KIA is making waves in the luxury car market with the 2014 Cadenza. Did they hit the mark or a they just way out of their league.
KIA put all their cards on the table when they mad a car with a base price of $35,000. Had you asked me 5 years ago if I would even consider buying a KIA at that price I would have laughed at you. Now, I’d tell you why it is worth it.
The 2014 Cadenza is a sleek-looking 4 door car. The outside is has chrome accents on the front and sides, with the rear having dual chrome exhaust tips. The doors have body lines that accentuate the sides and run through the door handles giving them a stylish look without standing out.
The power behind the Cadenza is a 3.3L Direct Inject V6 that gives you 293 hp and 255 lb ft or torque. The Transmission is a 6 speed automatic with Sportmatic mode. The combination of 6 speeds with overdrive is what gives the Cadenza a combined average Fuel Economy of 22 MPG. For if your feeling sporty, there is a paddle shifter on the steering wheel, or you can shift up and down via the gear shifter. To get all that power to the road, the Cadenza that we tested came with 19″ alloy wheels wrapped in all season rubber. The car hugged the road nicely and had very little body roll in the corners.
To help keep your car straight going down the road, the Cadenza has ABS Brakes, Traction Control, Electronic Stability Control, and Vehicle Stability Management all standard.
The Cadenza also has Dual Front Advanced Airbags, Dual Front and Rear Seat Side Mounted Airbags, and Full Length Side Curtain Airbags. This keeps your whole family safe in case of an accident whether they are in the back of the front.
Lets jump to the place where you spend most of your time, inside the car. The seats are wrapped in Nappa Leather front and back. Also, the interior trim is Nappa Leather. The model we tested had the White seats and trim. The driver’s seat is 8 way powered with lumbar support, and is both heated and cooled. The steering wheel is also heated for those cold winters. The passenger also enjoys a power heated seat. Both outer rear seats are also heated. The seats are very comfortable and hug your body. They have raised bolsters on the sides to keep your body firmly planted in the seat going around corners. The heating and cooling feature is very nice, especially during those hot and cold days. The Nappa Leather is very soft and easily cleaned. The door sill has the Cadenza logo illuminated for help in seeing at night.
The Instrument consol features a 7″ computer screen that can gives you the ability to customize what information you have in front of you. Some of the options include multiple sized numbers for speed, Navigation directions, Audio Information, and Bluetooth information are just some of the features.
Other interior features are wood trim on the center console and dash. Leather trim on gear shift and steering wheel, Dual zone climate control with filtration to make sure your air in the car is as clean as it can be. Carpeted floor mats both front and back and even in the trunk.
The Cadenza has a panoramic sun roof with power retractable shades for both front and back portions. The front glass opens and slides over the rear. The rear glass is stationary. The sun roof is very nice as it allows for great night views for both the front and rear passengers.
The model we tested included some nice add on’s for safety that include Advanced Smart Cruise Control. What tis does is uses radar to keep your car a constant distance from the car in front of you. You can adjust the distance you would like to keep. If a car should happen to change lanes in front of you, this will apply the brakes to keep you from running into that car. The only downside I found to this is that sometimes going around a left hand turn in the fast lane will cause the system to think the car you are attempting to pass in the slow lane is actually in front of you and try to slow your car down. There is also Blind Spot Detection with audible and visual alerts, Lane Departure Warning with both audible and visual alerts should you veer out of your lane, and one of the features I liked, an electronic parking brake. This sets your parking brake with a small button you pull up. No more unsightly parking brake levers or foot pedals.
The exterior of the car includes Fog Lights, Front LED positioning lights, Power heated folding mirrors with turn signal indicators, Rain Sensing Windshield Wipers, HID Headlights with Adaptive Front Lighting that will turn the headlights slightly into the corners while driving to illuminate into the turn so you can see what’s ahead of you.
KIA has included a nice infotainment system in the Cadenza. The heart of the system is its 8″ touch screen. With this you can control all of the audio and GPS settings. There is also a screen showing your HVAC Settings. On the top of the screen, the temp you have the HVAC set to, the location the air is blowing from, and how fast the fan is blowing is shown. You also get full screen turn by turn directions with voice navigation. You can make calls from the touch screen by connecting your phone to the car via Bluetooth. For listening to music, you can choose from AM/FM/CD, SiriusXM or stream music via Bluetooth from your phone. If you have an iPod or music on a flash drive, there is a plug-in the center console for that option also. There is also a backup camera the display’s on the 8″ screen.
KIA also has a system that they call UVO. This system is integrated into the infotainment system and includes all your points of interest for GPS (with Google Maps). You can send your destination from your phone to your cars wirelessly. You can also use the UVO to run Vehicle Diagnostics on your vehicle using the Car Care Web. . You can also connect directly to KIA’s call center to schedule an appointment if your vehicle needs service. The Parking Minder will send you vehicles location to your phone if you forget where you parked.
Overall KIA has hit a high point with quality and luxury with the Cadenza. While the price point of $41,900 as tested, this may seem high for a KIA, but once you drive it, you will see that it is worth every penny.
