2015 Kia Sedona Focuses on Value, Quality and Versatility

We were badly outnumbered as we piloted our Kia Sedona deep into Southern Utah’s red-rocked vacationland.

Vehicles of all description clog the region’s two-lanes: massive RVs; pickups towing travel trailers and fifth-wheels; bellowing, big-bore motorcycles; crossovers; SUVs; family sedans.

Scarcely a minivan in sight.

I’m guessing even the bicyclists outnumbered the van-goers.

The minivan is America’s forgotten travel tool. Which is a shame, because there’s no more efficient way to get lots of people and their stuff down the road. We loaded the Sedona with every bit of our camping collection — the “Tent Mahal,” the cots, the two-burner stove, the coolers, the pots and pans, the boots, backpacks, walking sticks and water — and had room left over for a pampered pair of second-row passengers.

With the second-generation 2015 Sedona, Kia hopes to lure prospective crossover buyers into the minivan camp. Exterior styling suggests a crossover’s muscular presence. Inside, a console nestles between the front seats, filling a space left open in other minivans. A hands-free “Smart Power Liftgate” opens automatically when the key fob is sensed for 3 seconds, and is programmable to customize the user’s height preference.  

Our top-level, seven-passenger SX-L ($39,700) tester included Kia’s “First Class” second-row captains chairs. Fitted with armrests and pop-up footrests, they recline and slide every which way. Unfortunately, the right-hand seat’s wing-style headrest blocks the driver’s over-the-shoulder vision.

In the lower, eight-passenger trims, the second-row seats slide forward and fold upright against the front seatbacks. In all trims, the split-and folding rear bench folds into the cargo floor.

We drove the Sedona over 12,000-foot mountain passes and across rugged desert washes (slowly, very slowly). In air-conditioned comfort, we listened to books on DVD and caught up on the news and the tunes via the available satellite-radio system.

We easily overtook slower traffic, the Sedona 276-horsepower V-6 scarcely panting and its six-speed automatic seamlessly swapping cogs. Had our Sedona been properly equipped, we could have towed a 3,500-pound load.

Over the many miles and wildly varying road surfaces, we came to appreciate the Sedona’s ultra-stiff body structure (its torsional rigidity is 36 percent greater than that of its nearest rival, says Kia). These underpinnings contributed to an excellent ride and surprisingly nimble handling. Steering is direct and accurate, and commendable on-center feel made unnecessary the minute in-lane course corrections that help cause driver fatigue.

Four-way power-adjustable lumber support also helped to reduce fatigue and minimize lower-back pain.

hat we didn’t do on our 2,500-mile trip was pass many gas stations. The front-wheel-drive, 4,400-pound Sedona musters subpar EPA numbers; 19 mpg combined/17 city/22 highway.

The new Sedona arrives just as Kia gains new recognition for quality control. In the current J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey, the company moves up four positions to place second behind Porsche.

The minivan segment is dominated by entries from such builders as Honda, Toyota and Chrysler. While it’s unlikely ever to rule in Southern Utah, the Sedona puts Kia on the minivan roadmap.

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2015 Kia Sedona Upgrades Include First-Class Lounge Seats, New Engine, Roomier Interior

Kia's new, first-class lounge seats might just be the way to make a minivan more appealing.

Offered on the redesigned 2015 Sedona minivan, the comfortable, Nappa leather-swathed seats have pop-out foot rests and winged headrests, similar to first-class seats on airplanes. The beckoning lounge seats are in the second row of the van and come with more than 41 inches of legroom — as much as some vehicles provide front-seat passengers.

But the seats are just part of a long list of updates. Stretching nearly 17 feet in length, the 2015 Sedona is longer and roomier than its predecessor, has more features and ritzier materials and includes a more powerful V-6.

The Sedona bested segment sales leaders, the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey, in the just-released Initial Quality Study from longtime quality benchmark firm J.D. Power and Associates. It also earned 5 of out of 5 stars in frontal and side crash testing by the federal government.

Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, for a 2015 Sedona is just $26,995 with 276-horsepower V-6 and six-speed automatic transmission. That's $2,860 less than the $29,855 starting retail price for a 2015 Odyssey with 248-horsepower V-6 and six-speed automatic.

However, every 2015 Odyssey comes standard with privacy glass on the rear windows, power-adjustable front seats, seven-speaker audio system and a rearview camera, which is a major aid when backing up a minivan. The base Sedona doesn't include these items, meaning shoppers must move up to the 2015 Sedona LX, which has a starting retail price of $29,195, to get most of those features.

The test vehicle was the top-of-the-line Kia Sedona Limited, which is the priciest, starting at more than $40,000 with destination charge; it's the only one with the lounge seats.

Power from the new, 3.3-liter, double overhead cam, direct injection V-6 came on strong, even though the van weighed more than 4,600 pounds. Torque peaks at a healthy 248 foot-pounds at 5,200 rpm.

The downside was the fuel economy, which stayed around 19 miles per gallon in combined city and highway travel even when the van only carried the driver. The mileage was on par with the U.S. government's fuel economy rating. The result: The test Sedona could go 400 miles on a single tank of regular gasoline. The 21.1-gallon gas tank is slightly larger than that of the Odyssey, Sienna and Dodge Grand Caravan.

Upgrades inside the Sedona Limited were evident. Interior plastics had a quality look, and the seats had precise contrasting stitching that looked like it came out of a luxury sedan. Other luxury touches included an all-around-the-vehicle camera view, heated steering wheel, heated and cooled front seats and heated second-row seats. Power-sliding side doors offered wide entryways, and the liftgate was power operated, too.

There was one hitch, though, with the lounge seats on the test vehicle. It took considerable force to put the manually operated footrests back up against the lower front of the seats.

Twelve cupholders, a deep and useful center console between the front seats and a two-part glovebox that included a chilled area for juices and sodas were among the amenities. But Kia doesn't offer a rear entertainment system or vehicle WiFi hotspot like that on some other vehicles.

Kia now has many of the latest safety features, including lane departure warning and forward collision warning; both are options on the Limited model only.

The test Sedona absorbed road bumps well, and a turning circle of 36.8 feet made U-turns easier than anticipated. But the tall heaviness of the vehicle was noticeable in curves and turns. Wind noise was audible at highway speeds, and even noise from passing semis could be heard inside the Sedona, prompting some passengers to check if a window was open.

Always a seven-passenger van, the Sedona offers a choice of eight-passenger seating for 2015. Cargo space is increased to 142 cubic feet but still falls short of the 150 cubic feet in the Sienna and 148.5 cubic feet in the Odyssey. Towing capacity tops out at 3,500 pounds.

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Kia Reinvented the Minivan Into a Stylish Luxury Car, Boosting Sales to Record Highs

A winner is emerging in the shifting minivan market, and it's not the company you might expect.

Over the last 20 years, the U.S. minivan has taken a back seat to the SUV. The main attributes that have set the minivan back, compared to the SUV, have been these two:

• The minivan looks as square and plain as a rectangular bread-box.
• The driver's seating position and instrument panel are more bus-like than car-like.

For these reasons, the American public turned against these attributes and instead embraced the SUV. The number of minivans sold fell, as companies such as Ford  (F), General Motors  (GM) and Volkswagen exited the field. Nissan has all but exited the U.S. minivan market as well, as has Mazda.

The remaining players are Dodge/Chrysler, Honda, Toyota (TM) and Kia, serving a smaller market than the one in the early 1990s, but still a sizable and healthy market segment, especially with fewer competitors around. (Chrysler, Honda and Toyota minivan sales, which represent the bulk of the market, are all way down from the 1990s.) When we dig into the U.S. sales statistics for May 2015, however, a major outlier emerges. For the month of May 2015, Kia Sedona's unit sales were up 456% and for the year-to-date, sales were up 423%.

Kia is now in fourth place, having sold about 15,000 Sedonas year-to-date as of May, up from under 3,000 a year ago. The top three sellers in the market currently are Chrysler (30,680) plus Dodge (29,364), Toyota (58,473), and Honda (51,051).

In a market that's generally seeing 2% to 6% annual growth, it should be obvious that Kia's minivan sales momentum is in a different universe than the rest of the auto market. So what explains Kia's market-leading minivan sales success?

In the fourth quarter of 2014, Kia started selling an all-new Sedona minivan. It deals with the two issues listed above: Exterior design, and the driver's bus-like experience.

Kia's new design director, Peter Schreyer, came from Audi where he penned the iconic Audi TT. At Kia, one of his missions was to transform the ultra-boring soccer mom's rectangular bread box into something that would cause people to take notice.

That was mission impossible, but he succeeded. If you have not seen the all-new 2015 Kia Sedona minivan yet, you should take a look. From any angle, it looks far more elegant, sculpted and athletic than any other minivan that preceded it -- at least since the original Volkswagen minibus from the 1960s and 1970s. It looks as elegant as the best SUV. This is likely a key reason behind the sales numbers being up 423% or more.

Open up the driver's door and you are greeted to an interior unlike any minivan to date. The dashboard has a horizontal design with contrasting colors. It reminds you of an Audi A8 from a generation or two ago. (That's meant as a major compliment.)

Continuing the Audi A8 theme, the Kia Sedona breaks with minivan tradition to add a decidedly car-like center console. This completely rids the Sedona of any bus or minivan feeling. No, you can no longer get up and walk back between the front seats, but Kia's research suggested people never do that anyway. If they need to go back there, they stop and go through the sliding side doors.

Completing the Sedona's engineering trifecta, the seating position is just like in any other premium car. It does not feel bus or minivan-like at all.

The ergonomics are perfect. The Sedona is on par with the best cars and trucks when it comes to ease of use. There is no confusion about buttons, labels or knobs. It all just works without having to consult the manual or a salesperson.

Behind the driver's seat, the only major innovation of great interest is the top trim's ($41,000 and up models) airplane first class-like seats. They move into the car's center, lean back and combine with an extensible foot rest to make for a sort of moving dentist's chair and unlike anything in the industry.

That said, these luxurious seats aren't ideal. The one behind the driver will see foot room compromised for someone who is of average height, when the "dentist chair" position is assumed. At least on the passenger side, you can move the front seat forward enough to make room in the back for a sleeping six-footer -- assuming nobody tall is sitting up front.

The lesser trim models -- going all the way down to $27,000 -- have a more traditional second row, which folds forward unlike the $41,000-and-up model's dentist chairs. As much as the dentist chairs are an impressive "party trick" I would probably buy the SX model, which goes for little over $37,000 and up.

Fuel economy is not all that impressive, with city mileage at 17-to-18 miles per gallon, and highway MPG at 22-to-25 MPG, depending on trim levels. My experience was consistent with those numbers. Clearly, this car needs a diesel (call Volkswagen) paired with a direct-shift-gearbox (call Volkswagen again) or a plug-in hybrid version (call the Chevrolet Volt team).

The "drive feel" is pleasant, thanks to the excellent seating position, but held back a little bit by the fact that the car feels very heavy. The engine and transmission are not the best, and if you put the car on cruise control on the freeway, you'll feel the car downshift as you hit a meaningful incline. There is not as much torque as you'd like.

The interior has a few irritations. There are a few shiny plastic trim pieces around the transmission shifter, that reflect a blinding light when in some angles to the sun. Grip the interior door handle, and you'll feel some really cheap plastic, even though it's sturdy.

The particular test car I had, with only 7,000 miles on it, had slippery worn-out leather on the steering wheel, and one of the two second-row seats had broken adjusters. That makes me wonder about the long-term quality, at least on some superficial matters. The slippery leather on the steering wheel really bugged me. Someone went too cheap.

There is one other strike against the Kia Sedona, and it's one that will likely be fixed very soon, possibly already later this year when the 2016 model year is expected to arrive. It's the infotainment unit, which screams for these three things that will soon be standard on every GM car:

• 4G LTE with WiFi hotspot.
• Google's (GOOGL) Android Auto.
• Apple's (AAPL) Apple CarPlay.

Generally speaking, you shouldn't buy any car until at least two of these three items are included in the car you're buying. It will impact your used car value a lot.

All in all, I give the Kia Sedona a very high grade: Once you see it, get into it, and drive it, you may understand why it's setting growth records in the U.S. automotive market right now. It's taking the minivan to places where minivans have never gone before.

As with any car in the market today, you should just wait with your purchase until the car has been upgraded to Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and ideally also 4G LTE. That may happen in just a few months from now, so stay patient.

Then again, if you wait to the Summer of 2016, the market will also have a long-overdue all-new Chrysler Town & Country, which has the potential to be a formidable competitor.

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2015 Kia Sedona SXL+: Supreme Family Hauler

If our family is of the "just in case" type, that has to pack everything but the kitchen sink in preparation for road trips, the Sedona will serve us well. And that's the primary mission of a minivan.

Just like its rivals – which are getting fewer and further between – the Dodge Grand Caravan, the Chrysler Town & Country, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna, the 2015 Kia Sedona offers the most interior space of any other type of vehicle. It allows families to load up a tremendous amount of luggage, generally without even having to figure out how it will all fit.

Throw everyone out, fold up all the rear seats, and the Sedona can haul big objects like a sofa if that need arises; at some point, it will happen.

On the powertrain front, Kia went the conventional route with a 3.3L V6 engine mated to a six-speed automatic. With 276 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque, the 2015 Kia Sedona can propel itself up to speed very quickly, but just like every other minivan, that's the most fun we'll have behind the wheel.

Generally, this type of vehicle is tuned for comfort, not roadholding abilities. This shouldn't be a surprise, and shouldn't be criticized either, since SUVs – who are pretty much killing the very existence of the minivan – aren't any better.

Like in many new vehicles, there's a drive mode system in the SX and SXL versions that offers Normal, Comfort and Eco settings. Fuel economy is on par with other minivans, although it can't match the class-leading Odyssey's efficiency. The top-level Sedona SXL is the heaviest of the model range and carries city/highway ratings of 14.2/10.5 L/100km. More affordable trims can theoretically dip below the 10-litre mark, but barely. We averaged 14.4 L/100km over the course of our wintry test week.

The 2015 Kia Sedona has improved dramatically regarding interior accommodations. The dashboard design is straightforward, but fit and finish is excellent, the switchgear layout is user-friendly and the two-tone Nappa leather upholstery with contrast piping looks like it belongs in a luxury car. This minivan didn't end up on Ward's 10 Best interiors for nothing.

The Sedona offers seven- or eight-passenger seating, depending on trim level. There's a removable middle seat in the second row of the LX and the SX, while the SXL benefits from adjustable captain's chairs and even kick-out leg rests. Needless to say, the kids loved chillaxing in the Sedona.

The base L trim includes front and rear air conditioning, a four-speaker stereo with USB port, cruise control and keyless entry, while the LX adds alloy wheels, LED lighting, a windshield wiper de-icer, a UVO infotainment system with Bluetooth connectivity, a rearview camera, rear park sonar and heated front seats.

The LX+ should be the most popular version with its power sliding side doors, right before the SX trim level starts piling more luxurious features, such as LED taillights, three-zone climate control, a power liftgate, a heated steering wheel, heated second-row seats and blind spot monitor. The SX+ also gets leather upholstery and driver's seat position memory.

Moving up to the SXL also adds 19-inch chromed alloys, xenon headlights, a dual-panel sunroof, ventilated front seats, front park sonar, a wood-trimmed wheel and the aforementioned lounge seats. Finally, the SXL+, the one we drove, tops off with navigation, adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera system as well as lane departure and front collision warning systems. I'm out of breath.

Aside from the plethora of available equipment, the 2015 Kia Sedona serves up a refined and ultra-quiet ride. SX and SXL versions are equipped with electric-assist power steering, which provides a good feel of the road. The only thing missing here for road tripping is a good rear-seat entertainment system.

All that available cargo space amounts to 4,022 litres, which is about the same as in the FCA minivans, slightly less than in the Honda and the Toyota. Even with all seats upright, there's 960 litres of volume, which is a lot. The second-row seats are also much easier to fold than before; in the previous-generation Sedona, they could be removed, but the mechanism was fussy and had full of sharp edges.

In addition, the 2015 Kia Sedona is a looker as well. Its aggressive front fascia, relatively slim greenhouse and muscular stance could make anyone mistake it for an SUV.

With a base price of $27,495 before freight and delivery charges, the Sedona strikes us as a good deal, especially when you step up the LX and LX+ trims. Our fully loaded SXL+ tester retails for $45,995, which is about what the competition charges for their most equipped minivans.

Stylish, roomy and chock full of features, the 2015 Kia Sedona doesn't bring any innovation to the minivan segment, but it has modernized itself to become a sophisticated and comfortable people mover.

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