Kia has thoroughly renewed its flagship, the K9. The enormous South Korean sedan underwent a real transformation, which should make it more attractive as an alternative to the German establishment.
About ten years ago, Kia decided it was ready to interfere in the absolute top segment. The brand gave substance to this with the first generation of the K9. A good first attempt, despite the somewhat striking external similarities with the BMW 7-series. The second generation appeared in 2018, which, like its predecessor, was launched as K9 (South Korea), K900 (North America) or Qouris (other markets). A tighter and more own design had to make it a greater success, among other things. Nevertheless, things did not go smoothly in North America, which is why Kia pulled the plug there earlier this year. The top limousine, however, is still allowed in South Korea as K9 and it is the K9 that has now been thoroughly renovated.
You have to look twice to see that it is still the same generation, because Kia has not proceeded carefully at the drawing board. To begin with, the entire front was overhauled. A new much wider and more angular grille is flanked by much flatter, sharper-shaped headlights. At the rear, the basis of the pre-facelift can be seen a little better, but here too the K9 has a clearly different appearance than before. The rear lights have been completely redone and no longer framed with chrome. An LED bar now runs over the tailgate that connects the two units. To make room for this, the license plate is no longer on the tailgate but on the rear bumper. To top it all off, Kia prints its latest logo on the K9.
Pre-facelift (K900)
Extensive information about the renewed K9 is not yet known, although this is not enormously relevant for the Dutch market. The K9 is currently available in South Korea with two V6s, a 3.3 (253 or 370 hp) and a 3.8 (315 hp), but also with a 425 hp 5.0-liter V8. In all cases, switching is done with an eight-speed automatic transmission and the K9 is available with both rear and four-wheel drive.