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Entourage Seeks to Ride On Sedona Success

The new Hyundai Entourage, derived from the recently launched Kia Sedona, is a competent minivan with a pleasant ride and usual creature comforts.

ANN ARBOR, MI – The words “dynamic” and “minivan” rarely are uttered in the same sentence, unless the conversation is about the sector, rather than the vehicles, themselves.

The minivan segment has seen massive shifts in recent years. A decade ago, models from Detroit’s Big Three dominated U.S. sales.

Today, only the Chrysler Group maintains its hold on the top position, while Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. have slipped badly. Meanwhile, the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna are bearing down hard. Both outsold the Chrysler Town & Country in the first quarter, according to Ward’s data.

Related document: U.S. Sales by Segment – Q1 2006

Now, Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. is entering the fray with its Entourage minivan, which is derived from its corporate sibling, the Kia Sedona.

The Sedona, which was redesigned for ’06 and launched earlier this year, is the only other minivan showing significant sales growth. In the first quarter, it outsold both the Ford Freestar and Chevrolet Uplander, reflecting a 47% jump over year-ago.

Kia’s parent, Hyundai Motor, wants to ride the Sedona’s coattails by offering a Hyundai-badged version of the same front-wheel-drive minivan.

The ’07 Hyundai Entourage arrives with little fanfare and modest plans to sell 30,000 units annually. In 2005, Kia sold 52,837 prior-generation Sedonas, according to Ward’s data.

The Entourage is a competent minivan with a relatively powerful engine, and it handles better and is more car-like than the prior-generation Sedona. The interior is comfortable and ergonomic and affords the expected safety features, including six airbags.

The Entourage will appeal to consumers whose basic instinct is to get from Point A to Point B in relative anonymity. This minivan breaks no ground with its styling, but neither does the strong-selling Sienna.

More troubling is the lack of differentiation between the Sedona and Entourage. Inside and out, nearly every dimension is identical, as are the engine, transmission, suspension and chassis (steel unibody with perimeter subframe).

The Entourage has a different grille, hood, headlamps, front quarter panels and unique front and rear bumper fascia, says Michael Deitz, manager-model line planning for Hyundai Motor America.

Parked side-by-side, however, the casual observer would find the differences extremely subtle between the Entourage and Sedona.

The beltline and most of the sheet metal are identical, and the rear is the same, save for the fascia, some trim and the center high-mounted stop light.

Badge engineering is OK when it is not obvious, and more of it is coming as the industry seeks to leverage efficiencies within vehicle platforms. But it only works when consumers do not recognize that two cars with different badges come from the same assembly line.

Both Hyundai and Kia remain young brands in America that are building their images with consumers, so many may not even care that the Entourage is a rebadged Sedona.

Both will win buyers at the lower end of the segment, although Deitz says Hyundai is positioning certain Entourage trim levels to compete with the premium entries, such as the Town & Country.

Entourage pricing begins at $23,795 (plus $700 destination charge) and tops out fully loaded at $32,000, plus destination. A similarly equipped Sedona can be had for about $1,000 less.

The base Entourage GLS is priced $1,400 below a base Odyssey. Transaction prices, however, likely will reflect a bigger difference between the Entourage and Odyssey: Honda dealers are notorious for their refusal to budge on price, while Hyundai dealers may be more willing to bargain. The mid-level trim is the SE, and the Limited is the top of the model line.

The Entourage is not a bad minivan. The ride is quiet and smooth, and the 3.8L DOHC V-6 is motivated and downright grunty when pushed, linked to a smooth-shifting 5-speed automatic transmission. The gearbox comes equipped with “Shiftronic” manual shifting, which begs the question: Who will use it?

The new engine demonstrates a significant upgrade over the 3.5L V-6 that powered the previous-generation Sedona. That engine, with a cast iron block, was derived from a Mitsubishi Motors Corp. design.

The new all-aluminum 3.8L V-6 was developed entirely by Hyundai and Kia and comes with contemporary technology, such as variable valve timing and a composite intake manifold, says Tim White, senior manager-powertrain development at Hyundai-Kia America Technical Center.

The new engine achieves an ultra low-emissions vehicle rating, while the old Sedona was rated merely a low-emissions vehicle.

Likewise, performance gets a significant boost, to 242 hp and 251 lb.-ft. (340 Nm) of torque at 3,500 rpm. Horsepower and torque are up 24% and 15%, respectively.

Drivers of the previous-generation Sedona complained the 3.5L V-6 was too thirsty.

White claims the new 3.8L V-6 is more efficient, and he says real-world testing is in line with the rated fuel economy of 18 mpg (13 L/100 km) in the city and 25 mpg (9.4 L/100 km) on the highway.

Helping the cause is an 8% reduction in curb weight. The base Entourage weighs 4,400 lbs. (1,995 kg), down from 4,802 lbs. (2,178 kg) for the old Sedona.

Hyundai and Kia also addressed another gripe that the previous Sedona had a turning circle that was much too wide.

That was because the Sedona initially was developed for the South Korean market with a smaller 2.5L V-6. When the larger 3.5L V-6 was fitted for the U.S. market, the engine bay had to be reconfigured, affecting the suspension geometry and resulting in a turning circle of 41.1 ft. (12.5 m).

The new minivan was engineered to accommodate a larger engine from the start, so the front subframe allows for a turning circle of 39.6 ft. (12 m). The improvement is noticeable.

The power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is responsive and compliant, without being mushy.

At corners, body roll is improved over the old Sedona but lagging behind the benchmark of the segment, the Odyssey. The Entourage comes equipped with MacPherson struts in front and a multi-link setup at the rear. Coil springs, gas shock absorbers and stabilizer bars bolster both front and rear.

During a test drive of production models, a loose front stabilizer bar caused significant rattling. The issue has since been fixed, Hyundai says.

Inside, soft-touch surfaces on the upper instrument panel and much of the door trim contribute to an attractive and comfortable cabin, although the grab handles on the front doors are perhaps a bit too soft.

Cupholders abound – there are eight accessible from the front seats and another five elsewhere. Dual glove boxes (one stacked on top of the other) offer additional storage.

Second-row captain’s chairs are standard and slide fore and aft to allow for more legroom for third-row passengers. The captain’s chairs do not, however, fold into the floor like the unique Stow ’n Go feature on Chrysler minivans.

Third-row seats are configured in a 60/40 split and fold into the floor, unlike in the previous-generation Sedona. The seats stow conveniently and intuitively, but they do wobble and seem unsteady when they are being put away or redeployed.

A sunroof is optional on the top trim level, but it cuts down significantly on second-row headroom when packaged with the ceiling-mounted rear-seat entertainment system.

Six airbags are standard – frontal and side-impact bags for first-row occupants and roof-mounted side curtains for outboard passengers in all three rows. Antilock brakes and skid-preventing electronic stability control also are standard for all three trim levels.

Also standard are power windows, even on the two sliding doors. Power sliders are standard on the top two trim levels. Hyundai hopes to offer satellite radio and a navigation system later in the model run.

Hyundai started production in February of the Entourage in Sohari, South Korea, in the same plant that builds the Sedona. Sales began in April, and an ad campaign was slated for May.

Despite the striking similarities between the two minivans, Hyundai’s attempt at badge engineering with the Entourage might just work.

The auto maker already sells nearly twice as many vehicles in the U.S. as does Kia, so it is logical to expect a Hyundai version of the relatively successful Sedona will sell just as well – maybe even better.

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