A year and a half ago, at a high-profile launch event, I asked Hyundai’s general manager for overseas product planning if there were plans for a separate premium brand like Lexus or Infiniti to tackle the issue of brand image.
With a dismissive smirk, he said Hyundai cars wearing the same old badge will soon be able to compete with established premium brands, as they start giving customers “premium value at a reasonable price”.
While Mr Kim was speaking for the brand he’s responsible for, it’s apparent that sister company Kia is following the same lead. First there was the Quoris, which crammed everything you’d get in a high-end BMW or Mercedes into a package priced like a C-Class or 3 Series. The uncanny resemblance to the 7 Series notwithstanding, we loved it and it won wheels best large saloon award last year.
Now Kia has done it again with its mid-size saloon, the Cadenza. Already a great car in its previous iteration, the latest Cadenza takes things up by quite a few notches. In fact, this car melts frontiers that hitherto separated premium saloons from the ‘regulars’.
Taking design cues from the Quoris, the Cadenza’s athletic lines look more original than the larger saloon’s allegedly derivative styling. While it shares its platform with the Hyundai Azera, the Cadenza seems more muscular and lithe than the ‘fluidic’ Hyundai.
Although initially you’d feel the car isn’t as quick or responsive as its looks might suggest, you’ll soon come to realise it’s because none of the other cars in this price range has such brawny aesthetics.
If you don’t judge it relative to its looks, the Cadenza proves to be a better car to drive than established and pricier rivals like the Toyota Avalon, Nissan Maxima or even the Chevrolet Impala.
Although we don’t get the newer 3.3-litre V6 in this market, the available 3.5-litre V6 with 290bhp and 339Nm of torque on tap is as smooth an engine as is in any of its competitors. The steering and suspension have been tweaked and are better than the previous model’s, however, don’t expect a sports saloon.
Like most other cars in this segment, the Cadenza is more tuned for comfort than sporty dynamics and it excels in providing a luxurious ride with barely any wind or road noise seeping into the cabin.
As we’ve come to expect from Kia, the Cadenza offers oodles of high-end features such as ventilated seats, smart cruise control and blind-spot detection, which are simply not available in cars that have a starting price of Dh80,000. Even the loaded-to-the-hilt, top-end model is priced at a reasonable Dh120,000.
If Kia, like Hyundai, continues to infuse the refinement of the Cadenza into its entire line-up, it’ll do wonders for the once scoffed-at badge.
