U Spy North American 2017 Kia Cadenza In Kansas

A prototype for the North American specification 2017 Cadenza was nabbed resting at a parking spot in Kansas the other day, by one of Carscoops’ readers.

Kia gave us our first look at the new full-size sedan in their home market of Korea- where it goes by the name K7, at the end of last year, ahead of a global launch in the coming months.

While the Koreans had the US tester covered up, we did notice that the Michigan-plated model sported fender-vents trimmed in chrome, which are not found on the Korean-market K7. Otherwise, we don’t see any other differences between the two.

The new Cadenza, which could be revealed as soon as next week in New York or latter this fall in Los Angeles, has a “more assertive appearance”, as Kia puts it, with sharper creases and a very Maserati-like concave front grille. It’s an elegant design that keeps some signature styling cues from Kia’s smaller Optima and larger K900, without looking like a rescaled version of either.

At this point, we do not know with what engines the new Cadenza will be offered in the States, but in Korea, the 2017 K7 gets a 187hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder, a 286hp turbocharged 3.3-liter six-cylinder and a 199hp 2.2-liter turbodiesel.

In North America, some of the Cadenza’s rivals in the dwindling large sedan class, include the Chevrolet Impala, Nissan Maxima and Toyota Avalon.

Thanks to Patrick for the photos!