Highlights – Fantastic practicality and levels of comfort for all seven passengers – 2.2 CRD engine offers ample performance while returning respectable economy – Generous specification
The Kia Grand Sedona is a seven-seat multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) which was recently launched in South Africa. First impressions were pretty good, but would a week-long test expose any flaws?
Kia and its sister company Hyundai have done well in recent years. However a combination of a poor performing Rand as well as stiffer competition has made life difficult for Kia. A wealth of new products in key segments will help the brand try regain some ground. One of these new products is the Kia Grand Sedona – tested here in 7-seat 2.2CRDi SXL guise.
Engine and Ride
Underneath that smart-looking bonnet is a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine. Pushing out 147kW and 440Nm, this engine is also does duty in a variety of other Kia/Hyundai products. It sounds quite unrefined, particularly upon cold start up, but it soon settles into a typical diesel beat. Thankfully any excessive diesel sound is reduced by the well-insulated cabin. Around town the Kia Grand Sedona feels a little sluggish, with the engine not providing instantaneous response. However this improves as speed increases. Once you’re over 80kph the vehicle delivers a decent driving experience, but it’s at its best when cruising on the open road and highways. This is a car that is utterly brilliant for carrying passengers over long distances and the fuel consumption figures highlight that. During the week-long test we saw under 9L/100km coming up on the trip computer, going down to as little as 8.5L/100km.
Practicality Champion
The practicality afforded by the Kia Grand Sedona is immense. We had the 7-seater version on test, but there is an 11-seater on its way. The seating is peculiar as it’s a 2+2+3 combination whereas most of the competition opt for a 2+3+2 setup. The result of this arrangement means that no seats need to be lifted as passengers simply step between the second row of seats to get to the back. The boot is quite deep with all the seats in operation, but you can fold down the third row into the boot well, which reduces the boot depth, but increases its length. At Cars.co.za, we try our best to evaluate vehicles to the best of their abilities in the most appropriate manner, so to best test the Kia Sedona we needed to load it up with people. Fortunately there was a wine festival in the Western Cape and this writer volunteered to be Designated Driver on the day. We can quite happily report that all six passengers were most impressed with the features and spaciousness of the Kia Grand Sedona. They were especially thankful for the heated seats in the second row as it was a chilly day, separate ventilation controls as well as the numerous USB ports which all had charging capability. The second sunroof gets massive points as a novelty factor too. The features list is extensive. From the dual sunroofs to the electrically-operated sliding doors, Kia hasn't really missed anything here. Both the driver and front passenger seats are ventilated and heated, and there's a heated steering wheel too. Kia claims there are 8-12 cup holders and four bottle holders in the cabin. For the driver, the vehicle comes with small LCD touchscreen with reversing camera, MP3/CD player, USB and AUX connectivity, an Infinity audio system, a cooled glove box, cruise control, and park assist to name just a few features.
Summary and Conclusion
The reality here is that this segment of the market is dominated by the likes of the Volkswagen Transporter/Kombi and Mercedes-Benz V-Class. Both of those vehicles offer excellent build quality and are a pleasure to drive. We applaud Kia for taking on this market and the Grand Sedona is a great product if you have many people to transport. Snobs can look at Kia as a premium brand if the Grand Sedona is anything to go by and as a large family vehicle it's really tough to beat.
Kia Grand Sedona Price in South Africa
The Kia Grand Sedona range starts from R499 995 with this 2.2CRDi SXL model retailing for R669 995. All models come with a five-year/150 000km warranty, a five-year/100 000km maintenance plan, and three-years of unlimited roadside assistance.
Team Opinion
The Kia Grand Sedona might be my biggest surprise of the year; ironic given the company's slogan. The reality is that Kia have pulled of an ultra-luxurious family wagon that is easy to drive, spacious, very well appointed and most importantly, very frugal. The 2.2 turbodiesel is at home here, powerful enough and returning excellent economy of under 9 litres/100km. I would have loved to have driven a lesser model, but at R699 900, this top of the range SXL still feels like a lot of car for your money. Oh, and the sound system is bloody tremendous. It will easily drown the kids out. -Ciro De Siena We Like: Specification, practicality, economy and build quality. We don’t Like: Tiny LCD screen, engine sounds a little unrefined Also consider: Volkswagen Caravelle/Kombi, Hyundai H1, Mercedes-Benz Vito/V-Class Compare the Kia Grand Sedona to its rivals here.
Kia Grand Sedona 2.2 CRD SXL Specs
