During the Canadian launch of the 2006 Sedona, Brian Kim explained that Kia knew its new van would have to be a segment
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| Kia was clear in understanding that its new van would have to be asegment leader in styling, safety, convenience and power if it was tosucceed. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
leader in styling, safety, convenience and power if it was to succeed. Those exact qualities have bred huge life into Toyota's Sienna,
Honda's Odyssey, and, well, at least created an initial stir around
Nissan's Quest, and Chrysler Group's Caravan and Town & Country duo are still the segment leaders due to innovative seating flexibility and other segment firsts, so the bar has been set extremely high. The kicker in this equation is value. Core to Kia's marketing strategy is "value," so providing the essential elements while adding reverse sticker shock by offering the new model at a price
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| Kia has salted the new Sedona with styling equally as attractive and modern looking as any of the big nameplates. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press) |
well below the noted competitors' would be the challenge.
It would appear that overcoming challenges is a Kia specialty. They have salted the new Sedona with styling equally as attractive and modern looking as any of the big nameplates. But Kia isn't relying on style alone to attract the family dollar. Their Sedona comes with a 244-horsepower, 3.8-litre (232 cu in) V6 engine, split flat-folding third row seating, second row seating that tumbles forward or can be easily removed, rear sonar park assist, 4-wheel antilock disc brakes, six airbags, dual side-curtain airbags, tire pressure monitoring and tri-zone air conditioning as standard equipment. Also standard is the usual power-operated assists such as keyless entry and power mirrors along with dual sliding doors and drop-down side glass. Impressed yet? If not, just wait. You will be.
