Kia K8: The New Luxury Sedan Challenge to BMW – Features, Specs, and European Availability

The position of the top middle class limousine of the Kia car company was previously held in some markets by the Cadenza model, known as the K7 in Korea. With the new generation, however, the K8 was united, which has now undergone a major change.

It no longer looks like the last one from the outside Ford Mondeobut in black more like an evening limousine Batman to society. And since it is a direct competitor to the BMW 5 series, it seems that the Germans have a real competitor.

The front without the usual radiator grill is decorated with very straight adaptive diode headlights (so it reminds us electric flagship EV9). And what else is positive? no more fake solution tips!

Inside the luxurious interior, we find a redesigned climate control located under the central ventilation, softer materials, two mobile phone chargers or LED lighting around.

In the back, the seat belt buckles are illuminated, the rear seats are heated and ventilated, and the crew is protected by a total of 10 airbags.

The base engine is a 2.5-liter gasoline engine tuned to 198 horsepower, and the top is the 300-horsepower 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine. It’s also sold as four-wheel drive, something the previous Cadenza didn’t offer with front-wheel drive only. The transmission is only an eight-speed automatic.

On the other hand, a 16-cylinder hybrid tuned to 180 horsepower works under the hood, but the Czech customer might be interested in a 3.5-liter six-cylinder that burns both gasoline and LPG! Although it has “only” 240 hp, so 60 pp less than its pure gasoline sibling, it will be at least half as cheap.

In terms of price, the basic Kia K8 costs about CZK 630,000, and the highest specification costs CZK 873,000, but this is a change from South Korean prices. And that brings us to why we can only dream about this car in Europe.

So far, it has appeared at home only, although the expansion to other markets is not prohibited, but Europe may not be in Kia crossovers to focus on a luxury sedan. And if so, the K8 would certainly not cost as little as in Korea. Which is a shame because we really liked this car!