Forget everything you knew about the Kia Sorento—if you knew anything at all. The former body-on-frame SUV has been reinvented in its second generation as a far more relevant, if slightly less macho, crossover. And not a moment too soon.

“Everything is new except for the Sorento name,” says Sorento product strategy manager Steve Hirashiki. He’s right. Even its birthplace is new. Built at Kia’s brand-spankin’-fresh factory in West Point, Georgia, about 85 miles southwest of Atlanta, the Sorento is the American car industry’s newest naturalized citizen.

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Forget everything you knew about the Kia Sorento—if you knew anything at all. The former body-on-frame SUV has been reinvented in its second generation as a far more relevant, if slightly less macho, crossover. And not a moment too soon.

“Everything is new except for the Sorento name,” says Sorento product strategy manager Steve Hirashiki. He’s right. Even its birthplace is new. Built at Kia’s brand-spankin’-fresh factory in West Point, Georgia, about 85 miles southwest of Atlanta, the Sorento is the American car industry’s newest naturalized citizen.

Crossing into Relevance

As a crossover, the Sorento ditches the outgoing model’s truck-based and stiffly sprung ladder frame in favor of a much more rigid, more compliant unibody. The chassis is shared with the Hyundai Santa Fe and has a strut-type suspension in front and a multilink design at the back. In place of the outgoing model’s wheezy 3.3- and 3.8-liter V-6s are a miserly 2.3-liter four-cylinder and a gutsy 3.5-liter V-6. All transmissions—a manual for base four-bangers and autos for the rest—have six forward speeds. Front-wheel drive replaces rear-wheel drive as the base drivetrain offering, and the optional four-wheel-drive system now employs an electronic locking differential.

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Kia’s current and upcoming product catalog suggests a naming strategy solely inspired by someone’s old music dictionary. Both the Rondo and the upcoming Cadenza draw their names from musical terminology—as does parent Hyundai’s Sonata—and now we have the Forte, christened with an Italian word that directs performers to play loudly.

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After an online breach on Friday gave us our first taste of the production version of Kia’s 2009 Seoul Motor Show KND-5 concept car, the South Korean automaker today came out with official photos of its new range-topping sedan that has been named K7 for the domestic market and Cadenza for the rest of the world. The mid-size sedan that will replace the Opirus / Amanti (depending on the market) will make its overseas premiere at the Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Dubai international motor shows, towards the end of the year.

Soon-Nam Lee, Director of the Overseas Marketing Group, Kia Motors, said, “New Cadenza will showcase the continuing evolution in Kia’s striking design language through the harmonious blend of light and lines. It will also present a new concept in luxury sedans in terms of performance and technology.”

The latest work of Kia’s chief designer Peter Schreyer and his team remains close to the original concept and incorporates all the fancy-pansy styling cues we see on the automaker’s newest models such as the Sorento, Forte / Coupe and Venga.

Still, to be completely frank, the Cadenza is a disappointment when compared to the KND-5 concept model as the vehicle’s proportions have been altered -look at the front overhang for example- while many of the styling details have been watered down.

Sure it looks a million times better than the Amanti, but a game changer (in terms of styling) it is not. Or at least that’s what we think.

There are no photos of the Cadenza’s cabin but Kia says that highlights include the “futuristic ‘floating’ dashboard” and an “interior mood lighting strip that runs along the dashboard to the door trim” – whatever that means.

According to Kia, available new technologies will include a heated steering wheel (for winter driving in cold markets), powered extendable seat cushions (for extra thigh support), automatic defogging of the windshield and ventilated front seats (for cool comfort in hot markets).

The new Cadenza is expected to go on sale in South Korea before the end of the year and the rest of the world during the first half of 2010. Kia’s new mid-size sedan will most probably be offered with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder petrol engine with direct-injection churning out about 200 HP and the Kia/Hyundai Lambda V6 petrol. A diesel option should also be in the mix for certain markets.

One of the reasons automakers build concept vehicles is to gauge the public’s reaction to a new design. Apparently, the Kia Soul’ster garnered enough goodwill and interest after its debut at the Detroit Auto Show the Korean automaker is strongly considering putting the canvas-roofed Soul-amino into production. Previously, Kia’s Alex Fedorak said the Tonka-mobile was created “in a fashion that was production-capable.”

According to Kia-World, though the automaker isn’t officially saying the Soul’ster will be mass produced, unnamed Korean magazines are reporting it’s looking good and that a decision is on the way in short order. If there’s any truth to the rumors, we can expect to see the little subcompact pick’em-up truck on American roads in the second half of 2010.