One of the most successful luxury cars ever is the Lexus ES. Along with another Lexus — the LS — it ate Mercedes' and BMW's lunch and didn't leave a tip.
Lately, the Koreans — the Kia-Hyundai conglomerate — have been trying to do to the Japanese what they did to the Germans. This time, the car in the crosshairs is the Lexus ES.
The Cadenza is Kia's entry-level luxury sedan. It specifically targets the Lexus ES 350, Lexus' entry-level luxury sedan, which it undercuts on price by several thousand dollars. The Kia's base price is $31,990 compared with a starting price of $39,895 for the ES 350.
The Cadenza is slightly larger on the outside than the Lexus, but both cars qualify as full-size, despite being their respective brands' entry luxury models. The Kia hasn't quite got the limousine-like rear seat legroom the ES 350 has, but it has a lot of other things that don't come standard in the ES, including standard 18-inch wheels (the ES 350 comes standard with 17s) and heated leather seats.
If you move up to the price-par Cadenza Technology trim (bringing the total to $38,990), you get 19-inch wheels, LED headlights, a heated steering wheel, cooled seats, an upgraded LCD touchscreen (8-inch versus the standard 7-inch), a panorama sunroof and a top-drawer 12-speaker 630-watt Harman Kardon audio system. And you're still saving about $1,000 compared with the base-priced ES 350.
A top-of-the-line Cadenza Limited (priced at $44,390) includes heated rear seats, a heads-up display, manual side shades and a power rear sunshade.
What's New
The 2017 Cadenza gets a major makeover, including subtle changes to its underlying chassis (a slightly longer wheelbase); a dramatic new and very Lexus-like exterior bodywork; an updated interior; a new eight-speed automatic transmission; and new technology features including wireless cellphone charger, a proximity-sensing trunk opener, heads-up display and an updated version of Kia's UVO telematics with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
What's Good
Like the original Lexus ES, the Cadenza is a great value.
It's a cush ride.
It offers tech/amenities not available in price-equivalent competition.
What's Not So Good
There's not as much room in the back seat as in the Lexus.
Kia just isn't Lexus ... yet.
Under the Hood
Like the Lexus ES, the Cadenza comes standard with a V-6 automatic transmission driving the front wheels. The Kia's V-6 is a little smaller — 3.3 liters compared with 3.5 liters — but it's also a little stronger with 290 horsepower and 253 foot-pounds of torque versus 268 horsepower and 248 foot-pounds of torque. You also get an eight-speed automatic instead of the six-speed that comes standard in the ES 350.
Both cars go from zero to 60 mph in about the same mid-6-second range and return about the same gas mileage: 20 mpg city, 28 highway for the Kia; and 21 city, 30 highway for the Lexus.
On the Road
There is almost 300 horsepower available, and there are four driver adjustable settings — including, inevitably, Sport mode — as well as steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters for the eight-speed automatic to allow the driver to manually control when the transmission upshifts and downshifts. However, this car isn't about speed. It's about comfort. And quiet.
Kia obviously spent a lot of time thinking about how to wall off the outside world — including the world under the hood. There is no exhaust noise at all and very little engine noise, unless you really work for it.
At the Curb
The Cadenza is a large car — 195.7 inches long — and, as it turns out, it's about 2.4 inches longer overall than the ES 350. But the striking thing about both cars is how large they are given their nominal status as their respective brands' entry luxury sedans.
For instance, the ES 350 is a bigger and roomier car than the next-up-the-Lexus-ladder GS 350, which is 192.1 inches long and has nearly 4 inches less back seat room, as well as a smaller trunk (14.3 cubic feet versus 15.1 cubic feet).
The Cadenza's not bigger than its big brother, the K 900. But it has almost exactly as much legroom in both rows (45.5 up front and 37.2 in the rear versus 45.9 inches up front and 38.2 in the rear for the K 900) and almost identical trunk space (16 cubic feet versus 15.9 cubic feet).
But the Cadenza is not quite as space-efficient as the ES 350. It has a stupendous 40 inches of back seat legroom, which is almost 3 inches more than the Cadenza (195.7 inches; 37.2 inches of back seat legroom), and almost 2 inches more legroom than the back seat of the K 900 (200.6 inches; 38.2 inches of rear legroom).
Not that the Cadenza's back seats are scrunched — they're not. But the ES 350's back seats are regal; you can stretch your legs out completely without touching anything except carpet.
The Rest
Kia is not Lexus, which may be the Cadenza's biggest problem.
Toyota created Lexus to give cars like the ES 350 a bit more panache than any mere Toyota, even if they come from the same factory and are designed by the same people.
Kia might give thought to a similar marketing move.
The bottom line: History does repeat. Or, at least, Kia hopes it will!
To find out more about Eric and read his past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com. His new book, "Don't Get Taken for a Ride!" will be available soon.
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