By Eon-jae Jeong, Researcher, Safety System Design Team

It seems that these convenience features never end on the Cadenza! For the information here on the blog, though, this is our last installment for the extras you’ll find on our newest vehicle.

Heated Steering Wheel

Driving in wintertime is difficult on many fronts. In particular, exterior materials like metal and glass become cold in low temperature weather. The interior tends to be a bit warmer than the outside but I’m sure many of you will have experienced the discomfort of sitting inside a freezing vehicle.

When a vehicle has been parked outside for a long time in winter, the driver has to deal with an ice-cold steering wheel. The coldness of a steering wheel also tends to linger for a long time even after the heater has been turned on and the cabin temperature has risen.

Cold hands will no longer pose a problem for drivers of the Cadenza. The heated steering wheel features heated pads in the grip part that give off warmth.

Once a driver switches on the heated steering wheel, a battery-operated controller raises the temperature of the heating wires to provide a warm grip for drivers.

In particular, the use of a controller to manage the heating system prevents any sudden changes in temperature of the steering wheel. This ensures a safe and warm driving experience.

So driving with gloves on or while trying to warm freezing hands by rubbing them together will be a thing of the past in winter… that is, of course, when you’re driving a Cadenza!

Stay tuned to find out about Cadenza’s active and passive safety features… but, that will just have to wait until our next post!

※ Editor’s note: Options may differ by region

Please click on this link(Click here: All-new Sportage) to download high-resolution images

By Michael Choo
Deputy General Manager
Overseas Communication Team

Kia’s presence at this year’s Australian Open, its ninth consecutive year as the major sponsor of the first grand slam of the professional tennis calendar, has put the spotlight on consumers through the inaugural Kia Lucky Drive to Australia hospitality program.

A total of 52 fortunate customers from 16 countries were selected through local test drive/showroom visit promotions to enjoy a full-expenses paid trip to Melbourne for a once in a lifetime chance to view some of the most exciting athletes in the world as they vie for a place in the Australian Open finals. In addition to courtside seats at the thrilling Serena Williams versus Li Na women’s semi-final match which ended in a nail biting double tiebreaker (7-6, 7-6) win for the American Williams, Lucky Drive winners also had a chance to tour the beautiful city of Melbourne and take part in an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the legendary Melbourne Park tennis venue hosted by Tennis Australia – the governing body of the Australian Open. The program will culminate tonight with courtside viewing of the second men’s semi-final match between the dynamic fist-pumping Wilfried Tsonga of France against world no. 1 and 15-time Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer of Switzerland.

By opening the doors to the fantastic experience of the Australian Open to customers around the world, Kia hopes to further win the hearts of the true champions behind the success of Kia Motors in recent years – the everyday consumers who have given consideration to the Kia brand by visiting our showrooms and taking a test spin in one of our new generation of quality and stylish vehicles.

With the Australian Open 2010 now reaching yet another climactic finish, we will soon turn our attention to Kia’s sponsorship of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South AfricaTM. And with various promotional activities now getting underway, we look forward to spreading the excitement of sports to even more lucky customers this summer at the world’s most captivating sporting competition. For more information on Kia’s promotional programs for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, please check out our microsite at http://fifaworldcup.kiamotors.com.

Good luck and hope to see you in South Africa!

Hi, everybody! Here’s part II of Cadenza’s emotional & comfortable feature story for all you (future) Cadenza owners. Let’s take a look.

Chrome garnish mood lighting and large room lamp

Young-beom Lee and Ki-hong Lee, Senior Researcher, Vehicle Design Team 2

Forget about boring and monotonous car interiors. Cadenza brings something refreshingly new to the concept of luxurious cabins.

The unique chrome garnish mood lighting and large room lamp elevate cabin lighting to a whole new level, satisfying the emotional needs of drivers with a special combination of light and lines.

The “floating” crash pad extends all along the front from the driver’s seat to the front passenger’s seat. The dynamic lines of the crash pad are further accentuated with chrome garnish mood lighting that provides indirect lighting through the use of strip lights within the garnish.

Chrome molding is applied to the outside of the molding while light shines through the lower part which does not have a cover. LED lights are installed inside the molding for uniform and subtle illumination, adding to the luxurious and solid feel of the interior.

In addition to the crash pad chrome garnish mood lighting, Cadenza is equipped with a front passenger reading light and large, integrated room lamp. (Large room lamp not applicable with panorama sunroof.)

Electronic driver’s seat extension

By Seong-hak Hong
Senior researcher
Seat System Design Team






Many specs and technologies are devoted to delivering the most comfortable driving. One of the items that affects drivers the most, and in a very direct way, is the seat. That’s because a driver needs to spend a significant amount of time in a seated position.

Sedans, SUVs and hatchbacks all have their own characteristic cabins and driver positions. And if a driver is tall or has long legs, they may find it difficult to get comfortable due to seats that fail to fully support their thighs.

As a solution, the Cadenza provides an electronic seat extension for the driver. The front part of the seat cushion moves forward and up to extend the cushion length and support longer thighs. The greater the contact between the thighs and the seat cushion, the more comfortable it is for drivers to sit for a long time and feel less fatigue due to evenly dispersed body pressure.

To activate the seat extension, drivers only need to press the front or back part of a switch that is attached to the side of the seat. The driver can adjust the seat’s movement until it is most comfortable for them and then take their finger off the switch.

The extending seat delivers a much more comfortable sitting position for drivers of the Cadenza.

In our next installment, we will discover a very useful feature for those of you dealing with cold winters. Stay tuned!

You’ve waited some time for it, but here is a new installment on the various technologies featured in Cadenza. Kia researchers devoted hours of hard work to create technologies that appeal to the emotions of drivers and deliver a dynamic and luxurious driving experience. Kia BUZZ will present a series of posts over the next few days to describe these features in detail.

By Moo-yong Kim
Senior researcher
Vehicle Design Team 2






Auto Defogging System

Driving in the rain or in winter is always challenging. Bad weather impairs a driver’s vision – but that’s not all. Like the saying, “When it rains, it pours,” drivers have to contend with a slew of other factors in addition to the weather.

Foggy windows are annoying and potentially dangerous. Moisture inside a car is caused by the differences in temperature and humidity between the inside and outside of a car. Haze or fog can occasionally obstruct the driver’s visibility. However, it’s not a problem for drivers of Cadenza!

Kia Motors successfully developed an Auto Defogging System and installed the system in the Cadenza. The system removes moisture from the windows and controls humidity levels inside the cabin for maximum comfort.

On auto setting, wind is blown onto the windshield at the right temperature to remove moisture. A convenient feature is that the breeze can also be used to control the cabin temperature. A humidity sensor attached to the windshield and its control logic detect moisture on the window and automatically activate the A/C system to defog the windows without the driver having to press a button.

The auto defogging system found in competitor vehicles do not have the cabin temperature control function, which means the cabin can suddenly get hot when the system is turned on. The Cadenza though, ensures pleasant driving conditions as it removes the fog and controls the indoor temperature.

Next, discover something illuminating. Stay tuned for our next installment.