Kia Sedona

The Kia Carnival is a minivan produced by Kia. It is known in the British Isles and North America as the Kia Sedona. It had a base price starting at around US$20,000, which was lower than most competing minivans, but now the Mazda Mazda5 has a lower price than most competing minivans. It is available in the United States with a 3.5 L DOHC V6 engine producing 195 hp SAE (145 kW), and many other countries with a 2.9 L DOHC turbodiesel, with 144 PS (142 hp SAE/106 kW). A 2.5 L V6 is available in some markets. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard for the smaller engines, with a 4-speed automatic transmission available as an optional. A 5-speed automatic is the only transmission in the American market.

See Wikicars' comprehensive Kia Sedona Review.

Recent Changes

 * For 2011, the long-toothed Sedona receive a mid-cycle facelift to bring it into line with Kia's new corporate fascia. Also, part of the refresh is a new 3.5 litre V6 with 271 hp and 248 pound-feet of torque, a 27 hp gain over the outgoing 3.8 litre mill though torque is down by five pound-feet. The more powerful engine now runs its power through a six-speed automatic transmission with Sportmatic™ clutchless shifting to its front wheels. Kia is also throwing in standard Bluetooth connectivity across the model range as part of the new package. Pricing starts at $24,595 for the base Sedona LX.

Styles and Major Options
The 2007 Sedona is available in either an LX or EX trim. The EX includes several upgrades from the LX model and incorporates a number of standard features not found on the LX. Both operate on the same 3.8L 250hp V6 engine and 5-speed Steptronic transmission.The Sedona also offers a timing chain that never needs replacement rather than a timing belt. and both come with the same set of standard safety features. Some of the standout options for each model include:

Sedona LX
 * Removeable rear captain seats
 * Cloth seating
 * Mini overhead console
 * Interior concealed storage
 * Cargo tie-downs
 * Dual zone front manual air conditioning
 * Separate rear air controls
 * 6-speaker AM/FM/CD stereo system
 * Cruise control
 * Power windows, locks, and mirrors

Sedona EX Adds to or replaces LX features with:
 * Power front seats
 * Premium cloth seating
 * Roof rack
 * Steering wheel stereo controls & MP3 capability
 * Homelink Wireless Control System
 * Compass, exterior temperature monitor, and trip computer
 * Leather steering wheel and shift knob

Pricing
Today's actual prices for the Kia Sedona can be found at CarsDirect.

Gas Mileage
As seen on the FuelEconomy.gov website, the City/Highway MPG averages are as follows:

Reliability

 * Although there is not yet any long-term reliability information available for the new Sedona, Automotive Information Systems gave the 2004 model an overall Green rating in all of its categories, indicating that minimal problems were experienced.


 * In Australia, the Carnival earned a bad reputation for reliablility. In cars built before March 2002, their engines were plagued with various problems which included leaking cooling systems, signs of oil in the water and idling roughly and misfiring. These mean that the engine will need to be rebuilt but because it's an expensive job, many owners opted to have engines replaced instead. Many owners have had 3 engines replaced whilst under their new-car warranties.

Safety
The Sedona received excellent ratings from the NHTSA, scoring 5-Star ratings for all front- and side-impact crash tests and a 4-Star rating for rollover. Some of the standard safety features found on the Sedona include:
 * Traction control
 * Four-wheel anti-lock brakes
 * Electronic stability control
 * Front and rear anti-roll bars
 * Driver/passenger front mounted airbags
 * Driver/passenger seat mounted side airbags
 * 1st, 2nd, and 3rd row overhead airbags

Colors
A full list of colors is viewable at CarsDirect.com. Some of the available combinations are:

Exterior
 * Claret Red
 * Glacier Blue
 * Silver
 * Sunset Gold
 * Olive Gray
 * Velvet Blue

Interior
 * Beige
 * Gray

Main Competitors

 * Toyota Sienna
 * Honda Odyssey
 * Mazda MPV
 * Nissan Quest
 * Nissan Micra
 * Hyundai Getz
 * Mitsubishi Colt

Hybrid Models
There are currently no hybrid models of the Sedona.

Unique Attributes
Of the cars surveyed by the RACV, the Kia Carnival is the cheapest people-mover to run on a weekly basis.

The Carnival is Australia's most popular people mover.

Resale Values
According to Kelley Blue Book, "while Kia's 10-year/100,000-mile limited warranty also works in the Sedona's favor, predicted resale values that fall well short of the category's best can neutralize the up-front savings versus the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and the bigger Nissan Quest."

Criticisms

 * "The Sedona's up-front collection of knobs and buttons isn't as attractive as some of its competitors' and its biggest disadvantage is its mediocre (but improving) resale value." - Kelley Blue Book

Of the criticisms of the first generation Carnival, some owners have complained about the engine's lack of power and the Carnival's big turning circle.

Current generation (2006-present)
In autumn 2005 for the 2006 model year, Kia introduced a redesigned Sedona offering features such as a 60/40 fold flat seat, power sliding doors and liftgate, second row power windows, backup sensors, and a navigation system (in Korean models). The new Sedona has a 3.8 L V6 making 250 hp (182 kW). Although its predecessor was often criticized for its 4800 lb (2177 kg) weight, which was far greater than its competitors, the new Kia van is more than 400 lb (180 kg) lighter.

The new Sedona went on sale in Australia in January 2006 as the Grand Carnival. It continues to be sold alongside the old model. The new model features a 3.8 L V6 engine, standard seating for 8, and a 5-speed automatic with manual shift mode. It is priced almost 25% higher than the existing Carnival, which continues with a 2.5 L V6. Sedona now boasts more room for seven and added cargo capacity.

First generation (1999-2005)
The Kia Sedona was a new model from Kia to compete with the minivan segment of Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, and the Chrysler minivans. It had a 3.5 L V6 engine making 195 hp (145 kW). It was mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission. The Sedona lacked features that other minivans had such as power sliding doors and liftgate, a fold flat third row seat navigation system, rear-view camera, and backup sensors. The Sedona also had subpar fuel economy, rated at 15 mpg city and 20 mpg highway, the lowest of any front wheel drive minivan.

In Australia, the Kia Carnival went on sale in 1999, with a standard 5-speed manual and 2.5 L V6 producing 177 hp (132 kW). A 4-speed automatic was optional. In 2001, it managed to outsell the Toyota Tarago, becoming the top-selling minivan in the country. It was sales leader again in 2004 and 2005, when sales peaked at 5,259 units, which in itself was a record for any minivan. Much of its success is due to its low pricing: at A$29,990 it is about $10-$15,000 cheaper than most rivals.

Worldwide
The Sedona/Carnival is rebadged and sold as the Naza Ria in Malaysia. Because of the high negative value attributed to the Kia brand, rebadging becomes a highly value-added activity, and qualifies the car for National Car incentives if done within Malaysia.

The Carnival is produced for the Chinese market by the Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Company, a joint venture with Kia.

U.K.
In the British Isles (and possibly other regions), the Sedona was also sold as an MPV/van hybrid - it had the same doors, but only one row of passenger seats - the rest of the car behind these was sectioned off for van-like use, and there were no side windows behind the rear passenger doors. They are outsold by the UK Ford Galaxy and Honda Stream. Kia Sedona's are disliked by many people because of its ugly image and top speed of 104 MPH. It is unlike the Ford Galaxy and Honda Stream because they can both reach a speed up to 140 MPH and they are much more reliable.

Australia
The Carnival name is sold in Australia since 1999.

Awards
2009 Carsales People Mover People's Choice Award