Kia Sedona, For a non-minvan driver, impressive Options

[cobas]

A few weeks ago I drove around in a rented Kia Sedona minivan for a couple of days, and I have to say, not bad! It's not like I rent minivans for fun, but we needed to transport 5-6 people and some luggage on our way to our wedding and a rental minivan was the cheapest way to go. Maybe I'm not used to minivans, but it felt huge inside and out. It has separate HVAC for the rear seats with controls at the front and rear. I found just about everything pretty intuitive and easy to use, it had storage and cupholders everywhere. We couldn't decide which one was the "glove compartment," and which was the map compartment - so many to choose from! The center console was pretty nice, with lots of cupholders and space for papers, maps, cell phones, sunglasses and so on. We actually rented three minivans and ended up with the Sedona, a Caravan and a Ford Freestar, all pretty new. The Kia was my first pick and I think the other two drivers agreed it was their first choice too. If I remember right, the sliding door's window rolled down, which surprised me. On the last day, thanks to a little snafu, we had to stuff seven people and their luggage into the van. I think some were holding bags in their lap, one big piece of luggage was in between the seats and the trunk, which is pretty wide and tall but not that long with all the seats in place, was stuffed to the ceiling! As for driving, it wasn't as bad as I expected a minivan to be. I was a little disappointed with the power at higher revs, but I think that's because the power came on much earlier, closer to 2000rpm or lower. The torque was pretty satisfying from a stop or a slow rolling start.

As for features, a nav system would've been handy in an unfamiliar city, but besides that this had nearly every feature we could wish for and they all worked and felt reliable and of good quality. Take this review for what it's worth though, I've never driven a van before, nevermind its modern competitors. But, I was impressed, at least.

This post has been edited by cobas: May 21 2007, 08:25 PM

[afob3]

Nice writeup... We love our Entourage (the Sedona's sister). These Korean vans are top notch as far as features vs. $$$ goes. They even hold an 8 foot piece of lumber without having to prop the rear door open.

Member DocRx has the Kia version.

[oiml8]

Nice write up!

Might some of your disappointment with power have come because you had a ton of stuff and people inside? They all tend to feel a bit lethargic when they are loaded down.

I have a 98 Grand Caravan with 140k miles on it and I hate it and love it at the same time. There is no more utilitarian vehicle out there, but also nothing more proletarian. But I can't get rid of it. It gets 20+ miles to the gallon (they are better now), it hauls lumber and sheets of drywall better than my truck, it hauls 8 people and their stuff without a problem, I can put my gas (lp, acetylene, oxygen) in back to get them refilled way easier than putting them in the truck. I love it. And hate it.

[Bobzilla]

I was a little disappointed with the power at higher revs

Dude, it's a minivan!!!

[NovaResource]

I was a little disappointed with the power at higher revs

Dude, it's a minivan!!!

Yes but it's still the much heralded Lambda 3.8L V6.

(J/K Bob. I couldn't resist).

[Bobzilla]

Actually, IIRC the 3.8 in those is tuned for more low end torque, perfect for a large people mover. High rpm power is absolutely worthless in a heavy weight vehicle if there's no torque to move it off the line.

[RHINESEL]

Might some of your disappointment with power have come because you had a ton of stuff and people inside?  They all tend to feel a bit lethargic when they are loaded down.

Does it provide enough power at normal use is what I look at.

Normal use for me would be 2 adults and 2 kids.

Occasional would be up to 4 adults and 2 kids (grandparents added to mix) with packing for day outing. I would expect some loss in feeling with the extra 2 adults and extra gear. Can't blame it for that. How much is acceptable is a matter of taste.