Review and Test Drive: 2017 Kia Cadenza Limited

This car is most certainly not your father’s Kia.

Our 2017 Kia Cadenza, completely redesigned, arrived at our offices on a sunny winter day and staffers were speculating from afar what it was. “It’s a Kia,” someone said. Others, clearly doubters, started laughing. “No really,” they were assured, as another staff member went into a riff on the Saturday Night Live floor wax skit (“It’s a dessert topping,” “No, it’s a floor wax,” “No it’s both a dessert topping AND a floor wax…”).

While just a few years ago the idea of a Kia luxury sedan would have been both unthinkable and antithetical, Kia now offers several in the United States including its flagship K900 and the new Cadenza, known as the K7 in its home market.

The new Cadenza is a conservatively styled full-sized sedan in the mold of the Buick LaCrosse, Lexus ES 350, Lincoln MKZ, and Volvo S90. It seats five in comfort and has a cavernous trunk.

There’s no question that Kia had the Buick and Lexus in its sights as its engineers went to work and the results speak for themselves. The Limited, which rings in at $45,290, comes with a well-designed infotainment system that includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support; an excellent 630-watt, 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system; quilted Nappa leather seats that are extremely comfortable as well as heated and cooled, a heated steering wheel, a generously-sized sunroof (does anyone call the glass sunroofs “moonroofs” anymore?), a head-up display, and power rear-window shades.

Click here to continue to Page 2 – Driving the 2017 Kia Cadenza

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