Great thread! Pretty much confirms my personal thoughts on Korean cars and why I have never owned one...

 

My windows did fog up on pretty much any day, but not nearly as bad as when the weather was bad. It also took forever for the heat and AC to warm up or get cold, and when it did it was mediocre at best. I'm just amazed that when I turn on my heat and AC in my LS it's almost instant and powerful no matter the weather outside.

 

I've rented three 2015 Sonatas since September. I noticed the left and right hand sides of the windshield were prone to fogging in cold, damp weather/morning. And the heater took moderately longer to put out hot air compared to a late model Toyota/Lexus. The air conditioner, however, was superb - on a hot day it took only seconds for the systems on all three cars to blow cold air and the temperature of the air was truely frigid (mid-high 30's) vs about 40 for most late model Toyota-Lexus vehicles.

 

This is a completely pointless post . There is no worth even mentioning the Kia and Lexus in the same breath . They are chalk and cheese . Kia is crappy Korean built to a price with no heritage or pedigree.

 

The same snobby statements are made about the Lexus in BMW, Merc and Audi forums.

This is a car forum right??

 

Many of the high end European brands sell you on a false heritage that is far worse then Kia.
The only thing that sucks about Lexus is the fact that they had to make a name distinction from Toyota for all of the people who buy into false prestige.

 

well, it doesn't suck any more with 26+ years under their belt, and an excellent track record for quality and reliability.

 

Toyota back in 83 was selling a lot of vehicles. They were quality, but not luxury. Mr Toyoda wanted to bring out a product that was pure luxury and picked up where BMW and Mercedes had left off. Back in the 80's BMW and Mercedes rested on their laurels. Their cars were well build boring boxes. Toyoda saw this as an opportunity. Hence the Lexus LS400. Nothing had been available to the public at a reasonable price with performance, looks and comfort. He wanted to introduce a new product line, not an extension of the existing brand. He succeeded.

It's all in the book The Relentless Pursuit. Great read.

 

I have read Relentless Pursuit twice and it is a good read but most people don't know that the Lexus brand came into existence in Japan much later then it did in Europe and North America.
The Toyota brand is prideful and has a great lineage despite the Europeans thumbing their nose at it. Toyota was building luxury cars under the Toyota brand way before Lexus came into existence.
The fact of the matter is that buyers in North America was the prize before the developing Asian markets and most people in the US made the Toyota brand exceptional but despite all of this Toyota needs their luxury division to make a distinction so they can cater Merc and BMW owners that don't want to be caught with an unfounded sigma with driving an Toyota.

 

I've started reading that book, and well written so far, can't wait to get finish it up!

 

Awesome book for the collection and any fan of Lexus products.

 

reliving just an old thread, a friend at work bought a pre-owned K900 (most of the used ones in the market today are ex-rentals...he searched for one that isn't) for a pretty decent price (I think 2015 15k miles in high $30s) which he justified would get him a higher mileage 2011-12 LS460.

Likes the vehicle, dislikes the dealer/service experience, no issues after 6k miles. Has some lingering concerns around reliability in the long run as well as resale value, given the fact he bought it used for over $20k off MSRP, it'll bite him back when he trades/sells it in the future.

In his mind, it is "good enough". Steps above the Genesis/Cadenza, not quite comparable to a LS...or even GS to that matter, for the price he paid for it he is happy. Better technology integration and features as compared to a 2011-12 LS460 that he would have been able to afford. To each his own, I suppose.

 

now heres an interesting topic.. the Kia K900. first question about this oddball is has anybody actually SEEN one?! I sure as hell haven't. im thinking this car will go the way of the Volkswagen phaeton, which was an amazing car but people couldn't get past spending 7 series prices on a VW. it was a car that left such a small footprint here in the states most people don't even know what the heck they are! although I do remember seeing one once in a blue moon in traffic around town going on ten years ago when they first came out. that car lasted, what? 2 years and was killed off? people just wont spend 60 something thousand dollars on a Kia, its just not going to happen. as far as the Hyndai Equus goes, they have sold some of them, and although I do see them in traffic from time to time, and although they are fairly nice cars I don't see too many of them. I actually got to spend quite a bit of seat time in a Equus back when I was a salesman cause I took one in on a trade and had to drive it almost 100 miles back to the dealership and took my sweet time with it. infact I spent almost the whole day with it getting to know it really well just cause I was very curious about all its features and how it handled. don't get me wrong, its a nice car, but A its seriously lacking an identity. it looks like a 2006 Ls430 banged a 2008 Azera and this was its child. seriously wtf. it looked dated already when it came out. B, the Equus has lots of toys, but not even close to as refined as an LS460. they seriously cheaped out on interior bits, and although it has some guts on the street, its pretty spineless on the highway with merging power.

the Kia K900 is more of a curiosity to me than anything else. and honestly I like the way it looks more than the Equus. it has its own identity and looks really really nice in pictures, but ive never had my hands on once which is surprising cause I work at a luxury dealership and get all kinds of interesting things in on trade.

one thing about Hyundai / Kia vehicles that's a little unsettling is that they don't seem to have much of a lifespan. ive seen 2010-2012 Sonatas, Elantras, Optimas, Azeras, Genesis and Equus show up in the trade lot that at 50k miles already felt more wore out and tired than my 20+ year old, 200k mile Ls400. kind of surprising for a company that is hell bent on being a Luxury brand. suspensions already sinking, rubber gaskets already deteriorating, electrical problems, bits of trim falling off etc. very very disappointing..

 

To be fair, the LS400 ages unusually well for the industry. I've never owned another car that took miles as well as a Lexus LS, imcludimg other Lexus/Toyota products.

As someone who owns a 2015 LS and a 2015 Kia product I can tell you I am quite impressed with the Kia. Interior quality is very good, the leather on the seats so MUCH higher quality than what is in my LS. It has 10k miles now, no rattles, everything has held up well, paint is nice quality. We will see how it ages, but so far I am very impressed.

I don't think I've ever seen a K900 on the road but remember is $25,000 cheaper than a comparable LS. Can't expect it to be every bit as good.

 

I own a 1995 LS and a 2003 Kia product. its a Kia Spectra, and its absolutely dreadful. then again, that's like comparing a 1982 Cressida to a new LS...