I’ve always been a fan of BMW and when I saw the 7 Series being delivered outside wheels towers the other day, my stint behind the wheel had finally come… Or so I thought. Instead of the German beauty, what sat in front of me was just a Kia.
How do you get a 7 Series mixed up with a Kia, I hear you cry? Well, it’s easy when the Kia in question is the all-new Quoris.
They call it the K9 in Korea, but Kia’s new flagship is being increasingly referred to as the 7 Series lookalike. Or rip-off. Regardless of what inspired it, there is no doubt the Quoris is a handsome saloon. It combines elegance and sporty aggression in one fell swoop. BMW might be a tad miffed by its bold front end, but Aston Martin will also feel a little aggrieved. You could call it the love child of a 7 Series and the Rapide. But then, if you are going to borrow, borrow from the best. Kia has done just that.
I had the key to the pretender and wanted to see if there was more to this car than its similarities with far more prestigious brands. Had Kia bridged the gap on those far pricier rivals? I was intent on finding out.
It’s the first rear-wheel-drive large saloon for more than a decade from Kia and this platform has allowed the carmaker to create a truly luxurious new model. A 5,090mm overall length and 3,045mm wheelbase has helped to produce a spacious cabin, meaning passengers in both the front and back will be in for a very comfortable ride. But let’s get back to its exterior since this has caused quite a storm.
Designer Peter Schreyer was able to push the A-pillar back and create a longer bonnet and allow for a shorter front overhang. The long wheelbase, 18in alloys, sweeping character line and long rear overhang help to give the Quoris a premium look. That powerful, confident stance certainly goes a long way, but you can’t help feel it resembles a 7 Series a little too closely. Regardless, the Quoris sure stands out.
The bold front end features the signature hexagonal grille, which is flanked by a pair of piercing LED headlights. Take a quick look at them in the photo above. They don’t look normal, right? Because they’re not. They’re controlled by a sophisticated Adaptive Front Lighting System that automatically changes the angle of the lights and reacts to the speed of the car and steering angle to deliver a continuously varying breadth and length of light, so that you can see the roads better when it’s dark. In short; they’re very clever. The profile of the saloon emphasises the Quoris’s bold and dynamic image. It’s swoopy and muscular, but at the same time understated. The rear end gets LED lights and twin trapezoidal exhaust pipes which look a treat. Overall, it’s a great look, even if you can’t help but feel you’ve seen it somewhere else before.
Inside, it’s as sophisticated, refined and luxurious as can be. I kept playing ‘spot the badge’ to remind myself I was in a Kia because the step up in terms of quality is just staggering. It’s as elegant on the inside as it is on the out and the most important factor seems to have been occupant space. The Quoris has a front-seat head- and legroom of 1,020mm and 1,145mm — figures that match the segment’s best. Passengers at the back are also well catered for, what with a rear seat legroom of 990mm — among the best-in-class.
I loved the Nappa premium leather seats (heated, ventilated and adjustable just about every which way), not to mention the high quality suede used to trim the A-pillars and the wood-trim accents.
But before I was blown away by the large cabin, I was already smiling thanks to the smart-key system. As I approached the car, the doors unlocked without me having to press a button on the fob. The system sensed the key and did it for me. Once settled in, I couldn’t help but caress the multifunctional leather-wrapped electronic steering. Then I rapped the dash, door cards and headliner, looking for a weakness or a bit of cheap plastic.
I couldn’t find any. The only thing I found were more clever touches such as the haptic control dial on the steering — a first for Kia. This lets you access all kinds of information which is displayed in the instrument panel, including fuel economy and route information.
Everything was so good that it almost goes without saying the AC blew an ice storm within seconds. The Quoris is fitted with a fully automatic dual-zone climate-control system, which also incorporates an advanced cluster ioniser filtering system to purify the air and deodorise the atmosphere. How about that? Oh, and it has an anti-fogging system for the windscreen. We haven’t even got to the really clever stuff…
The centre console has multimedia connectivity for AUX, iPod and USB and it has a hands-free Bluetooth system too. There’s a head-up display, large 12.3in infotainment display, two 9.2in monitors on the back of the front chairs and a fabulous Lexicon by Harman 17-speaker sound system. It creates a concert hall-like atmosphere.
You wouldn’t want to ding the beautiful exterior so you’ll be glad to read it has an Around View Monitor system that employs four cameras and displays a 360-degree, virtual bird’s-eye image of the car’s location on the sat-nav screen.
If you still dent it, then there’s no hope for you. Especially not when it also packs a Parking Guide System that uses steering wheel angle sensors and a rear-view camera to help you back into a spot.
Then there’s the host of safety technologies such as the Advanced Vehicle Safety Management that can detect a potential collision and alert the driver, pre-pressurise the brakes to give you optimum stopping power and pre-tension the seatbelts for when the inevitable happens. Throw in an Advanced 9-Airbag System, Blind Spot Detection, Advanced Smart Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning System, Hill-start Assist Control and Automatic Vehicle Hold, and it’s fair to say the Quoris packs a lot of clever kit.
Power comes from the company’s redesigned Lambda 3.8-litre V6 with twin DOHC and 24 valves, which produces 290bhp at 6,200 rpm and maximum torque of 358Nm at 4,500rpm. The six-pot delivers more than 87 per cent of its maximum torque from just 1,500rpm and while acceleration isn’t exactly neck-snapping, there’s nothing wrong with a 0-100kph sprint of 7.3 seconds. Keep your foot floored and you’ll reach a top speed of 240kph. But the silky smooth eight-speed automatic that the V6 has been paired with is the best feature. The wide spread of ratios guarantees high-speed refinement, while the shift-by-wire technology with the joystick-like gear lever (cough, cough BMW), delivers fabulously crisp gear changes.
You get four driving modes to select from (Eco, Normal, Sport and, err, Snow), but my advice is to leave it in Sport for a more spirited drive. But it was designed to waft along thanks to the full Air Suspension system, tuned to deliver a fabulously smooth ride.
Verdict
For around half the price of the Teuton, you get almost the same package. The Quoris is attractive, has a decent engine and some truly impressive technology and demands to be taken very seriously. It’s ruffled a few feathers and has been called a few names, some of which can’t even be printed. Call it what you will, there’s no doubt this is an impressive piece of work. I always wanted to drive
a 7 Series. Last week, I did. Sort of.
Specs & ratings
- Model Quoris
- Engine 3.8-litre V6
- Transmission Eight-speed auto, RWD
- Max power 290bhp @ 6,200rpm
- Max torque 358Nm @ 4,500rpm
- Top speed 240kph
- 0-100kph 7.3sec
- Price Dh220,000
