New York 2014: 2015 Kia Sedona Revealed
Published: April 14th, 2014
Share
With a 276 horsepower 3.3L V6, Kia’s UVO infotainment system and a trick sliding second row (see gallery), Kia is looking to take on the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and TTAC darlings, the Chrysler/Dodge minivans. And, of course, the Nissan Quest.
More by Derek Kreindler
Comments
Join the conversation
It looks entirely CGI... and the offspring of a Ford Flex and a Ford Fusion.
We've pulled the trigger on our minivan purchase. We leased an 2014 Honda Odyssey EX-L. We went without built in entertainment, deciding to leave that to our various Apple devices when we so choose. First, we didn't like the Sienna because it was too soft and lazy to drive. Neither of us really dug the Quests styling and after 3 years of Nissan CVT in the Altima, that was a pass. It did have the nicest interior of them all though. We rented a Town and Country for a week because we thought there was no way we could get an Odyssey for what we wanted, with what we wanted in it. We weren't totally impressed and we decided to give Honda another chance. It was a hard choice, but only on paper. But after renting a Town and Country for a week, we weren't sold. But then we drove an Odyssey for 15 minutes, our choice was made. It was only a bit more money down. The Chrysler is good enough, but the Honda is definitely a much more refined vehicle. The steering isn't as nice as the Chrysler, but the ride is more controlled. It turns tighter and drives smaller than it is. The interior is just higher quality all around in the Honda, but that doesn't mean there aren't cheap touches. As for build quality, well... As I write this, the Oddy's driver door and fender are making contact as the door open and closes. It's pissed me off, but I know it's a machine screwed together by humans. They are going to fix it of course, but it's the first time I've bought a new car with body issues. A check of the interweb shows that it's not an isolated case, but not common. It was the first time either the GM of the Honda dealer or service manager had seen it. The "glass" transmission isn't much of a concern since it's a lease. It was a hard battle, but to me and my wife, the better vehicle won. We never even talked numbers with the Chrysler dealer. She said to me "I don't care if the Chrysler is $100/month cheaper, it just isn't the same caliber of vehicle." She's learned something in 11 years of marriage ;) This is why we drive cars before we buy them and why we put so much thought into our vehicles. If we just went by spec and price, it would have been a Chrysler in our garage.