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Kia Sedona: L vs. LX

The Kia Sedona is a great minivan, and like most, it’s very customizable.  The Kia Sedona has several trims, but the two lowest are only $2,050 apart in price. Is it worth it to spend the extra money? We’ve taken a look at the differences between the two to help you determine if you should purchase the 2017 Kia Sedona L or the LX.

Price

The price difference between the Kia Sedona L and the Kia Sedona LX seems fairly minimal. The L trim has a starting MSRP of $26,800. The LX has a starting MSRP of $28,850, which is a $2,050 difference. While this may not seem like a lot, let’s compare the price in terms of monthly payments.

Using BankRate’s auto loan calculator, we can estimate that for a five-year auto loan, you’ll pay $481.56 per month at 3% interest for the L trim. The LX trim increases your payments by $518.40 monthly payments at five years and 3% interest. So what do you get for that price increase?

Power-Folding Outside Mirrors

The first difference you may notice is power-folding outside mirrors on the LX trim. If you want to fold the mirrors on the L trim, you’ll have to do it yourself. So far, it's a little hard to believe that power-folding outside mirrors are worth an extra $2,050. (You can also add heated mirrors to the LX trim for an extra fee.)

Privacy Glass

Privacy glass is a fancy way of saying that the windows are tinted on the LX trim. However, you can purchase your own tint kit on Amazon for less than $100. In some cases, a full tint can be purchased for as little as $85.99. If you’re worried about the quality, you can get a professional tint for your Kia Sedona for $99-$400, depending on the quality of tint you want.

Power Sliding Doors

Now this is an upgrade that may be worth the extra money. The 2017 Kia Sedona LX model comes with power sliding doors while the L trim does not. If you were to convert manual doors to power sliding doors, you’d have to make additions to the wiring harness from other Kia Sedonas. It’s easy to see how this can become very expensive, and a lot of work for a mechanic to splice and solder the wires into the right position.

Tweeters

No, this doesn’t have anything to do with Twitter. A stereo system is designed to have three different types of ranges, low, mid, and high. Woofers produce low ranges, tweeters provide high ranges, and speakers handle everything in-between.

The LX trim comes with tweeters in the front of the vehicle to handle the high ranges. Both the L and the LX come with four speakers. You could spend an extra $2,050, or you can purchase these $56.99 tweeters and have your mechanic install them for the same effect.

Power Seats

Both the L and the LX trim allow you to adjust your seats, but the LX trim has power adjusted driver’s seats. In addition to the power-adjustable seat, you also get power lumbar support to find your comfort. While this is a plus, something you should consider is that these motors can go out with continuous use. The lumbar support can also be achieved with a $26.99 cushion on Amazon that even includes a warm/cool gel pad for those days you need a little more comfort.

 

Eight Passenger Capabilities

Both Sedona trims allow seven passengers, but only the LX can add a third seat for the second row. This allows enough room for an eighth passenger. Rather than using this position, you can use the Slide-n-Stow system to create a center console or fold it to remove the seat completely.  

The Verdict

In the end, is the LX trim worth the extra price? It depends on how many you need to seat and if you’re willing to pay extra. Some of the standard features in the LX cannot be achieved by purchasing other products. The eight-passenger capabilities and power-sliding doors may be essential to your ride, but if you don’t need those, you can buy the products in this article and pay an extra $483.98 rather than $2,050—and that’s for the expensive window tinting.

Last Updated: December 13, 2018