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Newsday, Melville, N.Y., Road Test Column: Kia Sedona Minivan Offers a Little More Than Its Competitors

Posted on: Friday, 12 May 2006, 06:08 CDT

By Tom Incantalupo, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

May 12--Minivans aren't considered cool in some circles, but when there are people to haul and stuff to carry, nothing can match them - except a bigger van.

So, although many buyers have shifted to sport utility vehicles for their perceived "sportiness" (and four-wheel drive), a solid market remains in America for minivans - one that most manufacturers want to be in.

The latest entries are from South Korea, the redesigned for 2006 Kia Sedona and the basically similar '06 Hyundai Entourage. We focus today on the Kia.

Like most vehicles from that nation, the Sedona's greatest strength is that it offers more for the money than Japanese competitors - which, in the case of the Sedona/Entourage, would be the highly regarded Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey.

On sale since January, the '06 Sedona is comfortable, quiet, stylish inside and out, and thoughtfully designed for the needs of families. A third-row seat disappears into the floor so it doesn't have to be hauled out to make more room for cargo.

There are power outlets, cup holders, grocery bag hooks, storage cubbies and second-row seating that can be flipped forward or removed. Sun glare makes the fuel and coolant gauges difficult to read, but, otherwise, the Sedona is user-friendly, with well-located, self-explanatory controls for everything.

None of the interior materials looks cheap. Even the remote controller for the door locks is sturdy and nicely trimmed in chrome.

Driving the Sedona is less enjoyable than loading it, which is true of most minivans. The Sedona breaks no ground here; the suspension is tuned for comfort at the expense of handling.

The Sedona's new 3.8-liter V-6 almost does break ground. Delivering 244 hp. and 253 pound-feet of torque on premium gas, it blows most other people movers into the weeds (an exception being the Odyssey). There's even enough oomph to create some mild "torque steer" on hard acceleration - manifested by a tugging on the steering wheel. Subtract 2 hp. and 2 pound-feet of torque if you use regular gas.

Don't expect miracles in the performance department, though; fully equipped, this is a 4,600-pound-plus vehicle, even with no people or stuff aboard. Acceleration off the line is peppy in the Sedona, but on a long upgrade or in a passing maneuver, the engine's limits become noticeable.

A five-speed automatic transmission driving the front wheels allows for manual shifting by sliding the gear lever to the right into a separate track.

My Sedona tester stickered at $31,365 - a relative bargain considering that it was a top-of-the-line EX version and also had optional leather upholstery, a rear-seat entertainment system, and dual power sliding doors and tailgate.

A top-of-the-line Toyota Sienna, the XLE Limited, lists for $36,785, with a rear-seat entertainment system an option for $1,780. All-wheel drive, not available in the Kia or Hyundai, would add $2,000 more to the Toyota.

Honda's top-of-the-line Odyssey, a Touring version, lists for $37,145 without an entertainment or navigation system and $39,345 with both. A lesser EX Odyssey with leather and entertainment but no nav system - i.e., closely equipped to my Kia tester - lists for $32,945.

A navigation system isn't available yet in the Sedona and Entourage.

The comparisons aren't as friendly with the competition from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler Group, in part because all three domestic carmakers have been offering discounts on their vans - up to $3,500 on the best of this group, the Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town and Country.

A $28,030 list price for a Grand Caravan SXT is deceptively low, though; one needs to add at least $3,500 to get the leather upholstery, DVD system and other items in my Kia tester.

Kia offers an excellent warranty, including 10 years and 100,000 miles on the powertrain. That's good because Kia's reliability record historically has been spotty. The make has been a consistent bottom feeder in the various surveys of quality and customer satisfaction that J.D. Power and Associates conducts. But Power deems the '06 Sedona "about average" in reliability.

I encountered one glitch in my tester: a malfunction of the cable releases for the removable second-row seats. The releases unlatched only one side of each seat, so removing the units was a chore, and replacing and relocking them proved impossible.

Consumer Reports has one Kia, the Amanti sedan, on its "recommended" list, with above-average quality. At the other extreme is the Sportage sport utility vehicle, deemed well below average in reliability, based on the magazine's reader surveys. The Sorento SUV is rated just a little better but still below average. The magazine has no info yet on the new Sedona or the Rio, Spectra and Optima cars.

One place where the Sedona excels, though, is in safety. The less-expensive Sedona variant, the LX, begins at just $23,665 with freight but includes almost all of the safety equipment as the more expensive model: seat-mounted side and roof-mounted curtain-type air bags, and four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock, brake assist and stability control. One exception is a backup warning system, sold as part of an option package.

The federal government gives the Sedona a top, five-star, rating for its performance in the frontal and side-impact tests. In fairness to the competition, it's worth noting that most minivans do very well nowadays in these federal ratings. That includes the aging Ford Freestar and General Motors' Chevrolet Uplander, Buick Terraza, Pontiac Montana SV6 and Saturn Relay. Unfortunately, although their names and styling are new, all four GM vehicles are essentially warmed-over versions of minivans that have been around far too long.

The private Insurance Institute for Highway Safety isn't quite as enthusiastic about most minivans, based on its own crash testing, but it loves the Sedona; the Kia is the only minivan given the institute's "top pick" designation.

The seven-passenger Sedona, Sienna, Odyssey and Grand Caravan are nearly identical in size and close in fuel economy (if one opts for Dodge's most powerful, 3.8-liter V-6). The Odyssey's 20 mpg city and 28 highway EPA estimates are the best, compared with Kia's 18 and 25, but these federal numbers tend to be higher than you can expect in real-world driving. My Kia's onboard computer said I was averaging between 19 and 22 mpg on the trips I made, which were mostly on highways.

The new Sedona replaces a very mediocre model that debuted in 2002 and was less powerful, shorter and narrower - but heavier.

From that standpoint alone, the '06 Sedona is a winner - vastly improved - even though it's more expensive than its predecessor by about $2,000.

Although it doesn't push the minivan envelope, the new Sedona seems worth considering as an up-to-date, attractively priced, well-equipped and safe contender.

2006 Kia Sedona

Vehicle tested:

Engine: 3.8-liter V-6, 244 hp.

Torque: 253 pound-feet at 3,500 rpm

Transmission: Five-speed automatic, front-wheel drive

Safety: Dual front, seat-mounted side and curtain-type air bags; four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock, brake assist and stability control; backup warning system; fog lamps

Place of assembly: Sohari, South Korea

Weight: 4,646 pounds

Cargo room: Minimum/

maximum, cubic feet: 32.2/141.5

EPA fuel economy rating: 18 mpg city, 25 highway

Price as driven: $31,365,

including destination charge

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Copyright (c) 2006, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

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Source: Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

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