Yesterday Kia unveiled its refreshed flagship sedan ‘The new K9’ and today our colleagues at Asian Petrolhead had the chance to visit Kia’s Beat 360 Experience Center in Seoul and take a closer look into the luxury vehicle.
Everything about the K9
The new K9 is Kia’s flagship vehicle with a new product improvement model that is newly introduced three years after the K9 was released in April 2018.
This K9 is characterized by its excellent product features such as ▲ the best advanced driver assistance system ▲ cutting-edge infotainment system that allows drivers to interact with the vehicle ▲ quiet and stable riding comfort suitable for a large luxury sedan ▲ classy and modern design.
■ State-of-the-art advanced driver assistance systems worthy of a flagship
Kia applied various cutting-edge driver assistance systems that consider the driver and passengers to the new K9 to enhance driving convenience and safety.
New advanced technologies include Forward Predictive Shift System (PGS), Highway Driving Assist 2 (HDA2), Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA-LS, JT/JS), Multi-Collision-Avoidance Automatic Braking System (MCB), Rear Parking Collision Prevention Assistive (PCA-R) and Remote Smart Parking Assist (RSPA).
The world’s first Predictive Gear-shift System (PGS) is a technology that predicts the forward acceleration / deceleration situation using vehicle navigation, radar, and camera signals and shifts to the optimal gear in advance. It contributes not only to safety and convenience, but also to improved fuel economy.
Highway Driving Assist 2, which is standard on all trims, helps the driver to drive safely on highways and car-only roads, as well as changing lanes by operating the turn signal switch, or driving safely when getting close to the next vehicle while driving. Helps comfortable driving.
Various collision avoidance assist systems are also installed. Forward Collision Avoidance Assist provides warning and braking assistance when a collision risk is detected by expanding the target to vehicles facing the intersection and crossing/side approaching vehicles when overtaking, in addition to the existing forward stopping vehicles/pedestrians/cyclists.
In addition, ▲Multiple Collision Prevention Automatic Braking System that reduces multiple collisions such as secondary accidents with appropriate automatic control when the airbag is deployed due to a frontal or side collision ▲Warns the driver if a collision is expected while parking and the risk of collision is high Rear Parking Collision Prevention Assist that helps automatically control the ground ▲In addition to the existing forward/reverse parking, Kia’s first remote smart parking assist that adds parallel/perpendicular parking functions is also installed.
■ Deliver differentiated emotions with the latest infotainment system that can communicate with the vehicle
Kia applied a colorful and state-of-the-art infotainment system to the new K9 to provide an emotional environment where the driver can interact with the vehicle.
The fingerprint authentication system applied for the first time in its class allows the user to use a personalized profile that automatically executes the seat position, outside mirror, air conditioning, cluster, etc. set in advance through the fingerprint stored by the user. When paying, payment is possible through the fingerprint registered for each card on the infotainment system screen without a separate card.
In addition, it is equipped with an integrated handwriting recognition controller that can set the destination with handwriting, reducing the hassle of keyboard input that requires multiple touches.
A system that can update the cluster and heads-up display wirelessly (OTA) is also installed for the first time in Korea. It automatically updates not only the existing navigation wirelessly but also the new cluster graphics and the head-up display display function wirelessly.
In addition, the music search function was improved based on the database of Melon, the representative music platform in Korea, so that a wider range of songs can be searched faster and more accurately than before.
In addition to the digital key that enables remote control of vehicle access and ignition through a smartphone application without a smart key, ‘Remote 360’ allows the driver to remotely check the surroundings and vehicle status through a smartphone app even when the driver is far away from the vehicle. ‘View’ was newly applied.
■ Improved ride comfort with preview electronically controlled suspension
The new Kia K9 provides stable driving performance like a luxury large sedan and a quiet and comfortable ride.
It is equipped with a preview electronically controlled suspension that recognizes the road surface information in advance through the front camera and navigation system and controls the suspension appropriately, enabling comfortable driving.
In addition, sound-insulating glass was applied to the front windshield (windshield) and door (door) of the vehicle, followed by the rear windshield to improve shielding and interior quietness.
■ Classy and modern design with premium value
The new Kia K9 has been reborn as a classy and modern design with a luxurious and sophisticated interior and exterior.
On the front, a sophisticated V-shaped chrome pattern was applied to the large radiator grill to create a luxurious image, while at the same time creating a cutting-edge atmosphere through a slim, horizontally extended headlamp. Here, a slim and wide lower bumper design that contrasts with the large radiator grille gives stability.
On the side, a balanced silhouette and a voluminous character line create a profound feeling, and a unique design of fender garnish and a three-dimensional 19-inch sputtering wheel are applied to emphasize the sense of luxury.
The rear is a futuristic and luxurious atmosphere with rear lamps connected horizontally on the left and right connected from the side character line, and the license plate is moved to the bumper and the new Kia emblem is applied to create a sophisticated and modern image.
At the same time, the dynamic welcome light, which turns on the headlamp and the rear lamp at the same time when the door is unlocked, leaves a strong impression as an eye-catching element.
The interior conveys a luxurious yet high-tech sensibility by harmonizing delicate materials and cutting-edge specifications in a layout that allows passengers’ eyes to stay comfortably.
It is equipped with a 14.5-inch extra-large wide display to create a cutting-edge atmosphere, and an integrated controller that increases the size of the diamond-cutting pattern delivers a sophisticated image while enhancing usability.
In addition, Oveche Engineer Real Wood and Sycamore Real Wood, which are new premium wood patterns, were applied to the crush pad, door trim, and console, and modernity and luxury were improved through slim mirrors with no borders.
A quilting pattern was applied to the seat to create a luxurious image, and an Ergo Motion seat with a stretching mode added to the driver’s seat and the right rear seat (VIP seat) was installed to enable comfortable driving. Stretching mode is a function that reduces the fatigue of passengers by controlling the air cells (air pockets) inside the seat.
Exterior colors include ▲Snow White Pearl ▲Silky Silver ▲Aurora Black Pearl ▲Marsala ▲Pantera Metal ▲Deep Chroma Blue, including the newly added heavy yet trendy Ascott Green. The interior color is ▲Modern It is operated in a total of four colors: a new taupe gray that conveys a warm yet warm sensibility, and ▲black 1 tone ▲beige 2 tone ▲saddle brown 2 tone.
Source: Kia
