Kia's lineup of cars has rather more to do with BMW and Mercedes than Ford or Volkswagen. Instead of sticking to just compacts, mid-size and full-size models, they make a whole bunch of cars in incrementally bigger sizes. These range from the K1 or Picanto, which is the size of a Fiat 500 to the K9, which is very… German.
Last year, the Koreans launched the Cadenza sedan in America calling it an all-new model. It's technically a facelift of a 2009 model that's only all-new for the US, but we'll let that pass. The Kia Cadenza is the twin brother of the Hyundai Azera and shares its 3.3-liter V6 engine with 293-hp.
At 4,965mm long (195.5 inches), the Cadenza (K7) is only 12 centimeters bigger than the Optima (K5). Consumer Reports published an initial test drive to let us know if this new sedan is worth it.
According to them, the answer is a definite "yes". Since this is a revised model, it rides and drives better than the equivalent Hyundai. The only problem is people who walk into Kia dealerships in America don't normally buy expensive 5-meter cars. Hopefully, this car will prove us wrong and raise the standard for the Korea automaker.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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