Faults:

Transmission seemed to shift slowly during 1st to 2nd gear shifts under full throttle, but a transmission flush at the Kia dealership corrected that issue. No problems since.

General Comments:

I'm comparing this van to my 2003 Honda Odyssey EX-L that I replaced, as well as the 2006 Chrysler Town and Country LXi and 2007 Honda Odyssey Touring I test drove. These are my reasons for choosing the Sedona.

Compared to my 2003 Odyssey, this van is BIG! My Odyssey was easier to move around in tight parking spaces or streets due to its smaller size, but is cramped compared my Sedona. All the rows have plenty of room for people to stretch out, and not only do the second row buckets recline (as did in my Odyssey), the third row can recline pretty far as well.

Power wise this van is quick. Kia says it has 250 horses and I believe it. It's quicker than my old van and quicker than the 2007 Odyssey. I definitely like how it has the low end grunt compared to my old Honda, which had to rev up to 4500 RPM before it started moving. I even surprised a few cars, trucks, and SUVs who think they can beat this van from a stoplight. The Chrysler, now that was just scary trying to get out in traffic. No power at all. Gas mileage is the same as my 2003 Odyssey. I get about 16-18 city and around 25 highway.

Compared to my 2003 Odyssey, this van is down right quiet and smooth. The 2007 Odyssey handled better and felt more planted, but my Sedona rides smoother, though it leans a bit more in turns. It's also dang near as quiet as the 2007 Odyssey.

My Sedona is the upper level EX model, which has the 17" wheels, power sliding doors and liftgate, tow hitch, etc. Only options it doesn't have are leather, sunroof, and rear seat entertainment system. I'm the second owner and everything seems to have held up well. What really impresses me is how thought out Kia made this van. I love how the sliding door windows roll down like a normal car, yet it still has the rear vents that open in the third row. Speaking of the rear vents, those vents have their own window switch in the third row so a passenger can open the vents if they want to. It's little things like this I notice and are definitely a nice touch.

The quality of the materials isn't up to par to the 2007 Odyssey I test drove, but then again the van was a good $6,000 cheaper, though the materials and fit and finish is better then my 2003 Odyssey, and way better than the Chrysler.

I've heard horror stories of the dealership being a pain, but the Kia dealer I go to for servicing has been really good. They even went far to make sure all the recalls were performed on my van, which apparently I missed one recall not even knowing about it.

Overall I've been impressed with van. So far nothing major has happened. I've seen a few with close to 200k miles, and the owners have done nothing but regular maintenance. I'm certain I can get the same amount of mileage as well, and plan on it.

Faults:

I purchased this vehicle because it had a good safety rating, but was much less expensive than other minivans. I wish I had considered quality more carefully.

I have had to replace every single door latch on this vehicle, except for the passenger's door. I have had the door slide open on a highway entrance ramp with a startled child in a car seat right next to it. We had to secure it with his superman cape.

I also had the hood latch fail and flip up, obscuring my view while driving down the highway. Luckily, no children were in the van at that time, and I was able to get over safely.