2017 Kia Cadenza first drive: Yes, there's still a Kia Cadenza

[Suarez™]

Sandwiched between the flagship K900 and the mid-sized Optima, the Kia Cadenza front-drive luxury sedan has suffered from a lack of visibility in a shrinking market. The sales figures tell the tale. On average, only about 7,500 Cadenzas have been sold each year since its introduction, which adds up to fewer than 30K units during its four years in the wild.

Kia is nothing if not persistent, though: Rather than killing the Cadenza and cutting its losses, the Korean automaker went back to the drawing board and built a second generation. Sculpted under the guidance of design lead Peter Schreyer, the revamped Cadenza looks more luxurious than the outgoing model, starting with the second-generation tiger nose grille, which features either vertical bars or a mesh insert, depending on trim level. Cadenza is broken up into three different trims: Premium, Technology, and Limited -- the one we tested.

Kia only makes its suite of semi-autonomous driver assistance features available on both the Technology and Limited trims; it includes intelligent cruise control and autonomous emergency braking, but Kia also created an interesting blind spot anti-collision system. Your average blind spot warning system beeps or lights up when an obstacle is detected, whereas Kia’s new system will actually steer you away from the impending accident (still, you should always check your blind spot).