia K900 would be cross shopped with its corporate cousin Hyundai Equus, Acura RLX and the Cadillac XTS. All are full-sized vehicles with luxury intensions with a reasonable price; if that reasonable is $55-65k.
TheWeatherWarrior 5pts Anything that is pretentious (BMW, MB, Audi, Lexus, Cadillac). Unless you are narcissistic and need the "image" of said vehicles.
Yoma 5pts Cross shop with an Acura RLX, Cadillac XTS? Both those cars seem to be a low-budget luxury vehicle and so is this. All three vehicles however were built to compete against those like the S class and LS460. Unfortunatly, they wouldnt keep up.
Autoray74 5pts Rodney Dangerfield. ...your car has arrived. "I'm alllriigght.....nobody worry about me"
Madison93x 5pts It would be crossed shopped with 5 Series, GS, A6, E-Class, 7 Series, LS, A8, and S-Class. I think the K900 is a great bargain luxury sedan, the only thing is that people don't really look for bargains when they're shopping for those cars. The original LS gained traction because it was a game changer. I drove better than the Germans and had a bullet proof V8 engine - I still see LS400's with the same 4.0L V8 pushing 350k miles. It's literally CRAZY how reliable that car is. They also focused on the fundamentals and not on gaudy features which ultimately made the car cheaper. KIA appears to be doing it the other way around. Features are there tenfold. But it seems like the got the fundamentals wrong judging by the driver's review and that bland interior. Because of that it makes me feel like the car is cheaper because it IS cheap. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Lexus caught the Germans with their pants down when they came out so everyone took notice. This time around though, Everyone is making pretty stellar vehicles. There is a new LS on the horizon as well as a new 7 Series. There's also a pretty tough and stupid quick A8 (my personal favorite) and a spaceship of a vehicle in the S Class. All I can say is good luck.
Johnnlanzzie 5pts It might be considered as an alternative to people who would traditionally buy midsize (535, E350, CTS), because they typically cannot afford a flagship. They might think they can get more space, luxury, and features, in exchange for the badge.
bmforever 5pts This will be cross shopped with American sedans...and that's about it, anyone shopping for a MB, BMW, Audi or Lexus wouldn't even think about this car. They don't have the brand cache and it's a hard sell to show up to service your car and wait in a lane with a Kia Rio!!
mopar_srt 5pts For the $60-65k asking price, this would be a better buy than an RLX or Hyundai's own loaded Genesis. But I can't see the A8/S/7/XJ/QP crowd pulling up in this at the country club. Selling for below the comp worked for Lexus at a time when the comp was building absolute crap. I don't doubt that Kia has the tech and performance to warrant this price, but Hyundai/Kia's failiure to create a seperate luxury nameplate will haunt them forever. Heck, have you seen the Azera/Cadenza sales? Hardly registering. Totally blinded by the 300, Avalons, and newly reinvigorated Impala. The same for the Genesis. Brand cache is huge in the States. If I needed a luxury car, didn't care for name brand, and wanted tons of features and ammenities with a long warranty for a nice price, this would be it.
Kvnceleste 5pts People will probably cross shop this with the A6, 5-Series, E-Class, GS, Q70, XF, etc. instead of the large luxury sedans the K900 is suppose to compete with. However, the K900 is a HUGE value if you are cross shopping it with the large luxury sedans. Also, I think people looking to buy a Korean luxury sedan will debate if they should buy the new 2015 Hyundai Genesis R-Spec or this new 2015 K900, even though they don't compete.
Drew Eitel 5pts The K900 will be cross-shopped with the 7-series, S-class, etc. the same as the SS and SRT charger/300 are cross-shopped, but for different reasons. while the American full-size low-cost performance saloons offer comfortable rides, good passenger space, enough tech to keep most happy, they're big seller is their performance figures for the price. Kia appears to be taking the other route, offering perhaps a bit more tech features, but instead of just offering a comfortable ride, they're offering a very luxurious ride, at the expense of anything that might find its way to a track... not a bad segment to attack, so long as pricing rumors of $60k+ prove to be false. if this vehicle is priced similarly (perhaps slightly more, considering the target market) to the American performance big cars, (V6 around $30k, V8 with VIP and other packages just below $50k), then perhaps it will steal from the established luxury makers, as well as those who like the American family muscle saloons but prefer an even softer ride with a bit more features. I don't see it competing with premium AWD models muc tho, as those looking at FWD/AWD premium cars are looking in that direction for a reason, confidence in poor driving conditions that RWD simply can't provide, so the XTS, MKS, RLX sales likely won't be impacted much unless Kia offers Hyundai's new AWD system at some point
92Vectra1.6i 5pts The 300 SRT-8 competes with the Genesis R Soec in theory, but it absolutely destroys it performance wise. If I had the means, I'd take one over ANY Hyundai or Kia. I say that despite being a perfectly content Hyundai owner (who would take a Genesis R Spec over any Kia). As for the thread, the K900 is a more affordable option for a traditional full size luxury sedan than an entry level (if you consider $80k entry level) full size Mercedes S Class or BMW 7 series. Pricewise, it does what Hyundai and Kia models have always done, offering good value for the dollar.
OfMyOwnAccord 5pts Luxury buyers on a budget. Instead of the full size Mercedes and BMW and Audis they wish to compete, most people will cross shop these with a 530i, E350, A6 due to the price.And owners of the massive luxury sedans tend to stick to them, so good luck getting someone to go from a Mercedes to a Kia.
Bobby Miles 5pts @slvrkng1 I agree at this point. If the K9000 holds on for a 5 year cycle, they might start to dig into the segment a little. If enough high mileage examples are out in 5-7 years with a good reliability record people in that price bracket might give it a strong consideration. Right now, neither Kia or Hyundai justify having a car in that price range.
bdean 5pts @planblove The sales success of the original LS400 was based on its "budget" MSRP of $35k - which was less than a well equipped E Class, nevermind the S Class.
bunnyblue 5pts @0-60 You are wrong. I & my friends will be cross shopping this KIA with 7 series & S class. Don't act like you know the rich people... poor boy...
bdean 5pts @Todd27 Seiko makes $12k+ diving watches.Lexus models are Toyotas, Infinitis are Nissans and Acuras are Hondas.
bdean 5pts @Billy Sou Like the Genesis, it will probably put more hurt on the Japanese (the GS, M and RLX).
Jim Brashear 5pts @bmforever Your screen name discloses your bias sir. I can assure you there are quite a few people out there who have the money for a high end car, want the feel of it - and don't care about the snob factor of the badge. More car for less money? Who wouldn't consider that?!
BWA 5pts @srt_chargaIs the QP you mention a reference to an upcoming Infiniti flagship? Also, have you driven a Genesis? I had some seat time in one this summer and it was quite nice. Agree about the branding--plus, literally no one that isn't a car buff knows what a Cadenza is.
bdean 5pts @92Vectra1.6i The R-Spec is not a real performance trim (akin to the M-Sport for Infiniti or F-Sport for Lexus) and the 300 really can't compete with the Genesis when it comes to interior (esp. the new model).
OfMyOwnAccord 5pts @92Vectra1.6i It's luxury on a budget. Does that even exist? Luxury is the opposite of budget. It's lavish and overspending.My own question is - On paper, does a Kia K900 compete with a base S550, trim to trim?
Drew Eitel 5pts @OfMyOwnAccord what's sad is there won't even be that much more space to offer in the K900 than the mid-sizers that it could likely compete with, as it's reported dimensions are almost identical to those of the Genesis, which will be fighting in the mid-size premium segment with the upcoming generation... this vehicle needs to be cautious of its pricing, or it simply won't last.
Yoma 5pts @SuperSportKing CTS doesnt even compete in this category. Best thing Caddy has is the XTS, and thats junk... CTS is on a different level. One that cant handle the luxuriousness of even a KIA...
Yoma 5pts @Ren Harrison The RLX is a flagship model for Acura (As of now). Pricing is around the 50K starting range and with their new Hybrid model, it should have no problem competing with the Korean twins.
mopar_srt 5pts Huh? The Genesis interior is nothing to write home about. The new one looks promising, but the 300 has been on the market since '11 virtually unchanged interior wise. And it is about to get refreshed for '15.
bdean 5pts @Drew Eitel@OfMyOwnAccord The V6 K900 probably will start a little higher than a loaded R-Spec Genesis.The difference is that the K900 will have an interior more akin to the Equus (actually better) than the Genesis.
bdean 5pts @srt_charga No, it isn't, but it's still better than the interior of the 300 unless you get the special interior.
92Vectra1.6i 5pts @srt_charga The current 300 SRT-8 has an interior that perfectly suits its' mission and needs no excuses (unlike the occasionally cheap interior of the first generation).
bdean 5pts @OfMyOwnAccord@bdean@Drew Eitel Same pricing/sales strategy Toyota had when they launched the LS400.
OfMyOwnAccord 5pts @bdean @Drew Eitel @OfMyOwnAccord Which is why people who would normally go for the 5 series and E class would shop this and the Equus. Same pricing, but you get a larger car.
