2008 Kia Sedona

I agree with my colleagues: the Sedona is highly desirable in its minivanness, and its price and powertrain help it stand out amongst its solid competition. In addition to its pep, the engine sounds powerful, with a nice, almost burbley exhaust note. Who'da thunk? I wasn't, however, impressed by the Sedona's styling, which I found to be too far on the blah side. I drove the Kia in pretty cold weather, but that's no excuse for the multitude of annoying creaks that came from the rear passenger compartment. (This example had about 12,000 miles on it, but if it were mine, it'd definitely be back at the dealer for a squeak/rattle prescription.) That rear compartment, though, easily converted to cargo mode for my cardboard recycling trip to Ikea. Minivans aren't very sexy, but they sure are useful. Rusty Blackwell, Copy Editor