Price: $43,295 as tested. (This included $2,700
for the Technology Package, which featured lane departure and forward collision
warning, surround-view monitor, and smart cruise control.) A base model can be
had for $26,100.
Marketer's pitch: "Transform your
drive."
Conventional wisdom: Edmunds.com likes
the "distinctive dashboard and cockpit; value-priced; unique
forward-collapsing second-row seats; extensive equipment availability; quiet
cabin," but not the "subpar fuel economy ratings in SX-L trim; slightly
less cargo space than primary rivals; SX-L's lounge seats don't collapse
forward."
Reality: Somewhere between transformation and
just transportation.
Family-friendly: There's no reviewer
out there better equipped to put a minivan to the test than Mr. Driver's Seat.
With the Lovely Mrs. Passenger Seat and Sturgis Kids 1.0 through 4.0, and the
Sturgis Family Sienna as comparison, we put minivans through their paces.
What's new: The Sedona gets a whole
new look - at least as much of that as a box for people can get.
The
rear has grown more boxy, à la the latest generation of the Nissan Quest, and
the front received a more modern Kia-like
treatment, with a prominent grille set between pairs of rather angry-looking
headlights.
Friends and stuff: We put three of the
four Sturgis Kids inside for a road trip to the Big Apple. Sturgis Kids 1.0 and
4.0 report that the middle row in the SX-L - a trim level that gets a pair of
captain's chairs that recline - was a reasonably comfortable place to spend a
couple hours.
Sturgis
Kid 1.0 reports that the seats are not as comfortable as the Sienna's - though
they're fine when reclined, sitting upright is not great - and legroom is not
nearly as generous when one full-size Sturgis young man sat behind the other.
Loading
the Sedona is even more
challenging. Other trim levels get three seats in the middle row that fold
forward to stand tall, but the SX-L's seats only slide slightly out of the way.
So the Sedona fails the 4-by-8
sheet-carrying contest, a severe drawback in a minivan.
Up to speed: The 3.3-liter engine creates 276
horsepower, a sizable amount of oomph to haul a big rig and eight people
around. While this is 10 more than the latest Sienna, something in the
six-speed automatic's shift logic or computer controls was amiss, and did not
offer the solid performance I've had in the Sienna. A distinct hesitation made
the Sedona a bit frightening when pulling out to pass.
On the road: On the bright side, the Sedona
doesn't feel like a big, lumbering house on wheels like the Sienna does.
Honda's Odyssey is definitely the best-handling of the minivans, and the Sedona is closer to it than
to the bulky Sienna.
Seeing out: Visibility from the Sedona is
awesome. I never had any concerns about seeing what was around me.
Play some tunes: The stereo in the
Sedona offers B-plus sound. It's clear, but the emphasis seems a little on the
treble side. Adjusting bass, midrange and treble didn't make enough of a
difference.
Controls: From the stereo to the HVAC to the
other various functions, all of the controls of the Sedona seemed
complicated and hard to operate at a glance and by feel. A long row of buttons
underneath the radio resembles an older-style Sienna setup, and a long row of
buttons for the heater sits under that.
Seat
heater, cooler, and other functions are on the console and never in more than
500 miles of driving did I feel that I could just glance and make my choice.
Feedback: One nice touch was a display next to
the speedometer that flashed on to show what wiper mode I'd just selected. It
can be difficult to tell in many vehicles.
On the
downside, the cabin didn't have a lot of lighted switches or ambient light, so
knowing what I was doing in the dark could be a challenge.
Fuel economy: I averaged 19.6
m.p.g. in a mix of highway-heavy turnpike and parked-in-Manhattan driving.
Where
it's built: Sohari, South Korea.
How it's built: The Sedona hasn't
yet been rated by Consumer Reports, but the previous generation was on the
bottom rung of CR's ratings ladder for reliability.
In the end: Kia has caught up to other
automakers in so many other redesigns, and the Soul sets the pace for
affordable, practical, and fun little cars. But the Sedona remains behind the
Sienna and Odyssey.
No comments:
Post a Comment