Kia’s luxury Sedona is truly Grand

ROAD TEST: Kia Grand Sedona 2.2 CRDi SXL

By: Denis Droppa

Johannesburg - South Africa’s family bus market got very busy in 2015 with the launch of the new-generation Kia Grand Sedona, VW Kombi/Caravelle, and Mercedes-Benz V-Class.

Kia’s been in the people-hauling game ever since the Carnival was introduced in 1998, which in its second iteration was renamed the Sedona. Now the third-generation of Kia’s large MPV gets the word Grand added to its name to signify its evolution into a somewhat more upmarket offering.

When the previous Sedona was discontinued late in 2013 each of the two models sold for a little more than R400 000. Now the price for the new entry-level Grand Sedona starts at 535 grand, while you’ll shell out R705 995 for the top of the range Grand Sedona SXL on test here.

That’s big money, but this Korean bus has become a full-blown luxury people mover with features such as electric sliding doors and heated seats. In terms of both price and specifications it has moved out of the realm of more affordable seven-seaters such as the Hyundai H1 and Ford Tourneo Custom, and into the league of luxury barges such as the Volkswagen Caravelle and Mercedes-Benz V-Class.

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The Grand Sedona comes in 2.2-litre turbodiesel and 3.3 petrol variants, each with six-speed front-wheel drive automatic transmission. There are seven and 11-seat configurations and three different trim levels.

With a more streamlined shape than the traditional boxy bus, the Grand Sedona looks more like a giant station wagon. It’s the final model in the Kia line-up to receive the famed Peter Schreyer design treatment. Nobody could call it handsome but it does have a certain presence with a giant, gulping version of Shreyer’s signature ‘tiger grille’, framed by modern headlights with daytime running lights.

The huge seven-seater cabin does what it says on the box: swallow people. In comfort, with stretch-out legroom for all. The luggage compartment is enormous and the seats can be folded to accommodate varying quantities of passengers and luggage.

With the spare wheel mounted underneath the centre of the car instead of in the boot, the standard luggage capacity is a generously sized 960 litres. Need more? The third row of seats folds flat into the floor with one easy motion, opening up a cavernous 2220 litres which easily swallowed four peoples’ holiday luggage when we took the Grand Sedona to KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast for the December holidays.

The second seating row can also be folded to ease passenger entry to the third row, and to extend cargo space to a panelvan-like four cubic metres.

EASYGOING CRUISER

Cabin clutter seems to breed when you’re on a holiday trip, but the Kia’s plentiful nooks and crannies swallowed it all.

Instead of walk-through space to the rear seats as in some family buses, there’s a giant storage bin between the front seats that seems nearly big enough for a small child to hide in.

The 2.2-litre engine muscles-in with 147kW and 440Nm, making this the most powerful diesel people-carrier in the country, giving it an easygoing cruising nature, and the ability to scoot past long trucks in a quick overtaking move. It kept up the pace even with a full load of passengers, and on our trip back to Gauteng from KwaZulu-Natal after the holidays it eased up the steep climbs of the escarpment.

The diesel engine’s as smooth as strawberries and cream too, with no noise or roughness to reveal it quaffs the darker fuel. It glides along comfortably and there are no complaints about the ride quality.

On the mostly open roads of the holiday trip the test vehicle averaged 8.1 litres per 100km, impressive given that it was usually full of people and luggage.

WELL-EQUIPPED BUS

It’s a very well equipped bus. The baseline Grand Sedona EX already comes with six airbags, 17 inch alloys, front and rear parking sensors, separate airconditioning at the rear, and a Bluetooth compatible stereo with six speakers.

The middle SX versions add 18 inch rims, leather upholstery, 12-way electric (front) seats, tri-zone climate control, a colour instrument cluster display, a 4.3 inch touchscreen system with reversing camera, power sliding rear doors, high-intensity discharge headlights and a power-operated tailgate.

This range-topping SXL in addition comes with heating and cooling for the front seats, heated middle seats, a heated steering wheel, an eight-speaker Infinity stereo system, dual sunroof and blind-spot detectors with lane-change assist. Rear cross-traffic alert warns against other cars driving behind the Grand Sedona in car parks.

Cruise control is a must on any December journey along the radar-littered N3 freeway and we had the Kia’s working full time, but the bus didn’t always manage to hold the selected speed on steeper downhills and I fear we may have inadvertantly triggered some speed traps.

The interior ambience is fairly classy, and the two-tone cabin features a high proportion of soft-touch materials.

There’s a smooth top section to the leather steering wheel which feels great to the touch.

Each passenger row can independently set its own air conditioning settings, while the second and third rows have built-in sunshades.

The audio system offers USB and Bluetooth connectivity, but it was difficult to read the info on the small and way-too-dim radio display.

VERDICT

Kia gets into the people-schlepping business in a grand way. The new Grand Sedona ferries families in great comfort, class-leading power with fuel-sipping economy, and plenty of high-end features.

All models come with a five-year or 150 000km warranty, a five-year or 100 000km maintenance plan, and three-years’ unlimited roadside assistance. - Star Motoring

FACTS

Kia Grand Sedona 2.2 CRDi SXL

Engine: 2.2-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel

Gearbox: 6-speed automatic

Power: 147kW @ 4000rpm

Torque: 440Nm @ 1750-2750rpm

0-100km/h (claimed): 13.6 seconds

Fuel use (tested): 8.1 litres per 100km

Price: R705 995

Warranty: 5-year / 150 000km

Maintenance plan: 5-year / 100 000km

GRAND SEDONA VS ITS RIVALS: