Kia previews updated 2020 Cadenza in teaser sketches
The Korean automaker is readying its next-gen, Korean-market K7, which is the Cadenza in the US.
The Southern California native briefly lived in Sydney, and is proud to have developed a barely passable Aussie accent. He also serves on the board of directors of the Motor Press Guild. When not reviewing cars or nerding out on OEM premium audio, you can find manual-labor-averse Manuel doing his best to convince his closest friends to fix the very Porsche that delivered him home.
Kia has been selling the second-generation Cadenza full-size sedan in the US since 2017. Usually after three model years, automakers will update a vehicle to keep it fresh in the marketplace without having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on a complete redesign.
Model year 2020 would mark the Cadenza's fourth spin around the sun, which means Kia's Toyota Avalon competitor is due for a refresh. Now we have an idea of how that refresh may appear. On its Korean-market Facebook page this week, Kia released an assortment of teaser sketches for the K7, which is what the Cadenza is called in its home market.
The Cadenza's updated interior won't be a major departure from the current model, but in-cabin tech looks like it will get a major overhaul.
If the updated Cadenza looks only half as good as the car in these sketches, it will be a marked improvement over the current car. Right now, the Cadenza looks like a plain sedan that's wearing a lot of makeup. These social media images show a car that exhibits more natural beauty, like the Cadenza's head-turning rear-wheel-drive sibling, the Kia Stinger .
The interior sketches show what appears to be a major leap forward in in-cabin tech compared with the current car, which has a nice interior, but tired-looking electronics. The Facebook post doesn't provide any information on powertrain or tech updates. It wouldn't be crazy to assume, though, that the 2020 Cadenza would continue to use a 3.3-liter V6 with 290 horsepower and 253 pound-feet of torque, which would send power to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.
We've reached out to Kia to get more details about the updated 2020 Cadenza, and to find out whether the automaker even plans to bring the refreshed full-size sedan to the US. In response to Roadshow, a Kia spokesperson was unable to provide comment on future product, but added that Kia has "great Cadenza news coming soon."
Originally published June 6, 11:55 a.m. PT.
Update, 12:12 p.m.: Adds comment from Kia spokesperson.