Found this article about Kia officially becoming a luxury brand with the launch of the new Stinger. In the past 10 years, thousands of KIA cars were recalled due to corrosive control arms, steering loss, and disruptive breaks and faulty engines, among other issues. I really like Kia's new models, but I doubt that it's the right time to put this brand in the luxury bracket, after all these years of the poor production experience. I think we should give it at least 2 more years to see how the Stinger will do and then decided whether it became a true luxury brand or just made another unsuccessful attempt to get into that segment. What do you guys think?
Is Kia a luxury brand now?
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Kia has some slight level of luxury that isn't far off from what you might see in a high end Chevrolet but at the same time with a level of swagger that is often seen in German car makers. In a way you can say its the best of both worlds. IMO the Stinger needs more to officially be a luxury product, right now its just as "luxurious" as the Chevrolet SS to me.
This is not a matter of opinion, its fact, its binary. Fact is Kia isn't really a luxury brand but it offers SOME level of luxury in similar proportion to what you see in vehicles like the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, the list goes on.
Well, I think that Kia can be considered as a luxury brand only in its segment of the market (Toyota, Honda etc.), but if you look at the whole picture there are some undisputed champions of the automotive market like Maserati, Aston Martin, Porsche and so on.
No, it's not.
Just because a Kia (or an Accord, Camry, etc) have some luxury features that previously were available on true luxury cars, doesn't make it a luxury brand. That's just the trickle down effect that's just part of the business.
When a brand is first to bring a feature to market that no one else has and everyone else feels they have to copy - and without the need to qualify it with "at this price point" - then it's a valid discussion.
Just because a Kia (or an Accord, Camry, etc) have some luxury features that previously were available on true luxury cars, doesn't make it a luxury brand. That's just the trickle down effect that's just part of the business.
When a brand is first to bring a feature to market that no one else has and everyone else feels they have to copy - and without the need to qualify it with "at this price point" - then it's a valid discussion.
Well they do offer products that are described to be luxury products, the K900 as one of them.
IMO, Kia is just a mix of everything, its like Lexus and Toyota rolled up into one brand.
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