Luxury Kia's not for Brits

Oct 20 2009 Maurice Glover

Luxury Kia's not for Brits

KIA'S NEXT new car is big, bold and luxurious - but it will not be going on sale in Britain.

Now is not the time for the Cadenza saloon to be driven into UK showrooms, according to Kia Motors UK managing director Michael Cole.

"Despite the striking appearance and high-tech engineering of this car, I do not believe this is the right time to try and extend our range into a sector of the market that is dominated by German brands,' said Mr Cole as the South Korean company took the wraps off the production version of its VG concept car.

'However, the Cadenza shows how our design-led philosophy is producing startling new products and it is clear from this car that our new model programme starting next year with Venga and the all-new Sorento is going to continue the dramatic development of our brand in the UK,' he added.

Sporty and sleek in appearance, the Cadenza features a bold headlamp design with attention-grabbing LED surrounds and a purposeful, athletic character line. Inside, a futuristic 'floating' dashboard heads an innovative design approach and a welcome system turns on the exterior puddle and interior lights to 'greet' the driver while an interior mood lighting strip running along the dashboard to the door trim creates a warm atmosphere within the vehicle.

Luxury features include a heated steering wheel for winter driving in cold countries, powered extendable seat cushions to give extra thigh support, automatic defogging of the windscreen and ventilated front seats providing cool comfort in hot countries.