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2004 Kia Sedona
Affordable And So Much More
If you've been shocked recently by the high price of premium minivans, you are not alone. What once was considered an affordable alternative to the station wagon has ballooned in both size and price to the level of some near-luxury cars. Given the current minivan landscape, it should come as no surprise that the Kia Sedona has quickly moved to the head of the value-conscious class. With room for eight, a long list of standard and optional features and five-star safety crash test rating from the Federal government, it's no wonder the 2004 Kia Sedona is in such demand.

As minivan styling goes, the Sedona is attractive but not ground breaking. Sticking to a pretty mainstream design theme is a safe bet in this case; minivan buyers tend to care more about function than form. For 2004, the Sedona gets a slight freshening, with a new chrome grille and upgraded interior. Kia continues to offer the Sedona in two trim levels: LX and EX.
The Sedona is a moderately sized minivan, longer than the Dodge Caravan by almost five inches, but shorter than the Honda Odyssey by nearly seven. You'll find that the Sedona's reasonable size and vast expanse of glass make everyday driving a manageable task. The Sedona fits nicely into standard size parking spaces and the dual-sliding side doors ensure that even if you get boxed in, entry and exit can still occur without too much drama.
Inside, you'll find the Sedona to be competitively sized, though rear-seat headroom is the one area that could see improvement. Kia claims the Sedona can seat eight people, but unless the three occupying the rear-most bench are children, we doubt eight people would be comfortable for any trip exceeding 30 minutes. The LX model features two bench seats, one mid-row and one rear while the EX replaces the center bench with a comfortable set of fore and aft-sliding captain's chairs. We think this is the best configuration for the Sedona as it creates a center pass by which the third-row passengers can enter and exit. When not in use, the split/folding third-row seat can either flip-and-tumble forward or be removed completely. You should note that removing the seats is not child's play; they are heavy and somewhat difficult to handle, though Kia has thoughtfully added wheels to the seat bottoms so that once removed, you can easily roll them into storage.

Though the Sedona is assembled with uni body construction, its heavy use of steel and its cast iron engine block have it tipping the scales at over 4800 pounds. This added heft places the Sedona near the top of the minivan heavyweights, even dwarfing the larger Honda Odyssey by almost 500 pounds. The Sedona's extra weight would probably be of concern if the standard engine were some underpowered four-cylinder, but thankfully this is not the case.
The Sedona is blessed with a robust 195-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 engine. More important to you than its horsepower is the engine's ample supply of low-end torque. Torque is what helps a vehicle to move quickly, be it from a standing start, when passing slower traffic or climbing steep hills. The Sedona also features a five-speed automatic transmission that does an excellent job of managing the engine's power. In hard acceleration it tends to hold onto lower gears a bit longer while at freeway speeds it has the engine laboring as little as possible. This engine/transmission combo allows the Sedona to tow up to 3500 pounds and also earn an EPA fuel rating of 16-mpg city and 22-mpg highway.

On the road, you'll like the Sedona's smooth ride and competent handling. The heavily-weighted steering provides a good amount of feedback and the suspension— though soft—does not exhibit an extraordinary amount of lean or body roll. The brakes feel pretty firm with good stopping power but we highly recommend you opt for the ABS as an added measure of security.
The Sedona LX is an extremely well equipped minivan. It comes standard with rear privacy glass, dual power mirrors, front and rear air conditioning, power front windows, power door locks, cruise control, 8-way manually adjustable driver's seat with built in lumbar, tilt-wheel, third-row split-bench seat, an AM/FM stereo with CD and 6-speakers, interior central-locking switch and remote fuel door release. The plush EX adds power rear-vent windows, 8-way power driver's seat with power lumbar support, 4-way power passenger seat, automatic light control and a combination cup holder and tray table that folds flush against the passenger-side front seat. Even when all the option boxes are checked, including leather seats, moon roof and ABS, a fully loaded EX remains comfortably below $26,000; a loaded LX costs less than $22,000. Missing from the options list are some minivan musts such as a DVD-based entertainment system and a side-curtain airbag.

All Sedona's come standard with Kia's 10-year/100,000 mile engine/drivetrain warranty and 5-year/60,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, without a doubt the best warranty you'll find on any minivan.
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