For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the Chevrolet Impala are height-adjustable, and the rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Kia Cadenza has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Impala and Cadenza have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Impala has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Cadenza's child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can't know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Chevrolet Impala has Daytime Running Lights to help keep it more visible under all conditions. Canadian government studies show that driving with lights during the day reduces accidents by 11% by making vehicles more conspicuous. The Cadenza doesn't offer Daytime Running Lights.

Both the Impala and the Cadenza have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front-wheel drive, height-adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The Impala's corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Cadenza's (6/100,000 vs. 5/100,000).

There are almost 4 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Impala's warranty.

The Impala has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine's coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The Cadenza doesn't offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the car's engine.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it's being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Impala's reliability 59 points higher than the Cadenza.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2019 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet fourth in reliability, above the industry average. With 11 more problems per 100 vehicles, Kia is ranked 10th.

The Impala's 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 15 more horsepower (305 vs. 290) and 11 lbs.-ft. more torque (264 vs. 253) than the Cadenza's 3.3 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Chevrolet Impala is faster than the Kia Cadenza:

The Impala stops shorter than the Cadenza:

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Impala Premier offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Cadenza's largest wheels are only 19-inches.

The Impala's drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Cadenza doesn't offer drift compensation steering.

The Impala LT handles at .84 G's, while the Cadenza Limited pulls only .79 G's of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Impala LT executes Motor Trend's “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Cadenza Limited (26.6 seconds @ .67 average G's vs. 27.6 seconds @ .63 average G's).

The Impala has .3 inches more front legroom, 2.6 inches more rear legroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cadenza.

The Impala has a much larger trunk than the Cadenza (18.8 vs. 16 cubic feet).

The Impala's standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The Cadenza doesn't offer folding rear seats, only a ski pass-through.

The Impala has a 1000 lbs. towing capacity. The Cadenza has no towing capacity.

The Impala has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Cadenza doesn't offer a remote starting system.

The Impala's power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Cadenza's parking brake has to released manually.

The Impala's front and rear power windows all lower with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Cadenza's rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open them fully.

The Impala Premier offers optional automatic dimming rear and side view mirrors which automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Cadenza has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don't dim.

The Impala offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Cadenza doesn't offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Insurance will cost less for the Impala owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Impala will cost $510 to $3570 less than the Cadenza over a five-year period.

The Impala will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Impala will retain 42.7% to 43.7% of its original price after five years, while the Cadenza only retains 30.95% to 34.32%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Impala is less expensive to operate than the Cadenza because typical repairs cost much less on the Impala than the Cadenza, including $236 less for a muffler and $14 less for front struts.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Chevrolet Impala will be $8945 to $9734 less than for the Kia Cadenza.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Chevrolet Impala, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Kia Cadenza isn't recommended.

The Chevrolet Impala outsold the Kia Cadenza by almost 30 to one during the 2019 model year.