2012 Kia Sedona Review

The 2012 Kia Sedona carries over unchanged.

Although still an excellent, feature-laden minivan, the 2012 Kia Sedona lags behind revamped rivals and begs for the upgrade treatment recently given to other Kia models.

Kia might need to revisit some landmark legislation from the first Bush II administration, for the automaker has clearly left a child behind. While busy overhauling its Optima and giving fresh legs to its Sportage, Sorento and Rio models, Kia has left the Sedona minivan to languish outside the company's halls of engineering and design. That's a shame, because the 2012 Kia Sedona packs the kind of features, conveniences and warranty in a package that from more established competitors would cost additional thousands.

The neglect of the Sedona is especially critical in light of the redesigned minivans from Chrysler, Dodge, Honda and Toyota. In comparison, Kia gave its van a slight power bump and some minor styling tweaks last year. For 2012, the Sedona gets only a few different exterior colors and an optional rear-seat entertainment system for both trim levels. It's still an exceptional value, but the Sedona suddenly looks a little tired within its class and even within its own brand family.

Ultimately, the 2012 Kia Sedona is still a smart pick if you want a safe and comfortable minivan that won't bust the bank. But the reality is that the Honda Odyssey, Nissan Quest and Toyota Sienna offer a number of selective advantages, including better fuel economy, more enjoyable driving dynamics, fresher interior designs and superior resale value. There are also the Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans, laudable efforts from the home team.

If you want a minivan that offers a lot for less, the Sedona still deserves a look. As for us, we'll be waiting until Kia gets around to giving the Sedona the redesign it deserves.

The 2012 Kia Sedona is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 that makes 271 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque. A six-speed automatic with manual shift control is the only available transmission. The EPA estimates fuel economy at 18 mpg city/25 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined.

Standard safety features for the 2012 Kia Sedona include antilock brakes with brake assist, stability control, front-seat side airbags, full-length side curtain airbags and active front head restraints. The Sedona earned the top "Good" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in frontal-offset and side-impact tests.

The 2012 Kia Sedona's 3.5-liter V6 generates plenty of power for family and domestic shuttling duties, and like the Honda Odyssey, the Sedona handles well for a minivan. Its commendable cornering feel offers confidence enough to weave around the road's unexpected obstructions. Ride quality doesn't suffer any for the Kia's heightened reflexes either, as the cabin keeps calm and quiet on the highway and over rougher pavement.

Inside the cabin, the 2012 Kia Sedona features a modest design that's plain but not unattractive. Most interior materials have a more premium feel, but some elements -- such as instrument bezels, rings and knobs -- feel a little flimsy, underscoring the advantage held by the Sedona's redesigned competitors. Gauges and controls are intuitively placed, with the exception of the haphazardly arrayed manual controls for the climate system.

All three rows of seats provide adequate headroom and legroom, and they're comfortable enough for long-distance road trips. Small storage bins and pockets are plentiful, providing storage for everyone's bottles, cups and portable distractions. The 60/40-split third-row seat folds into the floor and the second-row seats can be folded down at the seatbacks or removed entirely, yielding a competitive 142 cubic feet of maximum cargo space.