2015 Kia K900 Review

The 2015 Kia K900 is an all-new full-size luxury sedan.

The 2015 Kia K900 represents a premium luxury sedan experience that won't break the bank. It lacks some refinement in the details, but is still worth considering based on its strong value, long list of features and comfortable cabin.

Exclusivity is historically a big part of the full-size luxury sedan ownership experience. The steep prices for elite European luxury sedans exclude a wide swath of shoppers and ensure that these cars remain an indulgence for a select few. With the introduction of the comparatively affordable 2015 Kia K900, though, exclusivity is put to the test.

The K900 certainly has the means to join the executive sedan ranks. It's Kia's largest sedan to date, and it's about the same size nose to tail as those established large luxury sedans. The interior and trunk are correspondingly palatial. For power, there's a 420-horsepower V8 as standard equipment initially, while a more fuel-efficient V6 will become available later on. Features? Oh, so glad you asked. The K900 comes with so much kit that it could have its own booth at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Value, however, is where Kia steps on the gas and puts everybody else in the rearview mirror. Even fully loaded, the K900 typically undercuts those Euro sedans' base prices by tens of thousands of dollars. Those savings, along with Kia's generous warranty coverage and three years of free scheduled maintenance, make the K900 a model of fiscal responsibility. As Kia accurately says in its tagline for this car: "Challenge the luxury you know."

When you take a deeper look, though, you'll likely notice some minor sacrifices made in the name of affordability. The Kia K900 lacks a perfectly resolved feel on the inside, though, to be fair, these demerits are generally limited to nitpicky details. The switchgear is of merely average quality, and the infotainment interface is a little unintuitive and complicated to use compared to the slicker interfaces in more expensive sedans. Further, the K900's ride quality, while generally agreeable, falls just short of the standards set by other premium sedans.

However, the Kia K900 is simply too good of a bargain to ignore, and it's certainly worth considering alongside established large luxury sedans like the 2015 Audi A8, 2015 BMW 7 Series and 2015 Lexus LS 460. Compared with the similarly priced and mechanically related 2015 Hyundai Equus, the K900 doesn't offer a smooth-riding air suspension option, but otherwise, they're effectively equals. As with the Hyundai, though, the biggest issue for some people will just be the Kia badge. But if you can see past the non-premium label, the 2015 Kia K900 is an impressive premium sedan with a far more inclusive price of admission.

The 2015 Kia K900 is powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine that produces 420 hp and 376 pound-feet of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The EPA estimates fuel economy at 18 mpg combined (15 city/23 highway), which trails other V8-powered luxury sedans in this class.

In Edmunds performance testing, a K900 accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds, about average for a premium luxury sedan.

Standard safety features for the 2015 Kia K900 include antilock disc brakes, traction and stability control, front and rear seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags, front and rearview cameras, and Uvo eServices that includes emergency assistance and teen-oriented monitoring features such as curfew, speed and geo-fencing. The Luxury trim level also has a blind-spot monitoring system, rear cross-traffic alert and a lane departure warning system. These features are optional on the Premium trim.

Safety-enhancing options include a 360-degree top-down camera system and a frontal collision warning system that tightens the seatbelts and primes the brakes for maximum stopping power if a collision is imminent.

In Edmunds brake testing, a Kia K900 came to a stop from 60 mph in 130 feet, which is about 10 feet longer than average for this flagship segment.

In spite of the V8 engine's impressive power output, stepping on the gas in the 2015 Kia K900 doesn't deliver the rush that you might expect in an elite luxury sedan. Instead, speed gathers quietly and effortlessly, and before you know it you're already matching other cars on the interstate. At cruising speed, the K900's cabin is nearly devoid of wind and road noise. It's one of the quietest cars we've tested recently.

The ride quality is comfortable, too, and most bumps and ruts are absorbed with ease. On choppy pavement, however, the ride is a little on the busy side compared to other large luxury sedans. Unlike with most rivals, there's no option to order an adaptive suspension to further smooth out the ride. An adaptive suspension would also help shore up the car's handling abilities. But as of now, the 2015 Kia K900 feels heavy and out of its element when driven with gusto around turns.

On the whole, the 2015 Kia K900 comes tantalizingly close to matching the quality and features of the German luxury sedans it has in its sights. The interior design is pleasingly up to date with a large 9.2-inch multifunction display mounted in the middle of the dash and cues lifted directly from BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Options provide even more comforts, including soft-close doors and reclining rear seats.

Upon closer inspection, though, the K900 comes up a little short compared with established luxury sedans. Even though the Kia's available wood interior trim is genuine, its heavily lacquered and glittered finish gives it the look and feel of plastic. And while the infotainment controller is similar to BMW's iDrive interface, its complicated and unintuitive menus can be a source of frustration. The numerous buttons scattered throughout the cabin also feel a bit less substantial than we'd expect. Notably absent from the options list are amenities like a rear entertainment system, redundant audio controls for backseat passengers and seatback trays.

Getting past these missteps is easy, however, when you consider the K900's long list of standard equipment and its comfortable accommodations. Spending an entire day touring the highways and byways is easy and fatigue-free for four full-size adults thanks to well-shaped seats that are heated and ventilated. Helping to click off the miles is the powerful Lexicon sound system that offers impressive performance, regardless of your taste in music.

Cargo capacity for the K900 maxes out at 15.9 cubic feet, which is about average for the class.