Story and photos by John LeBlanc
Today’s minivan market may be only half of its peak around fifteen years ago, but Korea’s Kia has decided there’s room enough for another player with the launch of its redesigned 2015 Sedona.
Oops. Did I say “minivan”? Excuse me. Because despite its car-like ride height, boxy proportions, sliding side doors and three rows of seats, Kia would prefer if you called the new Sedona – last seen as a 2012 model — a “midsize multipurpose vehicle.”
In support of its not-a-minivan marketing, Kia says the new Sedona’s “European-inspired, crossover-utility-vehicle-like cab-forward design” completes the restyling of the automaker’s entire North American lineup that began in 2009 under the direction of head designer Peter Schreyer.
The front-wheel-drive Kia gets a new 3.3-litre six-cylinder gas engine (mated to a six-speed automatic transmission) that supplants the old Sedona’s 3.5L unit, and makes more power: 276 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque. Inside, the Sedona can seat seven- or eight-passengers. The folding/60/40 split third-row seats can be stowed in the cabin’s floor for extra cargo room.
Pricing for the new 2015 Kia Sedona mini-, er midsize multipurpose vehicle, will be announced closer to its on-sale date in Canada this fall.
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Story and photos by John LeBlanc
Today’s minivan market may be only half of its peak around fifteen years ago, but Korea’s Kia has decided there’s room enough for another player with the launch of its redesigned 2015 Sedona.
Oops. Did I say “minivan”? Excuse me. Because despite its car-like ride height, boxy proportions, sliding side doors and three rows of seats, Kia would prefer if you called the new Sedona – last seen as a 2012 model — a “midsize multipurpose vehicle.”
In support of its not-a-minivan marketing, Kia says the new Sedona’s “European-inspired, crossover-utility-vehicle-like cab-forward design” completes the restyling of the automaker’s entire North American lineup that began in 2009 under the direction of head designer Peter Schreyer.
The front-wheel-drive Kia gets a new 3.3-litre six-cylinder gas engine (mated to a six-speed automatic transmission) that supplants the old Sedona’s 3.5L unit, and makes more power: 276 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque. Inside, the Sedona can seat seven- or eight-passengers. The folding/60/40 split third-row seats can be stowed in the cabin’s floor for extra cargo room.
Pricing for the new 2015 Kia Sedona mini-, er midsize multipurpose vehicle, will be announced closer to its on-sale date in Canada this fall.
