We’re on the verge of buying a Kia Sedona. Any opinions ? Want something big, practical and reliable and these seem good VFM for a low mileage secondhand one

Plenty of people swear by them…but we swore at ours! Probably the second worst car we have owned (after a Citroen C5). Was OK when it went – big slow and heavy, very ‘rolly’ in the corners, poor MPG – but OK.

It however kept breaking down, and even under Kia’s warranty it spent weeks in the garage, which was a right pain. Out of warranty it cost us a few grand before we got rid of for peanuts. That damned DVD player worked one day out of 7 and scratched half the kids discs.

As a biking car I guess it would be OK – we had the version with separate seats which all came out so would be pretty flexible. Some models have a single bench seat in the back, and not sure how it folds/removes.

Just to balance things out, ours has been brill, and i have 2 other friends who have one and they love it.

We had a Pug 807 before now that was a piece of 5hit it really was.

The Sedona (2007 model) is very comfy, drves well handles great gets abotu 35mpg average for a tank. Loads of space, we have the electric sliding doors and they still work great after 85,000 miles of running.

Paintwork is in good condition(silver) so it seems to be a quality car all round.

I use a Saris Bones RS rack on mine but i do have a tow ball and will probably be getting a different rack at some point (just have to justify getting a tow ball on othe car!)

Bike easily fits in back of car with 2 rear seats out. If you use it as a 7 seater, there is still a reasonable amount of space for shopping etc.

Great Air con rear passengers get sepperate controls too.

Only issue was with the front ofside brake caliper sezing, this was an issue on the model year and has been sorted on newer cars, got a replacment caliper and new disks amd pads so sorted f.o.c.

I would buy another, in fact probably will buy a 2011 model in with auto box in a couple of years to replace mine.

Funnily enough we are also getting rid of a Peugeot 807. Although I really liked it and it was very practical I got a bit fed up with everything that was going wrong. We’re loking at a 58 reg Sedona, 2.9d, TS. With the Pug I took out one of the 2 back seats and folded the other, this gave me enough room for the bike, without taking a wheel off, I’m guessing this would work in the Sedona also ?

I would think so, but i never carry my bike in the back of the car always on a rack.

I’ve got an older 2003 Sedona and love it, it is wallowy in corners but I shocked my friend by keeping up with him round some country lanes (he was in a Peugeot 205 GTI which he runs round the Nurburgring)

It’s not brilliant on fuel, 28 if I’m driving, 35 if other half is driving! The newer ones 2006 on are probably better, but the 2.9 engine is a heavy old lump, I notice they’ve just replaced it with the 2.2 from the Hyundai Santa Fe, and it lost over 200 kilos in overall weight! The newer 2.2 engine is supposed to be far more economical!

Yes the new 2.2 has same power but a fair bit lighter and about 10mpg better.

The 2.9 is a pretty decent engine, probably good for about 250,000 miles. Its easily one of the best cars i have ever owned, and i have owned nearly 30!!!