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Used 2016 Kia Cadenza Consumer Reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
61 reviews

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We have a limited number of reviews for the 2016 Cadenza, so we've included reviews for other years of the Cadenza since its last redesign.

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Pros
Cons
4 out of 5 stars

terrible road noise

toretiredron, 01/21/2015
2014 Kia Cadenza Premium 4dr Sedan (3.3L 6cyl 6A)
12 of 15 people found this review helpful

I own a 6 year old Kia Amanti and a new Kia Cadenza with the optional “Luxury Package”. I have enjoyed driving my Amanti long distances. It is quiet and a pleasure to drive. The Cadenza is Kia’s new luxury car since the Amanti was discontinued. Instead of a quiet ride, the Cadenza has horrible road noise. It sounds as if a window is always partly opened. I called Kia Customer Service (Kelly) to complain that a car branded as a luxury car should be first and foremost a quiet ride. I was told that essentially the car is the way it is supposed to be, that the road noise is my opinion and have a nice day.

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3 out of 5 stars

45000 Mile Reflections

tunabear1, 03/19/2014
updated 09/25/2017
2014 Kia Cadenza Limited 4dr Sedan (3.3L 6cyl 6A)
9 of 11 people found this review helpful

I've had to lower my rating for two reasons: Not long after posting my 31K review, I started having fuel injector problems. I had to return to the dealership FIVE TIMES for service, often after the engine light would come on during a period of sluggish acceleration and very low idling. It happened again on a 600-mile road trip less than two weeks after one of the "fixes." One of the injectors was replaced (at no cost), but the problem persisted. Finally, about two months ago the dealer persuaded me to spend $300 to have the fuel system cleaned out. That seemingly fixed the problem - until I was driving last week and the problem returned. The engine light didn't come on but acceleration was sluggish. Of course, I was on the freeway 150 miles from home when it happened. Fortunately, once I restarted the engine after stopping for a Five Guys hamburger, the problem went away. I only burn "Top Tier" gas and have a CASE of Techron in my trunk; I add it to the fuel tank every 1K+ miles. Still, I have little confidence that I might not once again have this problem. Also, since my last review, I've had to spend nearly $200 at the dealership to have the rubber/plastic front bumper undercarriage repaired after it was almost torn off by getting hung up on a concrete parking lot barrier. In Kia's quest to lower overall mileage, it reduces wind drag on the car by lowering the front end. But it's too low, making it vulnerable to frequent scrapes with parking lot barriers and steep driveway gutter interfaces. I still enjoy playing my 6,000+ mp3 music selections on shuffle off a thumb drive in the UBS port (I can even include album art)! Would still prefer another couple of inches of driver headroom. Tight suspension is too hard for my liking. Creaking noise in the front quarter-panel on rough roads. Trunk lip leaks rainwater into the trunk. Unlike with my beloved 2001 Acura TL, when the wipers are on auto-wipe, they do not automatically wipe once whenever I remove my foot from the brake pedal after a stop. I miss that feature.

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
4 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
4 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars

Better than BMW and Mercedes

David M Stevens, 10/16/2015
updated 04/26/2021
2015 Kia Cadenza Premium 4dr Sedan (3.3L 6cyl 6A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Superb handling in a Beautiful Package. Road Handling is a little stiff which reminds me of premium european sedans. We now have 15K miles on our 2015 Cadenza and have no serious complaints and nothing has broken. Additional sound attenuation would be appreciated but the noise level is better than most comparable vehicles. All in all Kia has hit it out of the ballpark with the Cadenza. This may be the reason that virtually no dealer has any 2015 models remaining unsold.

Safety
5 out of 5 stars
Technology
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Interior
5 out of 5 stars
Comfort
5 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
5 out of 5 stars
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4 out of 5 stars

four months in

cmadden, 12/22/2014
updated 06/22/2016
2014 Kia Cadenza Premium 4dr Sedan (3.3L 6cyl 6A)
4 of 4 people found this review helpful

I traded in a 3 series BMW for my 2014 Kia Cadenza Premium model. This has a much better ride, but is slower off the starting line. The front wheel drive 3.3 liter V6 produces 298 horsepower and 255 ft-lbs of torque. Doesn't belong on a race track, but fine for city driving. The ride in comfortable with above average seating front and rear. Exterior styling pretty generic.

Safety
4 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
3 out of 5 stars
Interior
4 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
5 out of 5 stars
Value
4 out of 5 stars
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3 out of 5 stars

Cadenza review brief update

6406nb, 08/18/2013
updated 08/22/2016
2014 Kia Cadenza Premium 4dr Sedan (3.3L 6cyl 6A)
10 of 13 people found this review helpful

I returned the car a few months ago. I think if you like a certain brand stick with it. This was a cool car but it was not what I would call a luxury experience. There were several things that came up during the lease and down time with rattles and other replacements like the driver's seat belt, steering wheel electronics and back up camera turned into weeks in the shop. The I Agree on the nav screen every time starting out turned into over 5,000 I agrees over the life of the lease. It was almost perfect at lease turn in but it wasn't inspected for two weeks and there were several charges that took some major effort with the selling dealer and the factory to waive. The factory was immovable on this, so my only conclusion is they must have a lot of deadbeat customers or something wrecking their leased cars. But i did like it so asked if I could lease another for two years. However since it depreciated like a boat anchor, even the selling dealer had nothing to offer in terms of worthwhile incentives for a new one. They had no choice but to send it to the auction because there was no equity in keeping it or buying out the lease. So in conclusion they had a chance at keeping a customer relationship but lost it after just one lease experience.

Safety
3 out of 5 stars
Technology
3 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Interior
3 out of 5 stars
Comfort
4 out of 5 stars
Reliability
2 out of 5 stars
Value
1 out of 5 stars
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