Kia to Launch Amanti Sedan Replacement

The disappointing Kia Amanti sedan will see its end very soon, as the South Korean manufacturer is planning to launch a replacement in the near future. It seems like the model designed to take the place of the Amanti is the Cadenza sedan which is likely to hit the market in the first half of the next year.

Furthermore, Kia will introduce the new Optima, the second sedan sold under the Kia badge that could arrive in less than six months, as Autonews noted today.

Cadenza is already on sale in South Korea, but the car will obviously undergo numerous modifications to comply with new regulations in the United States.

In Kia's domestic market, the car is offered with a 3.5l Lambda II Quad-OHC V6 engine, developing 290 hp at 6,600 rpm and 338 Nm of torque at 5,000 rpm. The unit is paired with a 6-speed fully auto and sequential manual transmission. Together, they help the Cadenza reach a top speed of 230 km/h (143 mph) and accelerate from naught to sixty in 7.2 seconds.

Launching two sedans in such a short time could raise some problems for the South Korean manufacturer but Kia is not at all afraid of this. Furthermore, several new models are likely to be introduced in the near futuer, including the redesigned Rio and the refreshed Soul.

"In our mind, they're aimed at two different buyers," Orth Hedrick, director of product planning for Kia Motors America, was quoted as saying by Autonews about the two sedans. "This is absolutely the fastest product cadence that I've personally been involved with, and it just keeps coming."