Following on from my Chrysler Grand Bore Voyager thread, it now appears that Detroit's finest is way too interesting and expensive... Enter the Kia Sedzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzona.

I know I have to hand in my petrolhead badge on the way out, but it seems that this 7-seater 2.9 diesel with vast load area can be had for (relative) peanuts.
Ignoring all questions of style and credibility, is there a good reason not to buy an 03 one of these for possibly under a grand to transport either 7 of us or loads of kit around, without caring about what it looks like or how it handles?

Anyone know of any mechanical/electrical issues to look out for?

Be gentle, I know it's a car crime, but needs must.

If it helps Jim here's Parker's review. A guy at work has one and he's very please with it (c 2005 age)but he's easily pleased it has to be said........

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/kia/sedona/estate-1999/

The economy would be a concern for me, averaging 32mpg - very poor for a (relatively) modern diesel engine.

Can't help with the Sedona but the Zafira had good reviews when they came out in 2000. Being a vauxhall the parts and servicing will be cheap and there are over 100 on the trader for less than a grand. Worth a look?

Thanks Gunzi. I think the problem with the Zafira (and the Scenic and the Touran, etc) is that the flat load area is not long enough for me to sleep on, even with the seats removed and often marginal for fitting in the 6' display panels we want to transport.
The Kia is a candidate largely for providing the same vast space as the Grand Voyager, but for less.

Joe78 - 32mpg is certainly nothing to write home about, but it's a pretty big engine (and I'd guess not actually very modern in pre-2008 guise) and it's carting a lot of weight around. Our 2002 530d gave us 40mpg in a much lighter body. The main thing is avoiding urban crawling, which we wouldn't really be doing that much of.

Id've thought the Sedona economy would be similar to a pickup, i.e. about 25mpg for something about 10 years old.

That was about right for my ancient Isuzu pick-up (and hopelessly optimistic for my Land Rover), but I'd hope to be in the mid-30s for a slightly less agricultural 10-year-old diesel. I agree with Joe78 that 32mpg is not that clever, but I wouldn't want to dip into the 20s again if possible!

Jim, do you get a Christmas card from the Chancellor?

Derek, if I did, I'd return it in a particularly invasive way. If he was lucky, I'd roll it up.

Just to be clear: I don't own a whole garage of these decrepit old vehicles - I have just owned them at one time or another! Many of them ended up in France, so it's their exchequer that is reaping the tax rewards!

Slightly off-topic (although fuel economy related) but at the beginning of the week I spent 2 days running round in a 2008 Subaru Forester 2.0 petrol auto and even driving like my mum still only managed to get 23mpg from it.

Jim, didn't Brewer recommend one on Auto Trader once? They came out ok on there compared to the competition

here it is! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLIp03PhRtY

Well, I just bought this beauty. We looked at a few and this was about a grand less than others in far worse nick. It's got a towbar, which is something we want. It drives well and seems fine. But, and I realize this, it is a gold Kia Sedona

On the positive side it looks like it has some comfortable seats, a huge load area and a towbar - something I've hankered after for a while.

The diesels are meant to be better than the petrols. Friend of mine had one and he said it was excellent. It even stood up to him demolishing a pub wall!

Well, the first disappointment (for the kids at least) is that the DVD player doesn't work. It powers up and when you put a disc in it says "reading disc" then goes blank. Can't tell if there's any sound as we don't have the wireless headphones (or the remote). Also, I can't find anywhere the RCA connectors it is supposed to have to enable a games console to be hooked up. My indifference is supreme, but I know I'll be under pressure to get it working for the kids. Anyone have any knowledge of these roof-mounted DVD jobbies?

Apart from this frippery, most of the rest seems to work as intended (like a small, rather loosely put together minibus) and it has been regularly ramped and stamped (including cam-belt at 65k and last service at 89k, just before sale).

Time will tell, but it seems to be rather a good deal...

I've always been a believer in the old adage about not being able to polish a turd (despite Mythbusters disproving it), but I am toying with the idea of a remap for the yawn-bus. The only problem is, it seems that the ECU on the particular model I have is impossible to remap as the new map data cannot be stored on it. I spoke to Angel Tuning, who were adamant about it.
Celtic Tuning, on the other hand maintain that they can squeeze an additional 40 ponies out of it, though they are now asking for a picture of the ECU, possibly prior to a bit of back-tracking.

I'd be a bit disappointed if it isn't possible, as I could do with a bit more go but I don't want to use one of those common rail fuel pressure "boxes".

Anyone recommend a good tuner?

Take all the seats out, that should speed it up Jim

Thanks for that helpful tip! I have been thwarted in my quest to provide Celtic Tuning with a photo of the ECU, as I don't know where it is. Rumor has it that it hides under the large, unpleasant one-piece moulded plastic centre console, but I can't find a way to remove this without entirely dismantling the vehicle. As the radio only plays through one speaker, I will need to get inside at some point, but I haven't got time at the moment.
On the subject of the DVD player, it seems that replacement units are ridiculously expensive. I can't believe it's over a hundred quid for a basic TFT screen with a DVD drive attached. Admittedly, you can get them slightly cheaper with a 7 or 9" screen, but sheesh, we're not living in the year 2000 now.