Kia Sedona Improved by Flexibility, Interior Design
Kia has adopted a revised strategy for the all-new 2015 Sedona. It’s no longer called a minivan. It’s a multipurpose vehicle, or MPV for short. Why? Because Kia is under the mistaken assumption that the name minivan is toxic.
Yet the automaker proves with the new Sedona that minivans are the crossover utility vehicles most people should be embracing. The key word is utility. There are few vehicles more utilitarian than a minivan.
About 550,000 minivans are sold annually, but the good news for Kia is that Dodge has dropped the Caravan from its lineup. Suddenly, Kia is poised to pick up lots of sales just because it offers an affordable alternative. The Sedona starts at $25,900 for the L, $28,100 for the LX, $32,100 for the EX, $36,100 for the SX, and $39,700 for the SX Limited (plus $895 destination charge). Most minivan buyers will probably seek out the LX trim level.
Kia has managed to create an attractive minivan, both inside and out. It has the signature Kia grille, which works really well on the Sedona. The Zenon HID headlamps, along with the small overhangs front and rear, give the Sedona an aggressive stance by minivan standards.
The interior is nicely done with lots of storage. The shift has been moved off the dashboard and onto the center console because Kia, through market research, determined nobody uses the space between the front seats to pass through to the second row. That was a common assumption that seemed like a good idea. One slight misstep is the dual glove boxes. The second one doesn’t seem large enough to hold much except the smallest items.
The slide-n-stow seating in the second and third rows really opens up the Sedona as a cargo hauler. Interior space is rated at 142 cubic feet. This minivan easily goes from passenger to cargo to passenger again with just a few quick flips of well-marked straps.
The 2015 Kia Sedona is a vehicle that eats up driving miles comfortably thanks to features like amplitude selected dampers along with independent rear suspension. Significant torsional rigidity (36 percent more than the Honda Odyssey) means you can engage in spirited driving on twisty roads and not feel like you’re piloting the Good Ship Lollipop.
Power comes from a 3.3-liter, gas direct injected V6 rated at 276 horsepower and 248 lb.-ft. of torque. Acceleration is good under normal driving circumstances. I didn’t get the opportunity to test the van with a full load of kids and cargo, but I get the sense there should be no issues with merging on a highway.
The engine is mated to a 6-speed transmission. It is unfortunate Kia’s new 7-speed dual clutch transmission wasn’t available for the Sedona. It could have helped improve the EPA ratings of 18 mpg city and 24 mpg highway for a combined 20 miles per gallon rating. That puts it a combined two miles per gallon behind the Odyssey.
Kia has really focused on creating a quiet ride, too. Extra sound dampening materials and enhanced seals on the sliding doors create a pleasant experience with little road noise transmitted to the interior.
The higher hip point, which is important to older drivers who tend to favor minivans, provides a good driving height, yet a low step-in height makes entering and exiting the vehicle easy.
Safety is strong but Kia missed a great selling opportunity with the 360-degree surround view monitor. It’s a great feature that provides bird’s-eye view of the Sedona. Logically, that would be a desirable feature on a vehicle designed to haul kids. It’s only available on the high-end SX Limited.
Standard safety features include electronic stability control, traction control system, brake assist system, hill-start assist control, electronic brake force distribution, and antilock braking system. Additional technologies such as roll over mitigation and cornering brake control were added as standard equipment for improved dynamic control and safety. Cornering brake control is basically for those times you bring too much speed into a curve. It’s a great feature to have.
New optional driver aid technologies including vehicle stability management, forward collision warning system, smart cruise control, blind spot detection, and rear cross traffic are available. The latter isn’t a lifesaver but it does significantly decrease the odds of a parking lot fender bender.
One thing Kia hasn’t managed to accomplish is to beat the competition, primarily the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey. Kia has tied it, a notable accomplishment, but Toyota has just introduced a new Sienna. Time will soon tell if Kia is now in a position to catch up.
Overall, the 2015 Kia Sedona is an affordable minivan that doesn’t feel cheap. It drives the best among the front-wheel-drive minivans on the market and deserves strong consideration especially cross-shopped against crossover utility vehicles.
2015 Kia Sedona
THE BASICS
Price, base (with destination): $26,795. Fuel economy: 18 mpg city/ 24 mpg highway. Drivetrain: 3.3-liter, V6. Body: 4-door minivan.
THE SPECIFICS
Horsepower: 276. Torque: 248 lb.-ft. Overall length: 201.4 in. Wheelbase: 120.5 in. Height: 68.5 in. Width: 78.1 in. Curb weight: 4,414 lbs.
THE GOOD
Exterior design improvements make this a minivan you won’t be ashamed to be seen in.
THE BAD
Fuel economy could be better and Kia could have made optional safety features standard to make the Sedona stand out.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The 2015 Kia Sedona is a minivan that cuts into the crossover utility segment.
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