Compare the2023 Honda OdysseyVS 2021 Kia Sedona

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Tires and Wheels
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Odyssey are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Sedona doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Odyssey has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Sedona doesn’t offer knee airbags.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Odyssey deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Odyssey’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Sedona’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The Honda Odyssey has Daytime Running Lights to help keep it more visible under all conditions. Canadian government studies show that driving with lights during the day reduces accidents by 11% by making vehicles more conspicuous. The Sedona doesn’t offer Daytime Running Lights.

The Odyssey’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Sedona and is not available with LX.

The Odyssey has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. Only the Sedona EX/SX offers a blind spot warning system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Odyssey has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Sedona EX/SX has a rear cross-path warning system.

Both the Odyssey and the Sedona have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, rearview cameras and available rear parking sensors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Honda Odyssey is safer than the Kia Sedona:

	Odyssey	Sedona
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	176	236
Neck Stress	184 lbs.	196 lbs.
Neck Compression	18 lbs.	52 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	95/82 lbs.	18/876 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	32%	39%
Neck Stress	101 lbs.	196 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Honda Odyssey is safer than the Kia Sedona:

	Odyssey	Sedona
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.5 inches	.6 inches
Abdominal Force	83 lbs.	98 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	125	131
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	15 inches
Hip Force	472 lbs.	619 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Odyssey its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 80 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Sedona last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

The Odyssey’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Sedona runs out after 100,000 miles.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Odyssey for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Kia doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Sedona.

There are over 37 percent more Honda dealers than there are Kia dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the Odyssey’s warranty.

Reliability

The engine in the Odyssey has a single overhead cam for simplicity. The engine in the Sedona has dual overhead cams, which add to the number of moving parts and the complexity of the cylinder heads.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 10 places higher in reliability than Kia.

Engine

The Odyssey’s 3.5 SOHC V6 produces 4 more horsepower (280 vs. 276) and 14 lbs.-ft. more torque (262 vs. 248) than the Sedona’s 3.3 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Honda Odyssey is faster than the Kia Sedona:

	Odyssey	Sedona
Zero to 60 MPH	6.6 sec	7.9 sec
Quarter Mile	15 sec	16.1 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	94.6 MPH	89.2 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Odyssey gets better fuel mileage than the Sedona (19 city/28 hwy vs. 18 city/24 hwy).

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Odyssey’s fuel efficiency. The Sedona doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Odyssey’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Sedona doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Odyssey has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Sedona doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda Odyssey higher (5 out of 10) than the Kia Sedona (3). This means the Odyssey produces up to 16.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Sedona every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A 10-speed automatic is standard on the Honda Odyssey, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Sedona.

Tires and Wheels

The Odyssey’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sedona LX’s standard 65 series tires. The Odyssey Sport/Touring/Elite’s tires have a lower 55 series profile than the Sedona EX/SX’s 60 series tires.

For better load carrying, ride, handling and brake cooling the Odyssey has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Sedona LX. The Odyssey Sport/Touring/Elite’s 19-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels on the Sedona EX/SX.

The Odyssey has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Sedona doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

Chassis

The front grille of the Odyssey uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Sedona doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Odyssey uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Sedona doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Odyssey has .9 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more rear headroom, 3.3 inches more third row legroom and .6 inches more third row shoulder room than the Sedona.

Cargo Capacity

The Odyssey’s cargo area provides more volume than the Sedona.

	Odyssey	Sedona
Behind Third Seat	38.6 cubic feet	33.9 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	92.3 cubic feet	78.4 cubic feet
Max Cargo Volume	158 cubic feet	142 cubic feet

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Odyssey easier. The Odyssey’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 22.5 inches, while the Sedona’s liftover is 26 inches.

Ergonomics

The Odyssey’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Sedona’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The Odyssey’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Sedona’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Odyssey the driver can close them all at the outside door handle. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows at the outside door handle or from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Sedona can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Odyssey Elite’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Sedona’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Odyssey’s headlights were rated “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Sedona’s headlights are rated “Poor.”

The Odyssey’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Heated mirrors cost extra on the Sedona and aren’t offered on the Sedona LX.

The Odyssey EX-L/Sport/Touring/Elite’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Sedona offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Odyssey has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Sedona EX/SX.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Odyssey is less expensive to operate than the Sedona because it costs $455 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Odyssey than the Sedona, including $128 less for fuel injection, $73 less for front struts and $402 less for a timing belt/chain.

Recommendations

The Honda Odyssey has won recognition from these important consumer publications:

	Odyssey	Sedona
Consumer Reports® Recommends	TRUE	FALSE
Car Book “Best Bet”	TRUE	FALSE

The Honda Odyssey outsold the Kia Sedona by almost four to one during the 2021 model year.

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