![]() 03/07/2018 at 16:40 • Filed to: Kia | ![]() | ![]() |
We will see the 2019 RJ next month and it’s looking great already! HMG is definitely bringing the Bentley feel downmarket while retaining the simplicity and ease of operation that is becoming a Korean car trademark.
The biggest changes will be available AWD, the Lambda 3.3t V6, and possibly the new 10-speed auto which is guaranteed to be smoother than Erykah Badu on a Tuesday afternoon, kin. The Tau V8 should make a final return before being defenestrated by the next generation of big boy Korean car powertrains.
There’s likely a bunch of tech stuff that makes the car a Level 42 White Mage in autonomous driving and blah blah blah. As long as active and passive systems are not jumbled up I’m happy.
The RJ will continue to be extremely comfort focused. There should be more poise to the body control and the meticulous build and ride quality that defines comfort-centric luxury which is seeming to be a dying art right now.
Teaser Video:
I think the teased images go silhouette, speaker, door pocket, and the back of the front seat. Light design will definitely have some great marketing fluff to it.
As a composer, the sound design on this teaser is great!
![]() 03/07/2018 at 16:47 |
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This is gonna be great. This is what Kia needs to do. Keep pounding away at the American market with great products. They’ll get there.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 16:48 |
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I want that, but as a liftback wagon.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 16:48 |
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This will be a fantastic used car buy 3 years from now. 2015 V8 versions with less than 40,000 miles are selling for just around $30K easily.
By the way a Korean Accessories company did this render and seems they’re usually very accurate.
http://thekoreancarblog.com/2017/12/14/kia-k9-details-revealed-will-debut-march-2018/
![]() 03/07/2018 at 16:49 |
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That logo is what I saw on the Stinger being customized in my Kia dealer’s bay last week.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 16:56 |
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They definitely will. Everyone is severely underestimating how many truly well built, zero excuse needed cars are coming for regular consumers as well as enthusiasts. What the late 80s and early 90s was for Japanese cars is what the late 10s and early 20s will be for HMG.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 16:58 |
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Also, congrats on your promotion.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 16:59 |
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Looks like a Bentley on a low-carb diet. All the class, half the mass.
Dayum, Kia...
![]() 03/07/2018 at 17:03 |
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The problem is a liftback requires folding rear seats which totally kills the reclining, ventilated, massaging, frontseat-footrest backseat expected in this type of vehicle.
Rumor has it that the Cadenza will be switching to a RWD platform (this is years away though) and it has the same body shape as the BMW 6GT but with correct proportions.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 17:05 |
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Somewhat tangential, but I actually saw an Equus the other day. Can’t remember the last time I saw one in the wild. It looked like it’d had a somewhat neglected life, but a decent looking car.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 17:12 |
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Looks like a facelifted M6 Gran Coupe
![]() 03/07/2018 at 17:13 |
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Brenthon is huge in Korea. When more than 2 out of 3 cars in the country either have a Hyundai logo or a Kia logo on them there becomes a market just for putting a different badge on the cars. Really think about how huge the market share is and how that would look on the streets accumulating year after year for decades. It used to be closer to 4 out of 5 cars!
![]() 03/07/2018 at 17:14 |
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Their renders are so close that I think the designer actually works for Kia in particular.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 17:18 |
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I dont see any resembles to BMW. *cough cough*
![]() 03/07/2018 at 17:34 |
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But will you buy a new one? :)
Schreyer must still be busy, I can see it. Hopefully for Kia a leap over the prior one (and Equus which looks like an early 00s time warp).
![]() 03/07/2018 at 17:53 |
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Like British cars it’s best to be the 2nd owner.
There seems to be a fairly seamless Schreyer-to-Donckerwolke transition happening. I think Schreyer is cementing the body designs before he leaves but Donckerwolke is definitely influencing a lot of the front ends popping up now.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 19:49 |
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Well, we know they have guts. Will there be glory, tho?
![]() 03/07/2018 at 21:19 |
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I wonder how these will lease - that’s the key for a supply of nice 3 year old cars.
There’s still a bit of Fauxdi in the designs, yes, especially the continued 6 window trend.
![]() 03/07/2018 at 21:32 |
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That’s surprising. I was wildly impressed with the interior of the one I sat in, but haven’t they only sold like three dozen of them?