This weekend, our long-term Kia Sedona lived the active single life with me as I drove it to a hip downtown bar to meet up with an old friend visiting from out of town, to a trailhead in the Angeles National Forest for a 9-mile hike, down over to Playa del rey along with my bike so I could cruise down to the Fiesta Hermosa street festival, to Long Beach for the requisite Memorial Day barbecue and then to West Hollywood for a Wii party.
And, surprisingly enough, I didn't feel like its soccer mom persona cramped my style all that much. I liked how it has 242 horsepower so that I could surprise Harley-riding weekend warriors and cruising Porsche pilots and jump onto the freeway at a decent speed without getting in people's way. I liked how the doors opened themselves via the key fob, making loading and unloading bulky cargo stressfree.
The only real problem I had with the Kia was figuring out how to fold over its second-row seats. I read, pondered, and stared at the instructions and diagrams on the seats and in the manual trying to figure out how I could make room for my bike without wedging it into the cargo area. But I just couldn't make sense of any of it. I didn't see what pull tab or whatever they were telling me to pull in Step 3. Wha? In any case, my bike fit in there fine with the seats still there. It just would have been a lot easier to get out and in minus those immovable seats.
Production Editor Caroline Pardilla at 24,793 miles
The only real problem I had with the Kia was figuring out how to fold over its second-row seats. I read, pondered, and stared at the instructions and diagrams on the seats and in the manual trying to figure out how I could make room for my bike without wedging it into the cargo area. But I just couldn't make sense of any of it. I didn't see what pull tab or whatever they were telling me to pull in Step 3. Wha? In any case, my bike fit in there fine with the seats still there. It just would have been a lot easier to get out and in minus those immovable seats.Production Editor Caroline Pardilla at 24,793 miles
gmguy111 says:
02:15 PM, 05/29/07
I have never been a huge fan of minivans in part because alot of soccermoms drive them they have crappy performance and abysmal engines with pitiful horsepower. However I have an exception for the Kia, 242 horses is actually pretty decent at least its nice to know there is another van out there that can do laps around a town and country and actually look "sporty" in the child pick up line at their local elementary school
mercedesfan says:
04:19 PM, 05/29/07
gmguy111, The Sedona actually doesn't have much power when compared to a lot of minivans these days. Secondly, they may seem underpowered but nine times out of ten they are far quicker than an SUV, and I am comparing mid-size SUVs to full-size minivans.
bimmerjay says:
09:45 PM, 05/29/07
Sounds like you had a fun weekend, Caroline. Personally, I think I would have tried to wrangle the SRX or Q7. :-)
hrngffcr says:
09:19 AM, 05/30/07
Actually mercedesfan, the Sedona and Entourage (which I own) have very comparable power to all of the other minivans out there today--more hp than some and a few less hp than others. In addition, the Sedona/Entourage has very good torque for getting the van moving from a stop. And for quick acceleration, both vans have paddle shifters for quick and immediate down shifts.
actualsize says:
11:27 AM, 05/30/07
Agreed. Our 2004 Honda Odyssey hauls way more ass than the Toyota Land Cruiser it replaced and feels more sprightly in traffic than the Chevy Tahoe in our current long-term fleet. It can't tow as much, obviously, but that's about the only realm in which I would call it "underpowered."