ArcaMax

The Sedona is all-new, a wheels-up redesign.

WHAT'S GOOD

Family-friendliest price (and warranty coverage) of the bunch. It's quick. No, really. High-line interior, especially when ordered with the folding-out, aircraft-style lounge chairs. It's basically a sporty crossover SUV ... with sliding doors.

WHAT'S NOT SO GOOD

Drinks gas like a sporty SUV - 17 city, 22 highway for the SX-L trim. For "safety," many of the vehicle's settings and apps cannot be accessed unless the vehicle is stationary - which is a hassle when you're not.

UNDER THE HOOD

In a very real way, minivans do not deserve their Mom Mobile rep. It's not what they're capable of. It's how they're generally driven. Pop the Sedona's hood, for instance, and you'll find almost 280 hp (276, to pick nits) from a direct-injected 3.3 liter V6. That is nearly the same output as one of the strongest V8 muscle cars of the early '70s offered. That car being the '73 Pontiac SD-455, which boasted a 290 hp rating out of 7.4 liters of four-barrel V8. The Sedona's 3.3 V6 (less half the displacement) makes only 10 hp less than six-figure (today's money) classic muscle car.

It's stuffed in a minivan, sure. So it's carting an extra 1,000 pounds or so, compared with the old TA. But it's still a potent little engine. More potent than the Toyota Sienna's 3.5 liter, 266 hp V6. Much more so than the Honda Odyssey's 244 hp V6. The Chrysler T&C is the most muscular of the bunch - on paper: 283 hp from 3.6 liters. But the T&C is also the least quick, with zero to 60 requiring about 8.2 seconds.

The Kia's in the mid-high sevens, which is speedy for a minivan and period. The fact is this minivan would give a '73 SD-455 a run for the money, 0-60. The TA would win - but not by an embarrassing margin. Which is kind of embarrassing… for the Trans-Am!

The downside - and this applies generally to the entire class of minivans - is that they drink fuel at nearly the same rate as an early '70s V8 muscle car. And the Kia is particularly thirsty.

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