Photo: Kia
Redesigned from the ground up for the 2017 model year, the Cadenza is Kia’s answer to the mid-size luxury sedan segment. Now that even the BMW 5 Series is available with some sort of electrification, Kia followed suit with the Cadenza Hybrid sedan.
The car featured in the gallery is not it, but its South Korean equivalent: the K7 Hybrid. The U.S.-spec model should set foot on American ground for the 2018 model year. First things first: fuel economy. Rated at 16.2 kilometers per liter, that figure works out to 38.1 miles per gallon or 6.1 liters per 100 kilometers. It’s not exactly great, although not bad either, not bad at all.
At heart, the 2018 Kia Cadenza Hybrid is powered by a 2.4-liter engine, a 38 kW electric motor, as well as a 1.76 kWh lithium-ion battery. The internal combustion side of the deal is good for 159 PS at 5,500 rpm and 21 kgfm of torque at 4,500 rpm. In American money, those numbers convert to 157 horsepower and 152 pound-feet (206 Nm). Impressive the performance ain’t, but do bear in mind this is a 1,680-kilogram (3,703-pounds) mid-size car that can emit as little at 97 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. A luxed-up car meant to seat five people in comfort, that is, especially the rear passengers.
The Cadenza Hybrid also happens to be very nicely equipped from the get-go, with goodies such as autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, nine airbags, authentic wood grain interior trim, full-LED adaptive headlights, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring functions.
Most impressively, however, Kia South Korea offers a lifetime warranty for the battery. Taken together, all these things come at a price. Priced from 34.95 million won (approximately $29,745 at current exchange rates), the hybrid model is significantly more expensive than its internal combustion engine-only counterpart. The most no-frills model costs 24.95 million won in its domestic market, a sum that translates to $21,235 at the time of writing.
At heart, the 2018 Kia Cadenza Hybrid is powered by a 2.4-liter engine, a 38 kW electric motor, as well as a 1.76 kWh lithium-ion battery. The internal combustion side of the deal is good for 159 PS at 5,500 rpm and 21 kgfm of torque at 4,500 rpm. In American money, those numbers convert to 157 horsepower and 152 pound-feet (206 Nm). Impressive the performance ain’t, but do bear in mind this is a 1,680-kilogram (3,703-pounds) mid-size car that can emit as little at 97 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. A luxed-up car meant to seat five people in comfort, that is, especially the rear passengers.
The Cadenza Hybrid also happens to be very nicely equipped from the get-go, with goodies such as autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, nine airbags, authentic wood grain interior trim, full-LED adaptive headlights, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring functions.
Most impressively, however, Kia South Korea offers a lifetime warranty for the battery. Taken together, all these things come at a price. Priced from 34.95 million won (approximately $29,745 at current exchange rates), the hybrid model is significantly more expensive than its internal combustion engine-only counterpart. The most no-frills model costs 24.95 million won in its domestic market, a sum that translates to $21,235 at the time of writing.
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