Astro Van or 2nd Gen Kia Sedona?

[duck__dodgers]

My uncle kept a 2nd gen Sedoa in his snowbird house.

I drove that Sedona from Florida for 12+ hours straight and that driver's seat was awful! horrendous, arse hurting (for me)

that was the drive that red-pilled me to hear out the Hyundai-Kia haters. As before that I had only been behind the wheel of one for 20 min. and thought " these aren't bad at all"

If seat comfort is an important feature for you, try to take long drives in both.

 

[c502cid]

The astro/gmc safari are body on frame trucks. My only concern is that aren't parts getting a little difficult to come by? They haven't been sold new for what 20 years?

Actually the Astro is kinda like the early Camaros, subframe front and rear, center unibody. Saying that, I had a RWD and an AWD and they were both stone cold reliable. I traded the RWD for an AWD when I moved to Colorado. I put 120,000 on the RWD and over 150,000 on the AWD. I still keep my eyes out for another AWD...someday.

 

[supton]

Actually the Astro is kinda like the early Camaros, subframe front and rear, center unibody. Saying that, I had a RWD and an AWD and they were both stone cold reliable. I traded the RWD for an AWD when I moved to Colorado. I put 120,000 on the RWD and over 150,000 on the AWD. I still keep my eyes out for another AWD...someday.

I thought the center diff was becoming hard to source? Reliable but if anything happens, tough to fix.

First accident I ever had was me tank slapping an Astro van into a snowbank... RWD of course.

 

[97prizm]

Actually the Astro is kinda like the early Camaros, subframe front and rear, center unibody. Saying that, I had a RWD and an AWD and they were both stone cold reliable. I traded the RWD for an AWD when I moved to Colorado. I put 120,000 on the RWD and over 150,000 on the AWD. I still keep my eyes out for another AWD...someday.

I found a really neat website detailing the production and changes over the years of the safari/astro. Apparently 1995 is a mishmash of some previous generation and some new generation parts. It's considered a 1.5 gen. It lists composite fiberglass leaf springs as an option. I've never heard of this nor thought fiberglass would be strong enough nor last very long.

 

[supton]

I found a really neat website detailing the production and changes over the years of the safari/astro. Apparently 1995 is a mishmash of some previous generation and some new generation parts. It's considered a 1.5 gen. It lists composite fiberglass leaf springs as an option. I've never heard of this nor thought fiberglass would be strong enough nor last very long.

What's strange is that it's the 1985-95 models that had them--I remember having them on our family's '87 and thinking that odd. I guess they phased them out with time? Link.

I don't recall having issues with them, maybe they got replaced in the 15 years it was in the family, but I don't recall so. And that van did see towing a 27' travel trailer. Its 4.3 lived a hard life (and died early too).

 

[c502cid]

I found a really neat website detailing the production and changes over the years of the safari/astro. Apparently 1995 is a mishmash of some previous generation and some new generation parts. It's considered a 1.5 gen. It lists composite fiberglass leaf springs as an option. I've never heard of this nor thought fiberglass would be strong enough nor last very long.

There are quite a few vehicles with composite leaf springs on the road today. I'm pretty sure the Ranger and F-150 had them with certain packages.

 

[VanLifer39]

What is cost of transmission in known van vs another van that could have one or other work lurking?

The current van with bad transmission was $2500. It has 280k miles. I'm not sure if it's feasible to repair. I bought it last February. The van needs brakes and suspension components replaced/repaired. There's also electrical issues with the TIPM moduel which caused me to have to order a $7 cable from Amazon to bypass the fuel pump relay. The motor seems fine with the exception of a rattle that is intermittent.

 

[Bud_One]

Another vote for Astro Van.. we miss ours.
Had a pristine 1996 with the barn doors in back .
Wife was hit by a Lexus ES300 and it was totaled.

 

[Nick1994]

I’d vote for the Kia. A member here had one and put many miles with little maintenance.

Astro Vans by now are clapped out.

 

[Number_35]

Both vans can be good choices.

The 2nd-gen Sedona (2006+) falls in the peak-Hyundai/Kia era. (I don't know if you got them in the States, but a rebadged Kia Sedona was sold here as the Hyundai Entourage.)

They are quite rust-resistant, and the 3.8 l Lambda V6 paired with the 5-speed automatic is a pretty good combination.

Crash ratings were very good.

*******

The Astro is harder on gas, but has amazing interior room, and good towing capability.

Crash ratings were not good.

 

[walterjay]

I have seen quite a few of the Sedona vans on the road around here. They seem to last.

 

[burbguy82]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplac...wse_serp:f4734184-9e94-423e-a339-f5ac326c2a21

 

[KYMISTWALKER]

Astro van for the win
I’ve owned several of these some I’ve paid as little as $1500
they very seldom let you down,simple to fix and the 4.3 engines are great

 

[meep]

Any Astro you find now will need some work. Every hose, many seals and gaskets… and reaching in there to do the work takes effort. That said, the 4.3 is a great engine and a well-maintained one would be fun.

Also, yes to a fuel heater and not running the engine. Far more efficient, and better for the engine.

 

[paulo57509]

I would definitely go with the Astro or a Safari.

Depending on the year, they came with different fuel injection systems; TBI, CPI, SCPI and MPFI. The CPI/SCPI used a single, centrally located fuel injector and individual poppet injectors at the ports (resembled a "spider"). The MPFI used the same arrangement as the CPI/SCPI but with individual injectors located at the ports.

Some Astro/Safari vans had odd cruise control behavior. Both my '98 and '03 had this same behavior. Never did find the cause. I suspect it was the turn signal stalk. No, it wasn't the brake light switch.

https://www.astrosafari.com/threads...51993&nested_view=1&sortby=oldest#post-251993

Some late model Astro/Safari vans have electronic brake control module (EBCM) issues - the brake and ABS warning lights on simultaniously. Most GM commercial vehicles of early 2000's had this Issue. It's not a difficult fix but if you're not a DIY at the component level, rebuilt units can be pricey.

https://www.astrosafari.com/threads...4268&nested_view=1&sortby=oldest#post-1524268

Corrosion under the distributor cap is common, causing a sudden no-start conditions.

https://www.tsbsearch.com/Chevrolet/03-06-04-041A

These are not big enough issues to put the Astro/Safari on the do not buy list. If a decent one came along, I'd be all over it.

 

[supton]

I remember doing plugs on our '87. Wow what fun. I guess at least I could say I was indoors while doing the work... too bad I didn't have knuckles left over.

I do remember going for a test drive one day with dad adjusting timing *while we were driving along*. I guess today that's not so hard with laptops and tuners--but back then, it was kinda novel.