Driving Impressions

The Kia Sedona is enjoyable to drive, with a terrific, tight, European-feeling independent suspension, using MacPherson struts in front and a multi-link system in the rear. The ride has a solid, steady, quality feel, no matter the road surface. A 3.8-liter V6 powers the Sedona, a double overhead-cam engine with an aluminum block and head and variable valve timing. A pretty racy setup, in other words, producing 250 horsepower and 253 pound -feet of torque. A smooth five-speed automatic transmission is also standard, and features a manual mode called Sportmatic. We drove a fully optioned EX for four days, from San Diego east into the desert, and back over remote winding roads. We left town with the Friday getaway crowd, going with the flow at 85 miles per hour, and the engine smoothly kept pace with the speedy Californians, just loping along at 2600 rpm while getting nearly 20 miles per gallon. The Sedona was stable in crosswinds at that speed, past the churning windmills near Palm Springs. We let it run up to 95 once, and it was steady, smooth and quiet. Ample use of aluminum reduces weight in the Sedona, which improves handling, acceleration and fuel economy. But the Sedona is no lightweight, and it didn't always feel like it had 253 pound-feet of torque. The five-speed automatic transmission kicked down a lot under pressure, as, for example, when running up a long steep grade with the cruise control set at 79 miles per hour. On the way back to the city the next day, over a twisty two-lane, the Sedona was impressive in the curves, with power rack-and-pinion steering. The Sedona surprised us here. We drove it with a lot more spirit than your average minivan pilot, and found the turn-in to be precise, with no false moves. The suspension kept pace with our cornering, allowing very little body lean. The only chink in Sedona's armor appeared when zooming over a rise in the road, beginning at maybe 45 miles per hour, as the front wheels wanted to hang. But when the Sedona settled, it stuck with no wallow. At the other end of the road, in the dips, it felt just fine. We used the disc brakes hard and they felt as good as the suspension. The Sportmatic manual mode in the transmission was a pleasure. We have the feeling that drivers designed the Sedona: Brits, in fact. We downshifted for corners and manually upshifted, and the transmission did exactly what we asked it to do, and rarely any more. The lever fit nicely in the heel of our hand. The engine sometimes sounded a bit harsh under hard acceleration at low rpm, but now we're nitpicking, which is a compliment of sorts, because that's what happens with high-quality vehicles. At idle, it's so quiet that we once tried to start it when it was already running.

Final Word

Kia Sedona is a great-looking minivan with a powerful V6 engine and a suspension that's second to none. The interior is well thought out, with seven-passenger seating but easily convertible to a carpeted cargo van. And there's an abundance of storage compartments. Sedona lacks nothing, except all-wheel drive. NewCarTestDrive.com correspondent Sam Moses filed this report from San Diego, California.