Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2021 Kia Sedona

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Sedona doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

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 Acadia 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 GMC Acadia has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps 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.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Sedona doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Acadia offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Sedona doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The GMC Acadia 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 Acadia’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 Acadia 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 Acadia 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 Acadia 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 around view monitors.

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

	Acadia	Sedona
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	21%	23%
Neck Stress	191 lbs.	196 lbs.
Neck Compression	29 lbs.	52 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	129/383 lbs.	18/876 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 GMC Acadia is safer than the Kia Sedona:

	Acadia	Sedona
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	243 lbs.	253 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	14 inches	15 inches

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

Warranty

The Acadia’s corrosion warranty is 1 year longer than the Sedona’s (6/100,000 vs. 5/100,000).

There are over 2 times as many GMC dealers as there are Kia dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Acadia has a standard 220-amp alternator (155-amp - Acadia V6 and 170 V6). The Sedona’s 150-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The Acadia’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 10 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 248) than the Sedona’s 3.3 DOHC V6. The Acadia’s optional 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 34 more horsepower (310 vs. 276) and 23 lbs.-ft. more torque (271 vs. 248) than the Sedona’s 3.3 DOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Acadia gets better mileage than the Sedona:

			MPG
Acadia
	FWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/27 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	3.6 DOHC V6	19 city/26 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/27 hwy
Sedona
	FWD	3.3 DOHC V6	18 city/24 hwy

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

Regenerative brakes improve the Acadia 2.0 Turbo’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Sedona doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Acadia’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 Acadia 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 GMC Acadia higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Kia Sedona (3). This means the Acadia produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Sedona every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the GMC Acadia, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the Sedona.

Brakes and Stopping

The Acadia’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Sedona are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Acadia AT4’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Sedona (255/65R17 vs. 235/65R17).

The Acadia’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Sedona EX/SX’s 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Acadia offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Sedona’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Kia Sedona only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia 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.

Suspension and Handling

The Acadia offers an available driver-adjustable suspension system. It allows the driver to choose between an extra-supple ride, reducing fatigue on long trips, or a sport setting, which allows maximum control for tricky roads or off-road. The Sedona’s suspension doesn’t offer adjustable shock absorbers.

Chassis

The GMC Acadia may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 300 pounds less than the Kia Sedona.

The Acadia is 8 inches shorter than the Sedona, making the Acadia easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. 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 Acadia 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 Acadia has .2 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom and .2 inches more rear headroom than the Sedona.

Cargo Capacity

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the Acadia’s second row seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Sedona doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

Maximum trailer towing in the Kia Sedona is limited to 3500 pounds. The Acadia offers up to a 4000 lbs. towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The Acadia uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Sedona uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The Acadia (except SLE) offers an available heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Sedona doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

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

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The Sedona doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Acadia’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The Sedona’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Acadia’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 Acadia SLT/AT4/Denali’s standard rear view mirror and optional 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.

Both the Acadia and the Sedona offer available heated front seats. The Acadia also offers optional heated second row seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated second row seats aren’t available in the Sedona.

The Acadia 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 Acadia is less expensive to operate than the Sedona because typical repairs cost less on the Acadia than the Sedona, including $18 less for fuel injection and $39 less for front struts.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the GMC Acadia, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Kia Sedona isn't recommended.

The GMC Acadia outsold the Kia Sedona by over three to one during the 2021 model year.

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