Just bought a new 2006 Sedona, fully loaded....here's my review:
Yes, you'll need to get past any stigma associated with the Kia name. Kia is climbing the ladder just like Honda and Audi did years ago and gaining respect as their cars improve. We checked out the Honda and Toyota entries and the Kia just seemed to do everything as well and in some cases better. The handling of the Kia is certainly up there with the Honda, perhaps a hair better. Power is excellent. This van is probably faster than it needs to be. I've read 0-60 reports of 7.1 and
7.3 seconds and even prior to break-in the van feels very quick. Build quality appears to be quite good with nice fit and finish.Our fully loaded example has power sliding doors and a power rear hatch. If you have kids these come in really handy and are fun to show off as well. The doors will sense an obstruction and open if need be. They can also be operated manually. Locks prevent a child from opening them from inside.
Inside you get a full leather interior in gray or beige. Go with the gray as it will wear better. Front seats are 8 way and 4 way power. The driver's seat is a bit short on legroom for taller drivers. I'm 6.3 and would like another inch or two. There's no reason for a seat to be short on legroom on a large van. Passenger and rear seats have a LOT of room. Even the split bench fully aft is pretty good and the middle seats will also slide forward making this true 7 passenger vehicle. Make no mistake about it; this is a pretty luxurious interior by any standard. We found the Honda a bit more stark, but the Odyssey and Sienna are equally plush when fully loaded.
The rear seats tuck away into a storage well, but the procedure is a bit awkward and could use some refinement. Overall it works okay. When the seats are out the well is a great place combined with the cargo net, but some sort of retractable cover would really be nice to hide gear.
The loaded EX also comes with a killer Infinity stereo/DVD rear seat entertainment system. I know it's a cliche to refer to a sound system in a car as "killer" but you really need to hear the 13 speaker system in action to realize how much better it is than any other. The top of the line Honda and Toyota don't even come close. The flip down DVD screen is a mere 8 inches. I consider that size adequate, but others are larger. On the other hand, unlike the larger screens, the Kia's doesn't block as much of the rearview mirror so it's a better tradeoff for safety. The system also has IR remote control and IR fed headphones that work well and very comfortable. Popping in a copy of Star Wars III I was treated to true 7.1 Surround sound. The center channel is mounted in the middle of the dash, a bit away for the rear seats, but it works very well. The picture quality is typical for these systems, but many people will hear sound that is superior to their home systems. There is depth, clear highs and fairly impressive midrange that surprised me and I'm someone who's owned stereo systems costing 9K. It's that good. On the other hand, you can question the logic of such an elaborate system in a car. A lesser system like the ones from Toyota or Honda are still "just fine." But as long as Kia is giving them away, I'll keep mine!
On the port side of the cabin are jacks for plugging in a camcorder, or X-Box type game system. Amazingly Kia neglected a Ipod/Sat. radio jack up front and you'll need to correct that at your local stereo shop for aftermarket help. Also missing at this luxury level is integrated navigation/GPS, but expect that on the next year's model. Buy a Garmin I5 and you'll do just fine.
Unlike many other vans on the market, the large middle windows actually roll down! This is a very welcome feature to say the least. The rear windows also wing out with the press of a button. 2nd road passengers no longer have that bus window feeling.
The 3rd road is less comfortable than the 2nd of course. These are seats that fold down into the floor and the only seats to do so on board. Kia's research showed that most people never stowed or removed the second row, so they left those as fully comfortable chairs with armrests. The 3rd row, because it's stows in the floor, is inherently less comfortable, but they really aren't bad at all. 3rd row passengers get cup-holders, a small storage bin and the inputs for video game consoles.
Each row of seats has port and starboard AC/Heat vents and the second row has it's own dedicated controls for temp and fan speed. Shotgun gets dual AC/Heat controls so the driver and passenger don't compromise and heated seats with 5 way settings. Very nice.
There are really too many little extras in vans of this size and luxury level to list here. The fully loaded Kia Sedona for 2006 also gets memory seats/mirror/pedal, homelink controls for the garage, backup proximity sensor, power sunroof, 2 way adjustable headrests, fold away snack tray, and quite a bit more.
Back to Driving the Sedona....it is not quite like a car, but close enough that an hour or two of driving will have you pretty well acclimated. Acceleration is strong at almost all points of the powerband due to a healthy amount of torque. On the highway the ride is quiet and subdued. Wind noise is well controlled. I'm certain that the new Sedona is quieter than my Subaru Tribeca and that's quieter than a Lexus RX330. At cruising speeds above averages that most people would drive this van, the Sedona remains composed. Fast lane changes are not a problem, but steeper turns produce a bit more body roll than I'd like. There are moments when the Sedona will remind you that it's actually a 2 ton plus van and not a car. You must learn when those moments are likely to come up.
For the driver all of the controls are well laid out and we've come to expect this from most imports compared to the often terrible American made entries. Kia has essentially hit the nail on the head with the new Sedona for drivers, passengers and of course kids. When our two year old has a toy crisis, my wife can get to the 2nd row and take charge with ease. This is something our SUV could not do.
Parking the Sedona is something that will take practice if this is your first minivan. This is not a small van and the driver is well up front. Still, exhibit some confidence when you park and use the aft proximity sensor. When reversing it beeps faster and faster as you approach an obstacle. When it becomes a steady tone you're about 15 inches away. It works great.
Because I've not broken the engine in I can't report on the MPG yet, but today over a few hours of mostly highway driving we hovered around
21-22 MPG at speeds between 70-80MPH running AC.If you have a small child, a fully loaded 2006 Sedona EX will make for a lot of smiles. I believe that the Honda and Toyota are also fine vans and you really can't go wrong with them either. I don't like ANY of the American entries or the Nissan Quest for whatever that's worth.
The warranty on the Sedona is 5 years overall and 10 for the engine/powertrain. That's good news so long as it doesn't have too many problems. Trips for dealer service are never any fun free or not. Only time will tell how well constructed Kia's first entry in maxed out minivan segment really is.
With Kia's current rebates and some aggressive shopping we got our fully loaded EX for $27'950. That included the 1000 rebate and a graduate rebate of 400 dollars as well. That's an amazing price when you look at a Sienna optioned out the same way which is around 5-6K more. Kia also threw in two years worth of free oil changes, free remote starter and a second remote for the DVD player. In a few months I'll update this and let folks know what "new car bugs" turned up (There are always a few) and how Kia service dealt with them here in NY. Cheers! Capt RB