Facelifted 2020 Kia Cadenza Breaks Cover As The K7 Premier In Korea

Kia has officially unveiled the facelifted K7 in Korea and gave it a new name to show that this is more than a regular mid-life makeover.

Marketed as the K7 Premier in Korea, the executive sedan will arrive later this year in North America as well where it will be sold as the 2020 Cadenza.

The official photos released by Kia are consistent with the teaser images from last week that showed the saloon with redesigned front and rear ends as well as an overhauled interior.

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Exterior highlights include the new aggressive grille that’s similar to the one on the Chinese-market Kia K3, the sleeker LED headlights with a DRL signature that “embraces” the grille, new LED taillights that span the entire width of the car, and redesigned bumpers.

The interior received its fair share of updates as well, chief of which is the new wide format 12.3-inch Uvo infotainment system with navigation that fits snugly atop the redesigned center console and under the upper edge of the dash. Kia has also fitted the K7 Premier with a digital cockpit, a redesigned multifunction steering wheel, and new shift-by-wire transmission lever. Even the shape of the air vents has been modified.

The facelifted Kia K7 Premier’s cabin is said to combine high-quality materials with improved refinement thanks to a quieter environment made possible by the revised sound insulation of the windows and the underbody. Plenty of tech is present onboard as well, including a head-up display system, AI-powered voice control system, and DriveWise driver assistance package.

The latter includes systems such as Blind-spot View Monitor, Lane Following Assist, navigation-based Smart Cruise Control Curve, Rear Cross Traffic Collision Avoidance Assist, and Parking Collision Avoidance Assist-Rear).

Significant changes take place under the hood as well, with the K7 Premier gaining a new Smartstream 2.5-liter GDi gasoline engine and eight-speed automatic transmission — the latter comes standard with all powertrains. Alongside the new 2.5-liter gasoline unit, the K7 Premier will also offer a 3.0-liter V6 (available in an LPG version as well), a 2.4-liter hybrid, and a 2.2-liter diesel. No specifications have been released yet.

The Kia K7 Premier will be released this month in Korea when customers will be able to pre-order it.