2017 Kia Cadenza: Car Seat Check
CARS.COM — Kia updated its Cadenza full-size sedan for 2017 with lightly tweaked exterior styling and a revised powertrain. Inside the Cadenza, there’s still plenty of room for two car seats on the wide backseat. In fact, we were almost able to fit three across the backseat, but the deep back and bottom seat cushion bolsters prevented a good fit.
How many car seats fit in the second row? Two, but it nearly held three car seats.
What We Like
- The Cadenza’s two sets of Latch anchors sit under hinged plastic covers. The anchors are set deeply into the space, but access was still easy. The three top tether anchors on the rear shelf are also under hinged plastic covers and were easy to use.
- Both the rear-facing convertible and infant seat installed easily and fit well. We did not need to move the front passenger seat forward to accommodate either seat.
- In forward-facing form, we raised the head restraint to get a good fit for the convertible; installation was easy.
What We Don’t Like
- After again raising the head restraint, the booster fit well on the bolstered seats. However, the buckles are flush with the seat bottom cushions, making them difficult for kids to grasp and use independently.
Grading Scale
A: Plenty of room for the car seat and the child; doesn’t impact driver or front-passenger legroom. Easy to find and connect to Latch and tether anchors. No fit issues involving head restraint or seat contouring. Easy access to the third row.
B: Plenty of room. One fit or connection issue. Some problems accessing third row when available.
C: Marginal room. Two fit or connection issues. Difficult to access third row when available.
D: Insufficient room. Two or more fit or connection issues.
F: Does not fit or is unsafe.
About Cars.com’s Car Seat Checks
Editors Jennifer Geiger, Jennifer Newman and Matt Schmitz are certified child safety seat installation technicians.
For the Car Seat Check, we use a Graco SnugRide Classic Connect 30 infant-safety seat, a Britax Marathon convertible seat and Graco TurboBooster seat. The front seats are adjusted for a 6-foot driver and a shorter passenger. The three child seats are installed in the second row. The booster seat sits behind the driver’s seat, and the infant and convertible seats are installed behind the front passenger seat.
We also install the forward-facing convertible in the second row’s middle seat with the booster and infant seat in the outboard seats to see if three car seats will fit; a child sitting in the booster seat must be able to reach the seat belt buckle. If there’s a third row, we install the booster seat and a forward-facing convertible. Learn more about how we conduct our Car Seat Checks.
Parents should also remember that they can use the Latch system or a seat belt to install a car seat, and that Latch anchors have a weight limit of 65 pounds, including the weight of the child and the weight of the seat itself.
