Kia's rear-wheel drive, all-new flagship sedan will be called "Quoris" when it goes on sale in international markets from the fourth quarter of 2012.

The new luxury model (known as "K9" in the domestic market) went on sale in Korea in early May, and features a host of high-tech comfort and safety features, many of them never seen before on a Kia.

"Derived from the English words 'core' and 'quality', the name of our new flagship sedan hints at the attributes at the very heart of the vehicle," said Thomas Oh, Kia's Executive Vice President & COO of the International Business Division. "The word 'Quoris' conveys solidity, luxury and high-technology, all resonating together as a chorus.

"Our decision to give this striking new sedan an unconventional name means it will stand out even further from the established crowd, driving Kia sales in what is a new segment of the global automotive market for Kia," added Oh.

The Kia Quoris will feature an array of high-tech driving assistance and active safety features.

"Quoris adopts a number of intelligent safety technologies never before seen on a Kia, in order to deliver maximum driver comfort and safety," said Chang-Ki Kang, Senior Vice President of Kia's Namyang R&D Center.

"The Quoris can cruise at a desired speed, maintain a pre-determined 'safe' distance from the vehicle in front, and even come to a complete stop if necessary. Quoris can also detect and warn the driver of approaching potential hazards using innovative audio, visual and haptic alerts.

"Our new flagship sedan possesses remarkable abilities to monitor and detect changing traffic conditions, and is constantly processing information, immediately deciding the right course of action and precisely executing vehicle movement controls as necessary," concluded Kang.

The Quoris employs Kia's first radar-based Advanced Smart Cruise Control (ASCC). Located in the right side of the front bumper, the radar system constantly monitors the road ahead, up to a range of 174 meters.

With ASCC activated, the Quoris monitors traffic conditions and speed in order to maintain a pre-determined safe distance from the vehicle ahead. The driver can easily adjust this distance by choosing from four options (52, 40, 32 or 25 meters at a speed of 90km/h) using a button on the steering wheel.

The Quoris will also automatically come to a complete stop, if necessary.  When the stop is less than three seconds and traffic ahead moves off, the Quoris automatically moves forward, resuming the journey.  For a stop longer than three seconds, the driver has to manually restart the vehicle by pressing the accelerator or pushing the resume button.

Advanced Vehicle Safety Management (AVSM)
The ASCC is linked to the rest of the vehicle controls by the Quoris’ Advanced Vehicle Safety Management (AVSM).

Detecting a risk of a collision, AVSM warns the driver in three stages via a loud audible alarm, a visual warning on both the Head Up Display (HUD) and TFT LCD cluster and a haptic signal on the seatbelt.

The Blind Spot Detection (BSD) system for Quoris features two radar scanners located in each of the outer corners of the rear bumper.  Each is capable of detecting objects up to 70 meters away from the rear, and four meters from each side.

Activated at vehicle speeds above 30km/h, BSD gives the driver a warning when a vehicle comes into the blind spot zone - an area approximately four metres wide along each side of the Quoris and extending more than six metres from the rear bumper.

Compared with sonic-based BSD systems, Quoris' radar-based BSD gives a longer detection range, which is also exploited by the Lane Change Assistance (LCA) system. LCA alerts the driver to vehicles approaching from the rear at high speeds from up to 70 metres away.

If the system also considers the speed of approach to be a potential hazard - specifically if it calculates that a collision would occur within 4.5 seconds if no avoiding action is taken - it will illuminate a warning triangle graphic in the left or right door mirror glass and activate a warning signal on the HUD. If the driver does not react to this visual "alert", an audible warning is also sounded.

Both the BSD and LCA systems can be deactivated by the driver, if required.

Four cameras on each side of Quoris are used to create its class-leading Around View Monitor (AVM) system, which provides maximum convenience and safety during parking and low-speed maneuvering.