Kia’s 2015 Sedona offers true lounge (chair!) experience

Minivans have often been the domain of soccer-moms and other child-rearing citizens, however the 2015 Kia Sedona gives them a leg up – literally.

The $26,100 base-priced ($43,295 as driven) Kia Sedona has available seating for seven people – two in the front, two in the center seats, and three in the back – with more than enough legroom for all.

The driver seat has power-adjustable lumbar support and comes with Nappa leather seat trims, offering a bit more comfort and pomp in one’s drive.

All Sedonas come standard with dual power sliding doors and a power tailgate, with driver-accessible buttons to open and close each door, and also comes standard with dual sunroofs, one for each additional row of seating.

What makes the second row of seats the place to be is the seat’s ability to recline.

Yes, a recliner in a minivan.

Imagine that there’s an extra ten minutes in your busy day of doing this and running there (I know this imagining is asking much of busy-Seattleites, but bare with me…).

In those ten minutes, you pull into a parking spot at a local waterfront park (pick one of the many around here), open the two sun roofs, slide into the second row seats, recline and listen to the wind through the trees and the surf hitting the shore.

Nice daydream, isn’t it? Well, its’ not a daydream, I did it and it was awesomely relaxing.

The second row seats also move side to side and front to back, allowing for more accessibility options for third row passengers and all rows have a plethora of air bags. If the third row seats aren’t needed, they fold into the floor allowing for more cargo capacity, however the second row seats cannot stow away.

The infotainment system comes standard with Kia’s UVO eServices, a car information system that’s free with most Kia vehicles and also available on smartphones with the free UVO app. The system not only operates the parking and driving assists, but also helps owners remember needed maintenance and find it in a parking structure if they can’t remember exactly where the van was parked.

A component of the infotainment system that isn’t standard is the same top-view, surround video parking display Kia puts in the K900 luxury sedan. It’s not just a rearview camera, but a 360-degree view of the vehicle at speeds less than 10 mph. Though the surround view monitoring is only available on SXL spec’d models, it’s definitely an option that is great to have so that the park-job is just right.

The only thing that isn’t ‘just right’ is the fuel economy; though, if one is purchasing a minivan, it’s likely they already know vans aren’t kings of mpgs. The Kia Sedona SXL is equipped with a 3.3L V6 DOHC engine with Continuous Variable Valve Timing for fuel efficiency and multiple driving modes, including Eco and Comfort.

At 19 mpg combined, 17 in the city and 22 on the highway, the Sedona isn’t the most eco-friendly minivan on the market, but it’s also not the worst (as most minivans offer between 15 and 22 mpgs).

Minivans are kinds of cargo, though, and with 142 cubic feet of cargo space behind the front seats and 78.4 behind the second row, owners will have more than enough room for all the kids or cargo they have.

Whether its for the great cargo space or the extra seating for kids and adults, the Kia Sedona offers everything a person could ask for and a few comforts they might not have known they wanted.