2018 Kia K900 review

1. All trims offer luxurious touches 

The 2018 K900 is Kia’s effort to infiltrate the world of luxury sedans — and it’s working. This car comes in three trims (Premium V6, Luxury V6, Luxury V8) and two VIP upgrade packages, all of them offering elegance inside and out. The Premium V6 may be the base trim, but it’s not basic. It’s got roomy and comfortable seats, intuitive controls, a 9.2-inch HD touchscreen, a tinted black panoramic sunroof, and a comprehensive infotainment system. The two higher-end trims, plus the VIP packages, add several more driver-assist features and pump up the audio system. Come back regularly to check out our used cars to see what options you can find.  

2. A solid engine 

Like its predecessors, the 2018 Kia K900 delivers choice with two engine options. The Premium V6 and Luxury V6 trims have the same engine: a 3.8L direct injection V6 engine, running at 311 horsepower and 293 lb-ft of torque. Under the hood of the Luxury V8 trim is a 5.0L direct injection V8 engine at 420 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque. These engines aren’t designed with fuel economy in mind, of course, but they will get you an EPA-estimated 20 mpg combined on the V6, and 18 mpg combined on the V8.

3. Decent handling  

All three come with an eight-speed automatic transmission with Sportmatic, Kia’s automated manual driving mode that facilitates upshifting and downshifting to give you more control over acceleration and braking. That feature is expanded on with the Luxury V6 and V8 trims, which have fun steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. The K900’s wide stance (74.8 inches) and large wheels (18 inches on the V6 trims and 19 inches on the V8) mean cornering isn’t such a sporty affair. That said, this sedan delivers a pretty easy ride on most pavement.  

4. Good infotainment features 

The Premium V6 trim has a good 14-speaker infotainment suite, with a 9.2-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth^® connectivity, AM/FM radio, CD player, and SiriusXM^® integration, plus USB and aux ports, and Kia’s UVO infotainment system. There are no Apple CarPlay^® or Android Auto^™ integrations, but the touchscreen and ports make on-screen navigation an easy hack. The V6 and V8 Luxury trims come with all those features, and exchange the sound system for a 900-watt 17-speaker Lexicon^® machine with a 12-channel digital sound processor, power amplifier, and subwoofer.  

5. Upgrade to driver-assist if you want to  

The 2018 Kia K900 offers some driver-assist features on all trims, including blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert, traction control system, hill-start assist, and front and rear park assist. More advanced driver-assist features are reserved for the Luxury trims and VIP Packages. Kia split them up like so: lane departure warning is optional on the Luxury V6 trim and standard on the Luxury V8, while smart cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, and head-up display are optional on the two Luxury trims. Decide how much you need those features to help you navigate the used car market.