After the recent report on a decade with my Honda Fit, I realized that I am coming upon another milestone: six years with a Kia Sedona. Alright, before you have to pop a No-Doz or slug down a strong dark roast, I will do my best to keep you from nodding off. Minivans are not exactly the stuff of excitement, but let’s see what we can do, shall we?
I did not plan to buy a new van in September of 2011. I was into my second cheap beater minivan, a 1999 Town & Country LX, a high mile van that I had bought for all of $1,800. I am sorry to say that the van looked so good and drove so nicely that it tricked me into treating it like a real car instead of the disposable heap I had paid for. I plowed more money than I want to admit into it, fixing this and that, secure in the knowledge that the basic powertrain was in great shape. Until something broke inside the transmission.
My Mrs. decided it was time to lay down the law and declared that she was tired of my cheap beaters. She wanted something new. So off she went to test drive some things. The only real criterion was that she was tired of low-sitting cars like our Honda Fit and wanted something that would be more comfortable to get in and out of. We seemed to be heading for a crossover.
She came home from somewhere one day to tell me that she really liked the Kia Sorento she had driven and asked if I would go back and look at it. A Kia? One of those cheap Korean tin cans with its Soviet-level engineering? She had to be kidding. All I could think of was that irritating jingle for the Chia Pet (“Ch-Ch-Chi-Chia”). But being the dutiful husband that I am, I went along. I actually kind of liked the Sorento, but didn’t like the jump in price for the V6 with three rows. Remember, I was coming out of an $1,800 minivan. As I got out of the Sorento after a short test drive I turned around and saw that we had parked next to a Sedona. Woah – they still make those? Woah again – look at that sticker. A 7 seater minivan, 3.5 liter V6, six speed automatic, power windows and front/rear air with a base sticker of around $24K? Day-Yum! Hey honey, let’s drive this one.
A test drive followed and we were both hooked. The car drove nicely and was mucho powerful. It had all of the utility I had become accustomed to, a seat height that she liked and best of all a price that I could swallow at a time when I had not really been prepared to buy a car. And one more thing, Kia had finally replaced the dreadful grille on the earlier versions of these with one that looked decent.
I briefly thought about cross-shopping a Dodge Grand Caravan but stopped short. I might have been able to get one close in price but the 3.6 Pentastar V6 was still quite new and Chrysler’s recent history with new engines was . . . let’s go with uneven. The Kia was a completely unknown quantity but the company was willing to back it with a 10 year/100K mile powertrain warranty (and a basic bumper to bumper warranty of 5 years/60K miles). Sorry, Chrysler.
We went back a day or two later and made a deal. The good news was that Kia was offering two rebates. There was $2k off for any warm body who could get a loan and another $2k off for anyone who owned a competing brand of minivan. And it turned out that a totally immobile T&C met the criteria, so there we were with $4k off of our $24K vehicle. The color choices kind of sucked so the gray won out. There were two non-negotiables. First, I would not accept a van with power doors. Every minivan ever made with power doors eventually has problems with them. If Chrysler and Honda couldn’t figure them out, it was certain that Kia couldn’t either. Second, Mrs. JPC made it absolutely clear that if she was buying a new car, it was going to be a *new* car, and not a car with a couple of hundred miles on it. The door thing turned out to be a challenge, and the salesman thought he could get one from the other side of the city. Mrs. JPC reluctantly agreed to maybe 40 miles, but wasn’t happy about it.
A day or two later I called to check on the salesman’s progress. His report? “I thought I was never going to find one, but I got your van without the power package. I had to go to nearly the Illinois border to get it. I hope that will be OK with your wife.” One question popped into my lawyer-trained brain: “Which Illinois border?” After a moment of silence he said “Wisconsin.” Now, I live in Indianapolis, which is right smack in the middle of the state of Indiana. No two ways about it, Wisconsin is a long way away. “Dude”, I said. “She’s going to throw a fit. You know this.” Well, several hours and another discount later we agreed to take the car.
I will be honest, I was not excited about this van when I got it. I missed the many clever touches that Chrysler had built into my late T&C and found this van to be quite spartan inside. I remembered that I had rented one on an earlier occasion and had quipped that it was what GM would have built if that company had ever figured out how to build a competent minivan. But a funny thing happened as the months and miles began to pile on: I came to really respect this van. And to like it. A lot.
What do I like about it? One of the small things is that the ignition key (yes, it still has one of those) is on – – – the dashboard where The Lord in his Wisdom decreed that the ignition key belonged. I am old enough to vividly remember the industry-wide switch from a dashboard ignition to the steering column ignition. I found the new way to be an unnatural wrist motion, which I strongly disliked. This van brings back memories of all my favorite old cars the moment I insert and turn that key. A small thing, yes. But something that continues to happify me.
Then there is the powertrain. Since the advent of CAFE it seems that almost every large car on the road is subject to drivability tradeoffs. Either it lacks power, or is mated to a too-tall drive axle, or is saddled with transmission shift points that are designed to eke those elusive and valuable MPGs out of too much vehicle instead of making it pleasant to drive. Somehow, the combination of the engine, transmission and gearing of this Sedona is – how do I say this – simply perfect.
That 3.5L V6 is a honey. On paper, a rating of 271 net horsepower way up there at 6,300 rpm would seem to be not all that gratifying, especially when its 248 ft. lbs of torque doesn’t peak until 4,500 rpm. But from the driver’s seat this version of the Hyundai/Kia Lambda II engine is willing and eager right from the get-go. The combination of 4 valves per cylinder, variable valve timing and a 10.6:1 compression ratio work together very nicely. Although no slouch off the line, holding the pedal down to keep the revs up produces another sensation: Fear. That’s right, this thing actually scares me when the tach gets over 5K. And this from the guy who was never shy about hitting triple digits in his youth. This is well and truly the fastest vehicle I have ever owned. It also gets significantly better fuel mileage than the 3.3 in my old Chrysler. 23-24 mpg on trips is not hard to attain, with maybe down in the 17-18 mpg range in town.
But many a fine engine has been tripped up by a clunky automatic transmission. Not here, though. The Hyundai/Kia proprietary six speed unit in the Sedona is a gem. The shifts are smooth, perhaps too much so. In fact, it is almost impossible to count the gear shifts (and to distinguish them from the torque converter locking up) even when paying close attention. With 5th being a 1:1 ratio, that leaves four closely-spaced lower gears which mate beautifully with the engine. The .77 overdrive ratio mated to a 3.04 final drive makes the perfect balance between relaxed low-rev cruising and mad acceleration when you need it. Will that smooth shifting shorten the unit’s life? It is too soon to tell. What is not too soon to tell is the way hunting and indecision is (forthe most part) a foreign concept to this autobox. I have read many complaints about the Chrysler six speeds and got to experience one firsthand in a rental Grand Caravan a couple of years ago. Every mile in that Dodge made me long for my Kia – something that ten years ago I would have bet you $20 I would never say.
If I seem to be going on about this van’s powertrain for too long, it is because I like it that much. Has there been a car in your past that every time you took off from a stoplight you just sat there enjoying the interplay of engine and transmission, marveling how the engineers just nailed it? I used to do that in my 68 Newport with its 383 and Torqueflite. It was an almost perfect pairing, almost always in exactly the gear you wanted it to be in. And I do it in this Kia, damned near every time behind the wheel, even after six years.
I am less enamored of the steering. It is not horrible, but I am not crazy about its combination of relatively high steering effort and relatively low road feel. I will take low road feel and low effort (Yes, an old Mopar owner here) or higher effort coupled with high road feel (spelled Miata). But . . . yeah. Other than this, I really have no significant complaints about the way this thing drives. The van handles tautly and rides pretty well. Replacing the original Kumhos with some oversized Michelin Light Truck tires has really improved and quieted the ride, though at a handling penalty. But for highway cruising? All in all, the Kia is a pleasant place to be. Which it should be, given that it weighs within 100 pounds of a ’73 Chrysler New Yorker.
In one more classic Mopar parallel, the structure is fairly rigid, something that is not always a given in a minivan (helloooo, Honda). The design of this van dates back to 2006 and ran through 2014 (with a year off in 2013 for reasons I have never understood). In other markets around the world this van sold as a Kia Carnival.
The seats are not bad. The third row folds into the floor, but the trade-off is that it sits low to the ground, sacrificing leg room for third row riders. The two middle seats either fold forward or can be removed, turning this into a pretty good moving van. Which comes in handy when you have college students in the house. The seats also contained a surprise that I didn’t know about until I flipped through the owners manual (Yes, I actually do that).
The passenger side has a version of the “Relax” mode in my Honda Fit. The front seat back flips down to turn into a footrest for royal passenger travel in the second row. Mrs. JPC likes this. A lot. I put it into use myself as shown when my daughter volunteered for a good long stretch at the wheel during a trip we took together.
The van has been quite trouble free. I was going to say surprisingly trouble free, but then Kia did give me a 10 year/100K mile warranty. As I approach 70K miles the car uses no oil and has not required any repairs beyond maintenance items with the exception of a bum thermostat that was replaced under warranty. There have been a couple of recalls, two for an inspection and rustproofing of a front suspension component (we had no trouble) and for replacement of the door weatherstrips with a re-designed pair which reduced wind noise significantly. The last one was interesting in that it came after this model had ceased production. I was concerned about an ignition key that gets warm on long trips, but after complaining about it early it has gotten no worse. Another plus is that I have yet to see a Sedona of this generation sporting rust bubbles on the body, so score one more for Kia. One more thing, I am still on the original set of brakes.
OK, you might say, nobody loves everything about a car. This is true. There is one thing I absolutely despise: the automatic locking doors. The car locks all five doors every time you put the car in gear and unlocks them every time you move the shifter to “Park”. Every. Stinking. Time. If you share my view that power locks have only so many cycles designed into them, you understand how I see the life draining from those actuators with every unnecessary cycle. But so far none of them has failed. As the feature does not seem to have an easy defeat mechanism, I have lived with it. My other gripe is that the engine is slow to warm up in cold weather. I still wonder if the second Kia thermostat has become compromised as well and am toying with a DIY aftermarket replacement.
Other than that? I am a happy camper. Sure, I might like power rear flipper windows or nicer seat upholstery or more switches or buttons in place of the plastic plugs that are in several locations. I would like less hard plastic inside and a nicer setup for cupholders than in the space-wasting flip-up center console. But for $19K out the door after discounts, practical me is willing to give up a few luxuries, especially when all the necessities are right there, and done so competently. And I do not regret my choice to forgo the power rear doors even if every first-time rider exits the vehicle and walks away from the open door which he expects will close behind him.
I once joked that this was the ’73 Matador wagon of minivans – a solid people-hauler that gets no visibility or respect in the world at large. I find this to be true still. But you know what? After spending time in Chrysler and Honda minivans of the same era I would not trade. Yes, those folks may have more social respectability. But after six years and 69,000 miles as an owner, I believe that I have the better minivan.
Your contentment with your Sedona is infectious. I’m happy this minivan you originally didn’t have much enthusiasm for has become a loyal companion. Very impressed with the reliability of your example.
Kia and Hyundai keep going from strength to strength. I’m constantly impressed with how solid and well-built their cars feel, and Hyundais are now proliferating through my family and friend circle. And to Hyundai’s credit, they’ve not only stuck it out in the minivan segment, but they’ve also delivered an entirely new Sedona that’s extremely competitive.
The Koreans now give up nothing to the Japanese and the playing field has been levelled.
Thanks, Will. I agree about the solid feeling bodies. A friend bought a 2011(?) Odyssey, an early one with the zigzag side. When I shut the passenger door it felt like the outside sheetmetal “oilcanned” which made the thing feel not very substantial. The subjective feel of the Honda minivan bodies have been disappointing to me for quite awhile, and I am generally a Honda fan. The Sedona feels quite sturdy when the doors close.
It sounds like the Sedona has “The Knack” for keeping you happy. I’ve ridden in one of these once when they were first introduced and was very impressed. Good materials, comfortable, engine seemed strong. And an excellent value, of course. As William stated, the Koreans seem to have figured it out. I hope you have many more happy miles with your Sedona.
I was laughing last evening when you suggested in yesterday’s Sienna thread that “someone” ought to write something on one of these. After about a month of dawdling, I had just finished and scheduled this hours earlier.
I know, I had seen it in the cue earlier when I was scheduling something else…. 🙂
But I’ve been waiting for it for literally years anyway so the timing was perfect.
I miss my van. There I admitted it. I’ve had 2 company issue Dodge Caravans. Each went 1/4 million miles. No problems. Seems unusual for a Dodge. Just lucky I guess. The 2nd one still had the original brakes when I turned it in. All highway driving of course.
I might have to look at a Kia when I retire. Once I’m again responsible for my own vehicle expenses, I don’t want to play maintenance roulette with a Chrysler or Honda. So many horror stories about both.
Having lived in Korea for 3 years, Kias were locally considered the vehicle of choice where the roads were bad. No “Soviet built” reputation there. Koreans I knew considered Kias – along with SSangYongs – to be a rugged vehicle. Locals ought to know.
The lead in has me asking serious questions; a less than 3 year old Town and Country for $1,800? What the hell was it?! Flooded? Burned by fire? This question needs a serious answer because that makes no logical sense, 200k or otherwise.
What the hell was it?
It was, as he stated, a 1999 Chrysler he disposed of in 2011. 🙂
A 1999 that I bought in the spring of 2010. I get 11 years from this math problem. Did I figure it wrong? 🙂 Even at about 190k, it was a really nice van for $1800 that I stumbled on purely at random. It was for sale in the longtime owner’s yard.
BTW, I gave the Chrysler to my secretary. She and her husband got the transmission rebuilt and drove it daily. Last I heard it was in semi-retirement but still on the road with about 300k on it now.
My sincere apologies; I read 2011 as 2001 somehow. :/
Haha, no need to apologize. I could see myself doing the same thing. Quick math in my head is not my strong suit.
OK, seeing that we have the same minivan, only mine is six years older, 50,000 miles more along, and has one speed less on the transmission, allow me to give you the possible future that you’re looking forward to.
At 121,000 miles, my ’08 continues to be reliable, comfortable, and wonderfully long legged on trips. It’s gotten my Fiat 500c Abarth down to the point of being treated like a real sports car – out on nice days only. If the weather is too bad for two wheels, I take the van to work that day.
Having bought mine used, the transmission was flushed at 90,000 miles and is working just fine. I have a hitch receiver on the rear, but have yet to have the nerve to put a trailer on it, despite it being rated for 3500 pound towing. Major-ish repairs during my ownership includes having some body/frame spacers replaced about 95,000 (they were squeaking loudly), brake and tires somewhere in the last 20,000, and oil changes every 5000. The rear gate has been replaced due to my backing into a tree this past June.
My normal highway gas mileage is 21-22mpg. I have the five speed, not the six you’re running. No idea on the ratios, but it just jumps off the line with a vengeance with a nicely low first then shifts smoothly into second very quickly.
Overall, the wife and I love it. Complaints? The second row seats were a bitch to remove (something about the attachment points sticking), but they came out the first day home and will not go back in until trade-in day. We bought this van for the two of us, for reenactment hauling, and trackside camping.
And yes, when the day comes to trade it in, first priority will be a (hopefully) higher spec 2014 version. Because, unfortunately, we can’t go looking for a 2015- (third generation) model. Kia, in their marketing wisdom, has made the center console and second row of seats unremovable (other than major disassembly and surgery), thus completely negating the van to it’s two main uses (reenactment hauling and van camping), as well as killing it for the periodic trips to Home Depot for 4×8 chip board and 8-12″ lengths of lumber.
At which point, we’re probably looking FCA. There are two things I won’t do in life: 1. Buy a SUV/CUV, or, 2. Pay the premium just to get a Toyota or Honda nameplate on a van that won’t be any better (and in the case of the Honda, possibly less reliable).
Enjoy the ride. You’ve probably bought on of the most underrated vehicles available in the US market today.
I have wrestled with those middle seats many times. They are not as heavy as those from my 94 Club Wagon, but I agree that the attachment system could be a little more friendly. The non removable seats would make me think twice about the new one too.
I have spent some times on a forum for these and do not see any significant incidence of engine or transmission problems. If buying used I might consider the EX version that is nicer trimmed and has the alloy wheels. Although they are not common and would stick me with the power doors.
Other than the base models of the outgoing Grand Caravan it’s hard to find a console-free minivan, which seems amazingly dumb to me since isn’t part of the attraction that you can climb inside out of the rain to strap the kids in and then enter the driver’s seat Millennium Falcon-style?
Any time you can enter your seat Millennium Falcon style is a win in my book. In fact I may just choose to enter somewhere else than the driver’s door just to be able to do that!
That was SOP with my Club Wagon. It was so wide that I had to skinny the drivers side up close to the wall of the garage. Everyone entered and exited (or should I say boarded and de-vanned) by the rear side door.
My children are hilarious. They were trained by that Club Wagon to line up on the passenger side to get in because that was the only back door there was. I have had 4 door minivans for about 10 years yet none of them ever goes to the drivers side when they go to get in the back. They still get into a traffic jam outside the passenger door.
My Sedona has the worst of all worlds – there is a flip-up plastic console with 4 cupholders and a shelf that blocks access between the seats. But when you fold it down it still takes up 1/3 of the open space and you have lost your cupholders. Ours stays permanently up. My base level 99 T&C had a little rectangular mesh bag that attached its 4 corners to the two front seats. It was good for tossing little items to keep them from rolling around and was low enough to step over.
We deal with it OK on the road. It’s normally up, except for vacuuming; but if Maggie has to get something in the back (visualize my wife stepping gingerly amongst a couple of black powder muskets, a small grenade launching mortar, and two large gun boxes filled with black powder amongst other things) she finds it convenient access so we don’t have to pull over.
“Pay the premium just to get a Toyota or Honda nameplate on a van that won’t be any better (and in the case of the Honda, possibly less reliable).”
While I can’t comment on the reliability of the Kia or Honda vans, I can say that our work fleet went from primarily Ford Vans, to Chrysler Vans and now were going to Toyota vans. Of the three, the Toyota vans have been far better when it comes to reliability and overall cost. And even though the Toyota’s cost a premium to buy, we also get considerably more when they are sold off. I know most idependent reliability stats support our experience. Of note we had a couple of GM U-vans breifly and they were by far the least reliable.
Friend bought a stripper 2006 Sedona new, he remarked the price was really cheap (don’t remember what he paid) and figured the 10 year 100k warranty would be used a few times. At around 100k miles today it’s been pretty much trouble free, only needing usual wear items. Wife still drives it today, it’s been a great van at a great price for them. I’ve ridden in it a time or two, quiet and smooth riding. These really are underrated machines.
As one who has had the privilege of riding in the (Mrs.) JPC-mobile, it is a very nice place to be. Quiet, smooth, and comfortable, it would indeed be a great place to be for a long trip.
Since becoming acquainted with these chariots, they are in more places than one might think. Their low-key aura likely aids in this, but I’ve seen more than one in taxi service in St. Louis and, I think, also in Kansas City. My wife hosted a 4-H bonfire the other night and the family with five boys arrived in a Kia Sedona.
One thing I have noticed about this generation of Sedona – and I’m not sure if this is good or bad – is that from some angles, the front looks greatly like one of the last Ford Windstars. The shape of the headlights and the oval in the middle of the grille do help with that.
May you have many more years of trouble free miles on your Kia!
I had noticed the late Windstar resemblance, but can see it now.
It also occurs to me that this total stripper of a Kia minivan (not one single option sullied the sticker) is equipped every bit as well as my loaded top of the line Honda Fit. Better if we count the Bluetooth and Serius satellite radio.
Funny thing about the Power Doors. I used to be a Power Door Denier as well, but I slipped into the Dark Side after we bought our Odyssey in 2010.
When shopping for the Odyssey, I too wanted one without power doors, because I saw them as a potential (expensive) future repair, and a needless drain on the battery. Plus, I have arms, so opening a door isn’t problematic for me.
Unfortunately, the only Odyssey without power doors was the LX model, which was also missing several other things that we really wanted, namely a CD changer and roof rails. So we bought an EX instead, which came with those things, plus power doors. I shut the door switch off on the first day, vowing never to stoop to such a level of sloth.
Now, after 7 years and 105,000 miles, I have never used those once-coveted roof rails. But after about a week of ownership, I meekly turned the power door switch on to try it out. It’s never been off since.
I have no excuse, other than it’s just mighty convenient, and makes loading kids into the car just a tiny bit easier. In short, I’m lazier than I thought I’d be. But for now, my scorn has migrated to power rear hatches. The sharp dividing line of laziness has shifted a few yards, I guess.
My other issue with power doors is that they are So. Damned. Slow. Call me impatient, but when I want a door open I want it open now, not in another 5 seconds. I joke that mine is the only minivan in North America without them.
Glad I don’t have the power doors on mine. If anything, my Sedona goes into ‘self sealing’ mode if you’ve let the doors shut for a week, and that first yank to get the doors open gives you images of snapping the door handle right off.
Wow, mine does that too! I had a guy give ours a detailing about 3 years ago and had not noticed it before then, and attributed it to whatever he treated the weatherstripping with. Maybe it’s something else. When it happens I usually get my fingers around the back edge of the door to pull it out, for exactly the reason you mention – the fear of breaking the door handle.
Every time it happens I remember that I want to clean the weatherstripping with something but then forget about it before I get to it.
Spray some wd40 on a paper towel and rub it on the door frame where the seals touch. They won’t stick so bad after that. No clue on if the wd40 deteriorates the seal rubber or not.
^^^^Weatherstripping: someone told me to use silicone spray rather than WD-40; I’ve been doing so for years, with no sign of deterioration.
The write-up: I enjoyed this a lot as a balanced, thoughtful take on the purchase choice and then ownership experience for (hopefully) the vehicle’s youthful years. Thanks, JPC!
Silicone spray, especially somewhat pricy Kent brand, works great on weatherstripping. Keeps it soft and pliable, probably would prevent sticking. I would not use WD-40 on door seals.
I’ll have to ask him if he’s aware of the “kick back” seating mode.
“My other issue with power doors is that they are So. Damned. Slow. ”
We’re on the same page. I can’t stand how slow these power doors and power tailgates are. I specifically wanted to avoid a power tailgate when we ordered our Outback, which the salesman thought was weird. It limited me to the base model, but luckily in Canada our base model is closer to the US premium.
Eric, if your doors do ever give you trouble, it is not a difficult repair and the part that usually breaks is cheap (which is why it breaks to begin with). The hardest part is getting the door panel off the first time. Lots of YouTube videos but easy driveway fix and you get to stay seated most of the time.
I think what wears them out is people either pushing against them trying to speed them up (which causes a reversal if done too hard) or as I often see in the school drop off lane, people driving off while the door is still closing – which again brings up the Millennium Falcon analogy of taking off while the loading ramp is still retracting…
“Mr. Solo, I’m not sure this ‘laser damage’ to the doors can be covered under warranty. These blast points are way too precise; are you sure this wasn’t another battle with Stormtroopers? You haven’t been smuggling again, have you?”
“No. Just helping a friend move…things.”
Like a couch?
Good to know. After a few more seasons of the School Drop-Off Line, I just might find myself attempting that driveway repair!
I am skeptical too about power doors, but Toyota had no down-market 2004 Siennas available in town, so had to take one of the LEs on the lot, and not in the color we preferred either. Although I still would rather not have a decadent power door, it never gave us any trouble (it was for one side, not both).
The only interior mechanical fail we had was with one of the folding 3rd seats; for some reason it got misaligned (I didn’t get violent with it or anything) and wouldn’t latch properly. Not a cheap repair.
The youth shelter I volunteer at has one of these, coming up on it’s tenth anniversary. This is a van that is used to haul everything from kids to building supplies, is driven constantly by different staff, and is mostly used for short runs.( 9 12 years…30,000 miles).
Yet it runs fine, basically has had nothing but normal maintenance and even with spending most winters covered in salt, no rust.
I am impressed.
“She’s going to throw a fit. You know this.” Well, several hours and another discount later we agreed to take the car.
Am I understanding that the distance needed to get the van you wanted was the thing that would upset your wife? I’m just not sure why anyone would get angry over something like that. Is it the additional mileage that would be on the van when you took delivery? Its not like the warranty starts when the odometer is at zero. You didn’t have anything to lose.
Customers can be that way. They’re buying a new vehicle, they want to be the first person to drive it. “First” of course meaning that the quality control run at the plant and on-and-off the truck doesn’t count.
Welcome to why I’m glad I don’t work in sales. And fully recognize that I don’t have the temperament to do so.
Yes, she wanted a “new” car and to her, “new” doesn’t mean something with 300 miles on it. When we met with the salesman the first time she was very clear about this. Frankly, I was surprised that in a metropolitan area that ranks in the top 40 in the country the salesman could not come up with a base level van. He had led us to believe that there was another across town that he could get and that was the last we heard until this one had been brought back from Wisconsin. We might have agreed to a different color if one had been found close, but that was never offered to us.
JP,
Ok, everything you said makes sense. She certainly had reason to be upset if he told her they could get one from a nearby dealership and never told you about the change until after the dealership already went and got it. Dealers close to each other don’t like to trade vehicles because they figure the customer that is looking for that specific vehicle will end up driving over to their place once they know its nearby, so I’m surprised he told you how far away the van was from him.
“Frankly, I was surprised that in a metropolitan area that ranks in the top 40 in the country the salesman could not come up with a base level van”
It is probably because 99% of folks buying vans want those power doors. One with non power doors will most likely sit on a dealers lot taking up space.
It is like when vans started having two sliding doors on them. Nobody wanted the 1 sliding door vans anymore so those sat on dealers lots.
Folks are funny about that. They may not use all the features but they want them (especially if a van with them does not cost much more then a van without them)
“Which Illinois border?” After a moment of silence he said “Wisconsin.”
That made me LOL. Your van probably came from my local, quite large Kia dealer in Kenosha, which could certainly be described as “almost Illinois”.
Glad you’re happy with the Sedona.
Edward-
Certainy a fair point, unarguably true. Please come over to my house and explain to my wife that she is being irrational about something unimportant. You should plan to be here for some time. I, unfortunately, will not be able to be home for your visit. I have to go out and wash my hair or something.
As for the KIA, I think they have undertaken the (‘old’?) Japanese model of designing cars: how can I improve the vehicle without increasing costs much, as opposed to the (‘old’?) American model: how can I make the car less expensive to manufacture without losing quality much?
Neither approach ever succeeds; Japanese cars eventually creep up in cost (so the Civic has to be supplemented wirh a new entry model like the Fit) and American cars gradually decline in quality requiring periodic pinky-swears that they have changed their ways (“Quality is Job # 1; More JD Powers Quality Awards than everybody).
Hyundai and Kia seem to be in that sweet spot that Honda hit in the early 90’s where design is good, quality is good, and prices are good. All this is good for us consumers.
LOL. Let us know how that explanation thing about being “irrational” works out for you.
When I bought my Civic they offered to go to Massachusetts to pick one up in a color I preferred to the silver one I bought off the lot. I declined because I didn’t want my car’s break-in to be a hot supper back from Boston.
I have this exact minivan. A 2007 model I not 2 yes old in 09. Bang on with the pwr doors. But we use them in manual mode. 275k later… Not one problem. And I tow with it too…. Well, a rear cabin heater hose broke, but was an easy fix. Ac works, cruise works everything works. The engine is a 3.8 not 3.5 BTW. I agree with everything u said about it esp transmission gearing. Never feels out if breath and kicks down a gear easily. Knock in wood I’m keeping it till something very expensive breaks.
At some point the switch was made from the 3.8 Lambda engine to the 3.5 Lambda II. I think that and the change to the newer 6 speed auto was made with the 2011 model. The Lambda and Lambda II come in a bunch of displacements and configurations and are really confusing to follow.
An enjoyable long-term review on a car that rarely crosses my mind. I’m glad your ownership experience has been a happy and trouble-free one. Although this generation Sedona hardly excites me, even among some of its competitors at the time, it should be respected a one of those vehicles from Kia’s transition period, where it was actually building pretty good and lasting vehicles that were class competitive in every area really besides style, which of course came within a few years. Thanks for sharing JP and wishing you many more miles with this workhorse!
Thanks Brendan. I am realistic that these were not class-competitive other than on price at the time. I have said since I bought it that if this minivan would have come with the interior of my 99 Chrysler, they would have sold tons of them.
Other than the front being a little weak, I actually like the look of these better than the new ones. I want to like the new one but cannot quite get used to the belt line/c pillar treatment on them. They are, however, quite nice inside. I wonder if the new ones finally got rid of that yellow-hued instrument lighting that my car has. I forgot to add that this was another thing that I really don’t like on mine. Purely subjective, but I am a blue-green instrument light kind of guy.
I’m with you on the latest generation’s styling. That odd, dramatic kick-up to a small rear side window and the C pillar seems to be a trend, but to me it just looks jarring. As you say, it’s a shame, since the rest of the van looks pretty good.
Geez that’s weird. My instrument cluster lights green. Must have changed it by your model year I guess. When my 07 tanks I will prob get the new gen 14 sedona…. My last minivan I will likely need. My sedona is not impressive, but it has been surprisingly reliable. It was the first car we owned with a factory DVD player. Although now my kids play PAC MAN on it in longer drives.
I agree about the current Sedona’s styling — I definitely prefer the styling of your model more than the newer ones.
That said, I think Kia has the best overall styling (across all model lines) of any carmaker. They have several models that I’d seriously consider, should I be in the market for a new/used car any time soon (the Optima, Cadenza & Sorento come to mind, in addition to the Sedona). The biggest downsides to the new Sedona for me include the chunky, immovable center console, and the relative difficulty in removing/folding the rear seats as compared to some of the competition. But overall, I’m very impressed with Kia’s products.
Oh man, now I have beater minivan lust. I’d love to find a 10-15-year-old van that hasn’t been beat to hell for under $2000. My church owns a 2nd-gen Honda Odyssey that gets almost no use. It was a donation from a family that moved to Africa to be missionaries. I don’t know anything about its condition except that its exterior is cosmetically good. I wonder what they’d take for it.
I like the power doors. When we bought a 2006 T&C in 2009, it was between it and a handful of Sedonas. NONE of the Sedonas had power anything. I long ago passed the point of power windows as a requirement. The sedonas DID have consoles though, I think. I wanted one originally, but in the long haul, with a 1 yr old, my (now ex-) wife could get to the second row to tend to him on long trips if necessary. I did like the power side doors, even though they were slow. THe kids could mash the button to let themselves out. And the stow & gos were so very nice. ON a long vacation trip, we would use the belly seat compartments to hold extra toys, instruments, etc. And we had one of those roof bags to go between the rails to hold totes of sheets and towels needed for the vacation rental. So we could haul the 2 of us, the MIL, and 3 kids. And still put a 4×8 in it after we got back if needed.
The ex got the T&C in the divorce and she doesn’t use it. I really enjoyed the utility of it and it had very few issues in my time with it. The ex had to have a catalytic converter replaced – she drives about 25 mph in town no matter what. Second car she has had to have a CC in.
All in all, they are such practical vehicles and good to know the Sedona has improved over the years.
Thanks for the write up. I’ve ridden in this, and was impressed, given the price. This would have made a great replacement for our ’92 GC, had I wanted a minivan.
What a great piece! You sound sufficiently “happified” with your purchase.
I thought your comparisons with your former Chrysler were funny, as I’ve always thought the first Sedona looked a lot like the first-generation of Chrysler minivan.
The picture of you in “relax” mode has me wishing I could take a nap right now. LOL
Thanks for the heads-up. I might just start shopping for one of these….
Final thought: I’ve had pickup trucks starting back in ’91 with my first Dakota thru ’14 when I let my Ranger go (general downsizing knowing we were going to move in the next year). My wife is a native born Virginian redneck girl from Louisa county. There’s always been a pickup truck in her driveway, usually the husband’s.
She’s never owned a van, the last one I had was a first generation Dodge Caravan C/V back in the 80’s.
We’re both stunned at how much better a van is than a pickup truck. Other than not being able to haul dirty loads (dirt, unbagged mulch, etc.), or haul a large motorcycle in the bed, there’s nothing in our needs a pickup can do that the van can’t match. And do so much that the pickup can’t do as well.
We’ve possibly seen our last pickup trucks.
Exactly this. The van can handle 90% of what you might use a pickup for. For the rest you can either rent one from one of the big box home improvement stores or borrow one from the many people you know who have pickups. I got 50 bags of mulch in the back of the Sedona last summer. If I’m going to get unbagged mulch I will just have someone deliver it.
In my case, it’s 150% . 🙂
Yes, I started using our old ’92 GC like a truck, with the back seats all out, in its last couple of years. And my new van has become my mobile office, tool shed, materials hauler and moving van. Thanks to being an empty nester, I have no more use for rear seats anyway.
Great write-up JPC. These vans are pretty uncommon in my area so I haven’t given them much thought. You’ve definitely allowed me to look at them in a new light. I can also relate to the surprising power in modern mini-vans. We have a few vans in our work fleet and I have been assigned one of the Sienna’s on several trips. It has performance that is maybe slightly quicker than the Kia’s. I was surprised at how that hulking beast moved when I flogged it. It’s no performance machine but certainly far, far better than the old Caravans and Ventures I was more familiar with.
Going from a 4 cylinder Gen1 Odyssey to a 3.3 Chrysler minivan to this is definitely moving the right direction. 🙂 The last time I rented one of these around 2012 the guy at the rental counter told me that this was the fastest thing in his fleet, a fleet that included V8 Chargers and 300s. This may have been hyperbole, but it is definitely not slow.
I never thought I’d read this many words about a Kia Sedona. But this was a very entertaining read and it has given me a new respect for minivans and Kias!
Interesting account. I see that you appear to have a longer wheelbase version than we get/got over here, which I guess is no surprise.
A reminder of 2 things – satisfaction for everyday use and price do not necessarily go up together, and Kia (and Hyundai) have come a long way in 10-15 years. The latest comp-act offerings are fully competitive on all criteria with the established European and Japanese brands, and attractively styled too.
I didn’t learn until reading up on these that we got a swb version for the first couple of years of this style, but it went away. Swb minivans just haven’t really sold well here.
… the van looked so good and drove so nicely that it tricked me into treating it like a real car instead of the disposable heap I had paid for. I plowed more money than I want to admit into it, fixing this and that,
I have a similar argument with myself about my beater 2006 Focus frequently. It’s a 30 foot car (looks OK from 30 feet) and, once everything is warmed up, drives surprising well, considering. That all makes me want to give it a new exhaust system and new struts. The staff at the Ford Quick Lane where I have the oil changed gives me an earnest sales pitch for a new flex pipe and muffler ($600) every time I’m in there. “No!” I insist. “It’s a beater. It’s good enough (ie not as loud as a completely uncorked pipe) as it is”. I have refused to koff up to have the a/c recharged.
As we enter winter, I will soon be entertained by a variety of creaks, squeaks and clunks from the suspension and an ominous cold start whine from the trans that are all silent in the summer. Not a dollar will leave my grip for these transitory complaints. The Focus has a new trick: driving home from Greenfield Village on a day cool enough to turn the heater on, I got a CEL, for the first time ever in this car: code PO128 (Coolant Temperature Below Thermostat Regulating Temperature) indicating the thermostat was stuck open. The thermostat is a swine on Foci, escalating the replacement cost to north of $200, according to Repair Pal. I’ll chatter my teeth for 5 months, rather than put 2 Benjamins into it.
‘course, I’m a bachelor, so have no parter’s incessant sniveling about a car that makes an assortment of noises and “doesn’t feel safe”, to endure.
I too have had the pleasure of riding in this very vehicle. Well done, a writeup on this one was overdue.
We rented a Sedona a few years ago on a family trip to Disney. It did everything we asked, including driving around with 6 people and their luggage, we liked it a lot.
Particularly the horn which went “meep!”
“and one more thing, Kia had finally replaced the dreadful grille on the earlier versions of these with one that looked decent.”
You know I actually liked the previous grill over the later one. I always thought that grill reminded me of a beaver about to chomp down on some wood. However yours looks better and more toned down then the grill on my 2010 Forte.
I think that generation of Sorento was the best looking of them. It looks so much better then the current generation of them. A good friend of mine, bought a 2011 Sorento. She wanted a manual trans Sorento. She was able to locate a new one at a Kia dealer near her sister in Texas. She sent a deposit for the vehicle and took a Greyhound bus from VA to Texas to buy it and drove it back to VA.
As for minivans, they are quite comfortable. My $5001997 Trans Sport holds its own on highway traffic. It is the LWB 8 seat van. All 6 back seats come out with ease. They all fold down and each seat back has a hard plastic surface with two holes so that when folded down they become a table with cup holders. I love the storage drawer that is under the front passenger seat.
I do think that Kia and Hyundai make great cars. The best dealership experiences i have had were at the Kia dealership. Unless a person is looking for high resale value when trading a vehicle in after 3 years, there is no reason to consider a Toyota over a Kia/Hyundai or Ford. Modern cars are very reliable now. Plus Kia and Hyundai offer that 50,000/100,000 mile warranty. In the 2 years I owned my Forte, i used the warranty once( for a piece of weather strip)
Heres to 10 more years(or more) of owning your Sedona.
In Aus, it’s amazing Kia stuck with the Carnival nameplate, because the immediate predecessor to yours was a genuine disaster. Every one, and I do mean just that, had the engine fail, plenty of ’em more than once. So those who began buying this next model in 2007 or so were brave. They didn’t need to be, it turns out; they now have a good name. It’s probably in a textbook somewhere as an example of how to salvage victory from disaster.
I have the 3rd-gen low-rider Odyssey the US didn’t get, which William Stopford wrote up recently. It’s superb, even at 200k miles. Seats, room, ride, handling, flexibility, solidity, sheer elan are much in front of the ’06-on Sedona. Only major design shortcoming is that the 2.4 four is sometimes underpowered.
I fairly recently drove and nearly bought my brother’s 60K mile 2007 Carnival near-identical to yours. (Been perfect for them too, only suffering the not-uncommon fault of the crank pulley bolt snapping off). But it felt like a creaky ship in a swell after the Honda, a tanker at that – just too big, and no more useable adult seats than Honda fitted. Sure, the performance was startling and silken but after a few days, I realised that I didn’t have the patience to live with a daily companion with such a drinking problem. I could overlook his dullness and poor dress-sense, but how you got even an abstemious 17mpg is impressive.
So, a huge, wobbly drunk with a weight issue and, frankly, looks that even his mother mistook for other kids? I just couldn’t.
Glad you have a kinder heart, JPC.