2011 Kia Sedona

[regfootball]

I know y'all have been waiting for this one (right).

I did this one a couple weeks ago. Let me explain. I was at a used dealer scoping out something and they had a used 2011 Kia Sedona cranberry red sitting there. Always sort of looking at family cars, I asked if I could grab some keys and so I took it for a quick spin.

Reason: I had read that the Sedona had inherited the revisions to the corporate Kia v6 as well as the 6 speed automatic. So I wanted to see how refined and what sort of nuts it had since i had read an article about it recently.

HIGHS

Strong, smooth powertrain

Space

Value for the dollar

'Good' level of refinement

Visibility

Decent basic interior arrangement

updated tech (bluetooth, USB)

usable manumatic

ok ride and handling for a van. stable and secure.

LOWS

Dated styling inside and out

Plastics and cloths from a previous decade

ergonomics and controls from a previous era in time

second row seats fold and tumble only

feels HUGE

tall center of gravity

feels like you are driving a bus (although not a terribly sloppy one)

this is the OLD Kia

surpassed by the competition

SUMMARY

Not really worth writing a lot about but the main gist of this review was to sample the powertrain and I must say it is quite good. Which is to say its up to par with any other v6 today. The van for a van had nuts. The rest of the van......well, time moves on. There's no real functional fault with it as a commodity. Space and function are provided. You can make handsfree calls and plug in a flash drive. If you are big and large there is plenty of room to spread out. I did not examine any of the child toting aspects of the vehicle.

For the prices these are going for these days, and the price of everything else if you are looking at a van, it's probably ok. It's hard to justify one though, with all the new updates on the Chrysler vans. Your money is probably better spent on those to be honest, as well as any other choice.

there is no unique selling proposition to this Kia.

While not a bad vehicle, the best way to classify it is that its now a cellar dweller in its class. By no means is it such to give it a D. I will say C- plus factoring in the new engine and trans and we'll just be pleasant and give it a

C.

Edited February 5, 2011 by regfootball

[balthazar]

This pig still weigh over 5000 lbs??

Nevermind; doesn't matter.

[regfootball]

nuts for a 5000 vehicle to move out like that.

you could get an entire sorority of college girls in there for a Charlie Sheen style bender.

[A Horse With No Name]

This pig still weigh over 5000 lbs??

Nevermind; doesn't matter.

This pig makes me want to give up driving for mass transit.

[pow]

No, it weighs 4387 lbs, on par with every other minivan out there.

[balthazar]

Must've been an earlier version- I know I read it was reeeal close to 5000 in one review. Apparently there was some degree of being 'cobbled together' with all sorts of makeshift bracing, or something to that effect.

It's amazing how the weight of everything has ballooned so much. Caravan was around 3300lbs when it debuted. Now every minivan is 4200+. We'll never see relatively light weights like that again.

[Drew Dowdell]

Must've been an earlier version- I know I read it was reeeal close to 5000 in one review. Apparently there was some degree of being 'cobbled together' with all sorts of makeshift bracing, or something to that effect.

It's amazing how the weight of everything has ballooned so much. Caravan was around 3300lbs when it debuted. Now every minivan is 4200+. We'll never see relatively light weights like that again.

That was the 2002-2005 version. It wasn't really built with our market in mind, so it didn't have the crash standards. Kia just kept throwing steel at it till it passed.

4,802 and it was smaller than any of the competition.

[regfootball]

I doubt there will be a Sedona replacement. They had this concept recently that was more like a Ford Flex. I think that is where Kia is headed next.

I checked out the inside of a Nissan Quest yesterday. I didn't expect to like it but I have to admit I liked the fresh take on vans. It had no pretense of being a semi trailer attached to the front row of a crossover. The cargo area was less then every minivan but the packaging was more like a taller and more spacious Ford Flex. If you look at the Quest in profile, it is almost a taller boxy flex, with a swoopy unboxy front end and some really dramatic swooshing creases on the side to break up the box.

The interior of the Quest was much more like an Infiniti than a Nissan. Ugly aside, I think the new Quest will snag a few buyers.

The relevance here is that I think once minivan makers can see that they don't always have to build a minivan as large as possible, if they can shrink the package and redefine it a bit....then the weights will come down.

[regfootball]

http://www.canadiandriver.com/2011/02/01/test-drive-2011-kia-sedona-ex-luxury.htm

The Sedona’s engine feels wickedly strong. I’d just gotten out of a less-powerful vehicle and so gave the throttle some firm foot when the red light turned green. To my surprise, I got a burst of wheelspin before the traction control took over. The Sedona is so eager that it’s sometimes tough to accelerate moderately away from a stop, but on the other hand, its performance when loaded with passengers is quite satisfactory, and that is the idea of a minivan, after all. The six-speed automatic shifts smoothly, and includes a manual mode on the gearshift lever. Such a program is often handy on lesser-powered vans for extra oomph when passing traffic or climbing hills, but the Sedona has more than enough when left in Drive. In this case, its use will mostly be for those who are trying to forget that they’re driving a minivan instead of a sports car.

I guess I wasn't smoking crack....

[Drew Dowdell]

There will likely be a Sedona replacement... what is likely to die is the Entourage.

[Cory Wolfe]

The Entourage is already dead.

[Drew Dowdell]

The Entourage is already dead.

Really? they must have a lot of left over stock.

I thought the Borego was already dead too, but I'm seeing LOTS of new ones on the lots.

[Cory Wolfe]

As of April 2009, the Entourage will be discontinued for the 2010 model year. However, its Kia Sedona twin will be redesigned with more features to better compete with the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey and the Dodge/Chrysler twins.

[Drew Dowdell]

[regfootball]

Really? they must have a lot of left over stock.

I thought the Borego was already dead too, but I'm seeing LOTS of new ones on the lots.

i think the Borrego was

DOA dead on arrival

Kia mut be pleased as punch that their stupid van is worthy of a tete' a tete' on an internet message board. Some PR/communications intern for Kia is sitting at their desk somewhere giddy as hell that their assignment to track the web presence of the Kia Sedona is CREATING A BUZZ!

Edited February 7, 2011 by regfootball

[Maxy]

I have a 2002 Sedona that replaced a 1996 Caravan -- that comparison is more apt. The 2002 Kia had more modern powertrain tech and a couple of additional interior features, but otherwise the old Dodge was equal or better.