*** Good Memory Starlite!!! ***

We love our Kia.

It has BETTER safety ratings than Odyssey or Sienna - check out the consumer reports.

Mine is a couple years old, so it doesn't have the cool new features (longer in length, recessed storage in back).

Basically, mine is identical to my friend's Odyssey interior-wise. She was trying to sell it to us a couple weeks ago and every single thing she pointed out, "Oh, look at this!" We were like, "Yeah, ours has that too."

The only thing we don't have are auto-doors and I don't really care for that feature at all.

We have only had one problem with it -- a component of the a/c went out, but we have an amazing warranty (((not purchased through the dealer, btw))) and it was covered.

BTW we paid $18K for it which included the leather interior, the bonus package thingy-majigy (roof rack, all the extras like that) and it was a super great buy for our family.

I think a lot of people have "brand name" issues with cars, which is fine. My friend who owns the Odyssey was rippin' the Kia... "Oh they are just copies"

Well, that may be true! But they are good copies, and the safety is better! And for us, safety is #1.

We just make self-deprecating jokes about owning "Just" a Kia! We are not car snobs and don't need the more high-end brands. We just need something practical, affordable and SAFE!!!!! We don't have anyone to impress.

I looked a little more in depth at the 2007 Consumer Reports buying guide we have. Overall, it rates the Kia Sedona a "Bad Bet" for buying used. HOWEVER, in the detailed reliability records section, it shows reliability to be steadily increasing from 2002. In 2002 it was given the worst rating on the scale, 2003 was given the next worse rating, 2004 was given an average rating for reliability, and 2005 shows "insufficient data". It seems that they are making improvements. You can probably safely draw the conclusion that the 2005's will at least be average in reliablilty from the chart. As far as safety goes, the newly redesigned 2007 models are rated above average for accident avoidance and excellent for crash protection with or without airbags, but there is nothing mentioned about older models. Consumer reports also mentions that gas mileage is unimpressive.

We looked into Kias because of their 10 year warranty, but once we thought about it we realized it might not be all it's cracked up to be. A friend of ours has a Kia car...I don't remember the model...and it is ALWAYS in the shop. It's great that everything is covered under warranty, but poor Todd is always having to rent a car while his is being repaired. It's a real hassle, and constantly being without our vehicle didn't seem worth it for us. Something to consider...especially with kids.

I hope this helps you!

Great post, as I am considering one soon. We just rented one to drive from Phoenix to Las Vegas and loved it. It took one tank of gas for the 300+ mile trip and drove great. It was comfortable for all our 6 passengers plus luggage, cooler, stroller, etc. etc. Tons of cupholders too! It was on 06 with like 15K miles on it. My only complaint was I couldn't find it in the darn parking lot when I went to leave! My dh is totally anti-minivan and he loved it even at 110mph (it was a rental he had to try it out!) Good luck in your minivan endeavor!!

Kia was voted #1 is safety tests this past year... I love ours!

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We have a 2005 KIA Sedona and we absolutely love it. So far (knock on wood) we didn't have any problems with it. The great safety rating was the main reason why we bought it. The gasmileage is ok for such a large, heavy vehicle. It is pretty comfortable and I like that it doesn't feel too much like a van when you drive it. I am driving on the german autobahns a lot and I am always capable of keeping up...