cars news 10: 2016 Kia Sedona SX Long-Term Update 1

During its first few months in our fleet, the Sedona gobbled up miles as easily as it gobbles up passengers and luggage. It couldn’t have joined our fleet at a more perfect time, because our big Of the Year tests were just around the corner when it arrived. A few days later it went to Coalinga and Monterey, California, to serve as a support vehicle for our annual Best Driver’s Car competition. Since then it has been a support vehicle for each of our Of the Year competitions: SUV of the Year in August, Car of the Year in September, and finally Truck of the Year in October. It had no problem swallowing all our camera gear and craft service goodies and transporting them to the middle-of-nowhere California. The second-row Slide-N-Stow seats freed up ample space for cargo without the need or desire to remove them from the car completely. Its smooth ride saved our spines and intuitive UVO system and Infinity audio system kept us sane and entertained.

In between its stints as official MT-OTY support vehicle, it’s been on numerous trips. I’ve taken it to the Bay Area and back with four adults, a 70-pound coonhound, road bike, full-sized Pyramid keg, and all our luggage in the back with room to spare (the third row was stowed). “Woof woof! So much room for activities!” – Copper the Coonhound. MT associate online editor Carol Ngo took it on a camping trip to the Sequoias with her buddies. Visual assets manager Brian Vance took it on a wedding road trip during which art director Mike Royer snoozed for 6 hours straight — a testament to the Sedona’s comfy ride. Our intern moved stuff. Yup, my Sedona gets around.

Although it has performed beautifully, the Sedona’s stay has not been without incident. Two weeks after its arrival, it got hit by a piece of shrapnel on the freeway while in the hands of our video department. It caused a roughly 4-inch gash right where the passenger sliding door meets the rear fender. Ouch. Normally, the damage would be repaired quickly but van-time was in such high demand that I had no time to take a trip to the body shop. Don’t worry m-m-m-my Sedona, I’ll get you patched up soon.

More on our long-term Kia Sedona SX here: