Never Gonna Give You Up: 2020 Kia Cadenza Gains Refresh, Continued Life

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Is there another automotive brand that offers as much mainstream passenger car choice as Kia Motors? Nothing springs to mind. The Korean automaker continues to temp American car buyers with a full range of cars, from subcompact and compact up through full-size. In the middle, there’s a choice of THREE midsize(ish) four-doors.

In 2020.

One of those models just appeared at the Chicago Auto Show wearing slightly new clothes. It’s the Cadenza, known in some auto journo circles as the Korean Buick — a soon-to-be-outdated moniker, as the Buick lineup loses its last car this year.

For 2020, the upper-midsize Cadenza dons a deeper, more pronounced waterfall grille, rejigged LED headlamps (standard on all trims), and slightly refashioned LED running lights. You’ll notice the illuminated mark of Zorro beneath those multi-lens peepers.

The hood and trunk lid are also new, with LED taillamps alerting following drivers to the fact that yes, that is indeed a Cadenza up ahead. Redesigned 18- and 19-inch wheels round out the exterior alterations.

Inside, all Cadenza buyers will be greeted by a sizeable 12.3-inch touchscreen set into the dash, not placed atop it, as well as a 4.2-inch color info display in the gauge cluster. The top-flight Limited trim (base Technology is the only other guise for 2020) adds multi-color ambient mood lighting, and two additional choices of Nappa leather-trimmed seat color join the upholstery roster. Elsewhere, you’ll find three extra USB ports, plus standard Smart Key for all.

Standard safety features include forward collision warning, forward collision-avoidance assist with pedestrian/cyclist detection, smart cruise (with stop & go), and high beam assist. An expanded available suite of driver-assist aids uses highway and navigation data to maintain posted speed limits (highway driving assist) and reduce speed before entering curves (smart cruise control-curve).

Nothing changes powertrain-wise; there’s still a 3.3-liter V6 up front channeling power to the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic, though road manners get a boost from redesigned shock valves up front and larger rear dampers. Kia has reinforced the rear subframe cross members to further lower NVH.

Clearly a better car than before, but is it one people will want to buy? Time will tell, but the Cadenza’s recent history shows it continues to be overlooked in favor of….well, who knows? While pricing has yet to be revealed, the Cadenza has always represented a relative bargain for those in the market for a semi-premium large-ish sedan — assuming they know it exists.

Appearing for the 2013 model year, the Cadenza’s sales dropped precipitously in 2019. The 63.8-percent drop saw volume fall to the lowest in the model’s short history, with just 1,630 examples leaving dealer lots. While the appearance of a second-gen Cadenza lifted sales for 2017, we’ll have to wait and see whether a refresh and content boost deliver another miracle.

The 2020 Cadenza goes on sale later this year.

[Images: Kia Motors]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Tele Vision Tele Vision on Feb 08, 2020

    '...continues to TEMPT American car buyers...'

  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Feb 11, 2020

    I haven't seen a new one of these at our two Kia dealers since Summer. They are super scarce in Upstate, NY area. The Kia site is still listing 2019 models on the build your own portion.

  • ToolGuy Ford is good at drifting all right... 😉
  • Dave Holzman A design award for the Prius?!!! Yes, the Prius is a great looking car, but the visibility is terrible from what I've read, notably Consumer Reports. Bad visibility is a dangerous, and very annoying design flaw.
  • Wjtinfwb I've owned multiple Mustang's, none perfect, all an absolute riot. My '85 GT with a big Holley 4 barrel and factory tube header manifolds was a screaming deal in its day and loved to rev. I replaced it with an '88 5.0 Convertible and added a Supercharger. Speed for days, handling... present. Brakes, ummm. But I couldn't kill it and it embarrassed a lot of much more expensive machinery. A '13 Boss 302 in Gotta Have It Green was a subtle as a sledgehammer, open up the exhaust cut outs and every day was Days of Thunder. I miss them all. They've gotten too expensive and too plush, I think, wish they'd go back to a LX version, ditch all the digital crap, cloth interior and just the Handling package as an add on. Keep it under 40k and give todays kids an alternative to a Civic or WRX.
  • Jpolicke In a communist dictatorship, there isn't much export activity that the government isn't aware of. That being the case, if the PRC wanted to, they could cut the flow of fentanyl down to a trickle. Since that isn't happening, I therefore assume Xi Jinping doesn't want it cut. China needs to feel the consequences for knowingly poisoning other countries' citizens.
  • El scotto Oh, ye nattering nabobs of negativism! Think of countries like restaurants. Our neighbors to the north and south are almost as good and the service is fantastic. They're awfully close to being as good as the US. Oh the Europeans are interesting and quaint but you really only go there a few times a year. Gents, the US is simply the hottest restaurant in town. Have to stand in line to get in? Of course. Can you hand out bribes to get in quicker? Of course. Suppliers and employees? Only the best on a constant basis.Did I mention there is a dress code? We strictly enforce it. Don't like it? Suck it.
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