2017 Kia Cadenza First Drive Review: A surprising entry-level luxury sedan

When shopping for an entry-level luxury sedan, most people will think of Lexus, Acura or even possibly the Toyota Avalon. For 2017, Kia is making a serious attempt to be on those lists with the all-new Cadenza luxury sedan.

2017 Cadenza SXL
2017 Cadenza SXL

The Cadenza is a front-wheel-drive luxury sedan, much like the Lexus ES350 and Toyota Avalon siblings. It comes with a 3.3-liter, direct-injected V-6 that makes 290 horsepower and 253 lb-ft of torque, which beats out the ES350’s 268 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque.

Dimensionally, the Cadenza is right in the same ballpark as the ES, having a slightly longer wheelbase and a little more length.

2017 Cadenza SXL

Despite being South Korean in origin, the Cadenza looks extremely Germanic inside and out. That’s because Peter Schreyer, who has been the head of design for Kia and now both Hyundai and Kia. Schreyer came to Kia from Audi, so it can be forgiven if there’s a bit of Audi DNA running through the Cadenza’s veins.

Being a Kia, the Cadenza offers a lot of value for the money. The entry-level Premium trim level starts at just under $32,000, the mid-level Technology trim level starts at just under $39,000 and the top-of-the-line Limited trim level starts at $44,000. These prices are about $1,000 less than the outgoing model.

Check out the full TFLcar first drive video above of the all-new 2017 Kia Cadenza.

2017 Cadenza SXL