Transportation

Car Review: 2015 Kia K900

Published

9 years ago

May 11, 2015

By Frank S. Washington
NNPA Columnist

DETROIT (NNPA) – Eyebrows raised when Kia announced a little more than one year ago the development of the K900. After all, the Korean automaker had just introduced the Cadenza sedan about a year earlier. So why come to market with a full-size luxury sedan that seemed to be out of whack with the automaker’s overall product line?

At the time, Kia executives said they saw room emerging in the luxury sedan market for a $60,000 car as traditional luxury automakers moved up stream. This year, through March, 269 K 900s were sold. That’s not much. but it is a relatively new nameplate and sales gains will be incremental.

Still, no one is saying that Kia’s K900 is a shoddy car. In fact, in a recent ranking of large luxury cars, the Kia K900 came in third out of eight products tested.

Our test car was powered by a 5.0-liter aluminum V8 that made 420 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque. It was mated to an eight-speed transmission. It is the only powertrain available. The big sedan had an EPA rating of 15 mpg in the city, 23 mpg on the highway and 18 mpg combined.

But though output remains the same the engine does come in two configurations: premium and luxury. In luxury, the transmission shifts by wire gear selector. In premium, it is shifted by cable gear selector.

It is the same thing with the headlights. Premium has HID headlights and luxury has LED headlights. Both have what Kia has branded Dynamic Bending Lights (read adaptable).

We had a Kia K900 with the luxury trim line. Still, either or, the engine moved the 4,555-pound sedan effortlessly. It had four drive modes: normal, eco, sport and snow.

This car was quick, very quick. In sport mode especially, it was easy to get up to speeds that in places, like curving expressway entrances and exits, the K900 wasn’t comfortable.

You don’t take a full-sized sedan into a tight curve at 60 plus miles an hour. Still, the K900 got through it without tires squealing or body yawing.

The car had five-link suspensions with stabilizer bars fore and aft. Though sizable, the setup made the car glide over the road without feeling disconnected. And that adhesiveness with the road was aided by hydraulic power steering. Many manufacturers are switching to electric power steering. We hope Kia holds out for real road feel with the K900.

Kia said the K900 had a swept greenhouse, subdued cut lines along the doors and a high rear deck lid that lent a muscular tension to the sheet metal. The car featured Kia’s tiger grille and side vents. The bottom line is that it looked like the wildly popular Kia Optima, just bigger, a lot bigger. It was 200 inches long with a 119.9-inch wheel-base. It was a spacious interior and that’s where luxury is always conveyed in any vehicle.

Our tester had the VIP package that included a 12.3-inch full LCD TFT instrument cluster. We didn’t like it. But don’t get it twisted, we’ve yet to see a full TFT instrument cluster that we do like, so our reaction was normal. Beyond that the K900’s interior was top grade. Fit and finish were great. The car had gray stained wood to match its black and white motif. The option package also included a heads up display, power headrests in the front, a driver’s power seat cushion extension, reclining rear seats with lumbar supports and lateral adjusting headrests. There was also a panoramic roof.

This car was chauffer ready, too. It had a control panel in the rear seat center armrest. It held switches for the power rear seats that were heated and cooled and they had power lumbar supports. Rear seat climate controls were there as well as the switch for the power rear sunshade. There were also manual side windows shades.

But the 2015 Kia K900 was also a driver’s car. Not only did the blind side alert display in the side view mirrors, it flashed in the heads-up display. That was a more immediate warning right in our line of sight and it also served as a monitor that let us know when someone was in our blind spot on either side at all times.

We had a couple quibbles with the interior. There was one switch to control the panoramic roof and its interior shade. One seemed like too little. It was about pressure, a hard click opened the shade and the roof, a soft one just the shade would open. Another click stopped either the shade or the roof. It just wasn’t easy to master and shouldn’t have to be mastered.

Sunroof controls should be one of the intuitively easiest things to use. The last thing you want is to be caught up trying to get the sunroof and or the shade to do what you want to them do and in effect have one hand over your head while driving. Eh, no.

Our other quibble was really a snippet. The 2015 Kia K900 had a premium Exicon audio system that sounded really good. But we had to put on our glasses and get up real close to read the logo. If you think enough of the system to put the brand name on the speaker, then it should be made easy to read.

Still, the 2015 Kia K900 was a very engaging full size sedan. It had a base price of $59,500. Add the $6,000 VIP option package and a $900 freight charge and as tested our K900 was $66,400.

Frank S. Washington is editor of AboutThatCar.com.

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Former Mayor Willie L. Brown Endorses Dana Lang for BART Board District 7

Former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown has announced his endorsement support for Dana Lang for BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes voters from both sides of the Bay, and in San Francisco includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island. Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy of Dana Lang.

By Oakland Post Staff

Brown acknowledged that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

“When I met with Dana Lang I asked many questions, then I asked others about her contributions. Getting to know her I realized that she truly understood transportation. At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is more than ready for this job, she is ready to meet the moment!”

Over the past 24 years Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible. I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure. Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”

Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto, CA, and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting transit riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs.

With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to serve as a transportation grants specialist.

During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities. In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality — and bringing riders back to BART. She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.

Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, the Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, Alameda County supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, District 4 Oakland City Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.

Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which includes San Francisco’s Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island, a large portion of Oakland, the cities of Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley.

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Alameda County Supervisors Keith Carson and Nate Miley Endorse Dana Lang for BART Board District 7

Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and Keith Carson have announced their support for Dana Lang for the BART Board District 7 Seat. These supervisors say that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Published

1 month ago

October 1, 2024

Oakland Post

Courtesy of Dana Lang.

By Oakland Post Staff

Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and Keith Carson have announced their support for Dana Lang for the BART Board District 7 Seat.

These supervisors say that Lang has been a behind-the-scenes force in transportation funding for many years and can help BART manage its financial challenges.

Supervisor Nate Miley acknowledges that, “At a time when BART is facing a “fiscal cliff” and an upcoming deficit of nearly $360 million per year, Dana is the person for the job. As a transportation leader, Dana Lang is exactly ready to meet this moment.”

Over the past 24 years, Lang has been a funding and grants specialist with several municipal transportation agencies, including the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Muni, San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Dana Lang says, “I’ve faced a number of fiscal crises in my career — such as securing $52 million in new transit security funding for SFMTA (Muni) during the 2008 Great Recession, when others thought it was not possible. I have always managed to identify new funding and ways to make transit more secure. Facing a crisis is the best time to act, through advocacy and policy setting. We’ve got to keep BART running and make it safer and more vibrant in order to meet the needs of our riders, our work force, and our community.”

Lang grew up in the low-income minority community of East Palo Alto and knew that locating grants and resources could positively impact an entire city and its surrounding region — helping to create and retain agency jobs, getting riders to their workplaces, and encouraging small business development near transit hubs. With that in mind, she pursued a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wellesley College, then an MBA from Cal Berkeley Haas School of Business.

She started her municipal career as a policy advisor to Mayor Elihu Harris and helped secure grants for the City of Oakland before moving to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. During her 24-year career she has helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars for Bay Area transit agencies and municipalities. In addition to BART’s financial health, Lang’s priorities for BART also include safety, cleanliness, station vitality and bringing riders back to BART.

She has served on the BART Police Civilian Review Board since 2022.

Lang is also endorsed by BART Board Director Robert Raburn, former BART Board Director Carole Ward Allen, Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker, former Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris, former San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Oakland Councilperson Janani Ramachandran, Alameda Councilperson Tracy Jensen, Oakland Chinatown leader Carl Chan, and many others.

Lang is seeking the BART Board District 7 Seat, which covers most of the East Bay, including Oakland, Alameda, Emeryville, Piedmont, and a small portion of Berkeley. The district also includes Bay View Hunters Point and Treasure Island in San Francisco.

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Bay Area

Congresswoman Lee Celebrates Federal Green Transportation Investments for California

Published

2 months ago

September 12, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

OAKLAND, CA — Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12) today celebrated the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) announcement of two grants for California to expand clean transportation infrastructure. The DOT announced that Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will receive over $14 million to install Level 2 EV charging ports at all BART-managed parking facilities for use by customers and community members. The DOT also announced that the California Department of Transportation will receive $102 million for the West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project to deploy charging and hydrogen fueling stations for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles along 2,500 miles of key freight corridors in California, Oregon, and Washington.

The transportation sector is the largest source of U.S. carbon emissions. According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a 50 percent reduction in carbon must be achieved by 2050—and as much as a 91 percent decrease by 2100—to stay within the globally accepted goal of limiting the planet’s warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

“Today, I am excited to announce that BART has been selected to receive this critical federal funding to help expand mobility and end fossil fuel dependence,” said Congresswoman Lee. “It is especially important the first phase of the project will prioritize deployment at stations in or near disadvantaged communities. BART is an essential part of our public transit system, and these funds will improve transit for its riders in throughout the Bay Area.”

By installing chargers at BART stations that are close to multifamily housing, workplaces, medical facilities, schools, and retail, the project will support robust EV adoption across a wide range of socioeconomic groups and road users.

Furthermore, because of discriminatory policies, highways were built near and through Black and brown communities, making these communities much more vulnerable to chronic illnesses associated with disproportionate exposure to air pollution. A reduction in gas-powered cars will be especially beneficial to communities of color and low-income communities who have been disproportionately harmed by infrastructural and environmental injustices.

The West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project will enable the emissions-free movement of goods connecting major ports, freight centers, and agricultural regions between the U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada.

On this funding, Congresswoman Lee said: “This funding will go a long way toward not only combatting the climate crisis, but it will create good-paying jobs as well. I thank the Department of Transportation and the Biden-Harris administration for their continued commitment to a cleaner and healthier environment.”

Last year, alongside the California delegation, Congresswoman Lee sent a letter to DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging support for the grant application of the West Coast Truck Charging and Fueling Corridor Project through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Charging and Fueling Infrastructure program.