KIA K8

The K8 is the flagship sedan which is already on sale in the UAE car market in its pre-facelifted version. However, Kia revealed a facelifted version of this premium full-size sedan with a thoroughly revised exterior and updated interior, which will be launched in the UAE in the first half of 2025. The Kia K8 first arrived in 2021 as a global replacement for the Kia Cadenza, and since then, has been serving as the flagship sedan for the Korean carmaker in many parts of the world, including the UAE. 

The updates to the exterior of the Kia K8 2025  are significant, with the sedan now adopting the brand’s latest design language of having sharp-looking elements and new-age LEDs at the front and rear. The all-new front fascia of the Kia K8 looks much sleeker and more modern than before, with the sedan now having vertically aligned LED headlamps with LED DRLs on the sides. The front fascia also has a sleek LED connected light bar across its width, joining the headlamps. There is also an all-new split grille at the front, giving it an all-new identity. 

There are little changes to the side profile of the 2025 Kia K8, with the facelifted version having a different design for the 19-inch machined alloy wheels. The rear profile looks as all-new as the front, with the K8 having new LED inserts for the tail lamps, while also having a new rear bumper. Even the front and rear overhangs have been mildly redesigned. 

Kia has also updated the interior of the 2025 K8, though the changes on the inside are not as significant as how they are on the outside. With a new colour scheme for the leather upholstery, the Kia K8 now has repositioned switches for the climate control system, which are now located below the AC vents. There are more soft-touch plastics to make the car feel premium, with the K8 now also getting ambient lighting. While the rest of the equipment list has been retained from the pre-facelift version, the new Kia K8 will now get 10 airbags and level-2 ADAS as standard. 

For the UAE car market, the 2025 Kia K8 facelift will be offered with three engine options – a 2.5-litre 198 PS four-cylinder petrol engine, a 3.5-litre 300 PS V6 petrol engine and a 1.6-litre 227 PS turbocharged petrol hybrid engine. There might also be the 3.5-litre petrol-LPG powertrain on offer. An 8-speed automatic transmission is expected to be offered as the standard transmission with all the powertrain options in the Kia K8.

With the K8, Kia has been offering direct competition to the more elite group of rivals, including the BMW 5-Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and Audi A6 in terms of size. But at significantly lower prices than its similarly-sized German luxury rivals, the Kia K8 facelift will continue to be the best in sedans from the Korean carmaker. It will also be a direct alternative to Hyundai’s flagship sedan, the Grandeur, with which it shares its platform and engine options.