Buick LaCrosse vs Kia Cadenza: which is more reliable?
The Buick LaCrosse and the Kia Cadenza are level on the federal record — 80/100 against 80/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Buick LaCrosse
- 9 model years scored
- 711 owner complaints on record
- about 4 complaints per year on the road
- 31 recall campaigns, 16 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (90/100) · worst 2012 (43/100)
Kia Cadenza
- 7 model years scored
- 216 owner complaints on record
- about 3 complaints per year on the road
- 12 recall campaigns, 7 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (92/100) · worst 2014 (46/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: LaCrosse against Cadenza
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Buick LaCrosse
- Electrical System — 188 complaints
- Engine — 118 complaints
- Suspension — 89 complaints
Kia Cadenza
- Engine — 63 complaints
- Service Brakes — 35 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 33 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the LaCrosse's complaints concentrate in Electrical System, the Cadenza's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Buick LaCrosse — avoid: 2012.
Kia Cadenza — avoid: 2014.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Buick LaCrosse prices at about $20,900 and a Kia Cadenza at about $21,300 — they price within $400 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 24.0 against 23.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Buick LaCrosse or the Kia Cadenza more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Buick LaCrosse scores 80/100 against the Kia Cadenza's 80/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Buick LaCrosse and Kia Cadenza years should I avoid?
Buick LaCrosse: 2012. Kia Cadenza: 2014. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Buick LaCrosse and the Kia Cadenza?
The largest complaint group on the Buick LaCrosse is Electrical System (188 complaints); on the Kia Cadenza it is Engine (63).
Is the Buick LaCrosse or the Kia Cadenza cheaper to own?
A recent used Buick LaCrosse prices at about $20,900 and a Kia Cadenza at about $21,300, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.