Sedona most reasonable full-size MPV

Nov 24 2008 Peter Hayward

FULL seven seater MPV's don't come any more reasonable than the Kia Sedona.

It is tough, reliable and even has some boot space with all the seats in place.

I would say this one is as big as the Renault Grand Espace but it costs the same as a medium hatch.

It comes with a choice of two engines - a good 2.9-litre four cylinder turbo diesel and a smooth but thirsty 2.5-litre V6 petrol.

At launch in '99, the 2.9 turbo diesel had only 125bhp, which made it pretty slow, but this was increased to a much better 143 and then to 185 in post '06 models.

The gearchange grows out of the centre console, to make a completely flat floor, and there's enough space to walk through both front and middle seats to get to the back. The ride is excellent - up to the best in class, but while the handling is safe, it's not as good as the Mazda MPV, Ford Galaxy or VW Sharan.

Interior

This people carrier comes with three rows of seats in a 2-2-3 pattern, which is unusual.

The middle two seats swivel in some models but they cannot be removed, while centre and rear seats are adjustable for legroom.

Equipment - including aircon - is good in all.

FAST FACTS

Kia Sedona

Price : Pay about £2,200 for an '01 51-reg S, £4,000 for an '03 53-reg L or £7,100 for an '06 06-reg LE

Mechanical : Post-2001- 143bhp, 2,902cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 5spd manual gearbox

Max speed : 109mph

0-62mph : 16 secs

Combined mpg : 32

Insurance group : 10

Marks : 9/10

Main rival : Hyundai Trajet, Ford Galaxy