After running the table stylistically, starting with the previous-generation Optima, Kia designers’ once-hot pens have seemingly begun to cool. First came the latest Optima, which is still handsome but not as wow-inducing as the 2011 model. The 2017 Sportage crossover is certainly fresh, albeit with a bizarre face—we’ve called it “French” in appearance. And now comes the claimed all-new Cadenza luxury sedan. Overall its design is sharper and more expressive than before, but what’s with that concave, Maserati-like grille?
We should be clear that none of these recent Kias are ugly; it’s that few seem to share a consistent design theme. In fact, study the Optima, the Sportage, and now this Cadenza, and the only signature design cue appears to be a set of quad LED foglight nacelles and upper and lower indents in the grille. Beyond that, anything goes.
On the upside, the new Cadenza—a plus-size sedan that sits above the Optima in Kia’s lineup, but below the K900—is a deluxe-looking piece. In place of the outgoing model’s doughy body surfaces there are sharper creases and powerful sinew. And the grille we’re scratching our heads over might not be the final U.S.-spec treatment; after all, so far Kia is only showing us the Korean-market K7. When the first-generation Cadenza finally arrived in the U.S. three years after the K7 went on sale overseas, several details differed, including the headlights, grille, and front fascia.
Sans that grille, the K7/Cadenza is a handsome, attractive thing, made more so by a claimed lower and wider stance, a longer hood, and smartly designed LED headlights and taillights. The first-generation model utilized a platform that incorporated components from the Optima sedan; since that car first debuted in 2009, it’s time for the Cadenza to move on to newer bones. For now, Kia isn’t saying what those bones are, but it’s a pretty safe assumption that the Cadenza will once again be based heavily from the Optima. Also unknown at this point is what’s powering the K7/Cadenza, potential drive configurations (previously, the model was front-drive-only), and what the interior looks like. All we know is that it will go on sale “in global markets” in 2016. Stay tuned.
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