Kia is offering luxury cars in its home market. Europe is far away from receiving them, so we just get to dream of the moment K8 will be launched on The Old Continent. Following its debut market launch in Korea, the K8 will also be made available in selected global markets later this year.
The K8 is a car of many firsts for Kia. It represents a new model name – replacing the hugely successful K7 (known as Cadenza in some markets) – and wears the new contemporary company logo that sits just above the reimagined ‘Tiger Nose’ grille, a signature Kia design. It is also the first Kia K-Series model to be designed and developed under the company’s daring all-new design philosophy, ‘Opposites United’.
At the front sits a new signature frameless Tiger Nose Grille that gives the K8 presence and authority. The frameless grille, which is integrated within the front bumper to give a clean yet expansive look, features an intricate diamond lattice designed to express the movement of light. The front lamps include a turn signal that resembles a row of shining diamonds.
The 3D vertical clusters hug the corners of the K8, emphasising clean, angular lines at the rear and further adding depth to the ‘high-tech innovation meets high-end luxury’ appeal of the car. The first-ever K8 badge sits centrally at the rear, just below the horizontal light dash.
Six different chic and luxurious exterior colours are available for the K8 from launch, including Snow White Pearl, Steel Grey, Interstellar Grey, Aurora Black Pearl, Gravity Blue and Deep Forest Green.
Every element of the K8 interior has been designed with high-end luxury in mind, serving to elevate the senses of the driver and passengers. A sleek, contemporary and minimalist style that is informed by the ‘Opposites United’ ethos creates a wide cabin effect that is light in both touch and look.
A contemporary panoramic curved display links a 12-inch digital cluster and a 12-inch infotainment system, bringing together the K8’s advanced connectivity and infotainment technology. This curved display – a first for Kia – is clean, ultra-modern and easy-to-use, giving the K8 an effective ‘minimalist-meets-simplicity’ tech style.
The three-zone climate control system features an in-built active air cleaning sub-system that monitors in real-time the air quality inside the K8. If the air is deemed to be of poor or very poor quality, an automatic air cleaning operation is activated via a high-performance combi filter, ensuring that the driver and passengers are not exposed to dust and other microscopic particles.
Optimally positioned for the driver and front passenger is an ergonomic centre console that features wood-based cupholders and glossy soft-touch switches, the latter sitting on a raised profile alongside the shift-by-wire transmission dial.
Named the Ergo Motion Seat, the leading-edge driver’s seat has a ‘comfort stretching’ mode that individually controls the air pockets of the hip and backrest areas of the seat, creating the effect of stretching while sitting down. There is also a ‘smart support’ function that tenses the seat against the body of the driver, creating a unison and helping to inspire total driving confidence. The ‘smart support’ function of the seat is activated when the K8 engages sports driving mode or when the car exceeds 130 km/h. It lowers the height of the hip area of the seat and strengthens the support to the side bolsters. A third innovative mode – ‘posture assistance’ – adjusts the air pouches located around the hip and back areas of the seat when driving for more than one hour to provide a sumptuous seating position.
The K8 interior also debuts a new steering wheel design from Kia and the company’s contemporary new logo that expresses ‘symmetry’, ‘rhythm’ and ‘rising’ elements, embodying Kia’s confidence and renewed commitment to customers.
