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| 2011 Kia K7 |
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| 2012 Hyundai Grandeur |
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| 2011 GM Korea Alpheon |
A trio of luxury Korean premium midsize sedans are one of my favorites. The Kia K7 (known worldwide as the Kia Cadenza), the Hyundai 5G Grandeur, and GM Korea's world class luxury Alpheon, are highly luxurious and both have GDi engines depending on the Korean executives' tastes. I wonder which of these three is my pick?
CASE ONE: On February 2011, the Kia K7 made its transition that all of the engines offered on this premium midsize sedan are all Gasoline Direct Injection engines. Now called "The Prestige K7", the Kia K7 now offers the 2.4L Theta-II GDi and the new Lambda V6 GDi engine, first offered on the Hyundai 5G Grandeur. The fuel economy of the K7 2.4 GDi takes about 12.8km/L while the K7 3.0 GDi goes for about 11.6km/L. The styling of the Kia K7 was too plain and bulgy but the headlamps seem to be a shining inheritance because when night falls, expect these daytime running lamps shine through.
CASE TWO: After its surprise appearance at one episode of KBS' action drama, The Fugitive Plan B, and debuted in South Korean market since mid-January 2011, the term 5G in the 5G Grandeur naming stands for "fifth generation", meaning that the Grandeur (known in some markets as the Azera) is now on its 5th generation. A legendary evolution on Hyundai's legendary name that made it the Korean take of Toyota Crown. The 5G Grandeur packs two engine types; a 2.4L Theta-II GDi and the new Lambda V6 GDi engine. The front looks more of an oversized YF Sonata and the rear view kinda looks like a Maserati Granturismo but the new 5G Grandeur is one beautiful specimen thanks to Hyundai's fluidic sculpture. This exterior look is way better than the Kia K7!
CASE THREE: The GM Korea Alpheon (formerly GM Daewoo Alpheon, after this company switched its name to GM Korea Company) was just a rebadged version of the second-generation Buick LaCrosse and it replaced the poor-selling, Australia-built, Veritas as the flaghsip model that takes on the likes of the BMW 5-Series, Audi A6, Lexus GS, and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The gorgeous exterior and the swooping interior lines truly made the Alpheon the new class of world class luxury. The 2.4L SIDI and the 3.0L SIDI engine are the available engine types available for the Alpheon. The 2.4L SIDI is a GDi engine that has a fuel economy of 10.6km/L and the 3.0L SIDI is also a GDi engine, packing a fuel efficiency of 9.3km/L. Not quite fuel efficient but its design is truly a work of art for the Alpheon.
As for me, I think the GM Korea Alpheon and the Hyundai 5G Grandeur are my pick when it comes to the design but if I had to choose one of these, I'd say it would be the Alpheon because of its world class design. The 5G Grandeur looks more of an oversized Sonata to me but I think the new look would need to be more attractive to appeal more Korean executives. Both the K7 and the 5G Grandeur are more fuel efficient than the Alpheon because their advanced GDi engines are optimized to make it more powerful, emit less, and labeled as full-fledged eco cars. It's up to you to decide which of these three sovereign Korean sedans is your pick. ^^
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