wrote in message
ups.com...
Rob:

I drove the Sedona for 5000 miles, I know what it did and the
"sportsmatic" tranny just didnt work. I've driven enough different
vehicles over more mountains than you will see in several lifetimes and
I know how to drive mountains.
Strangely, unlike the AutoWeb review, we thought it had a lot of road
noise compared to our Highlander making conversations tween front and
back difficult.

Of course a Toyota SUV is quieter than the Kia minivan!

The Highlander is built on a Camry chassis.


The AutoWeb review reports trouble getting it to use
the + whereas we had trouble with both the + and - so our experience is
in line with theirs. I am not familiar with the Polomar Mt road so
cannot assess where they drove but I bet my 5000 mile drive was far
more comprehensive.

The magazine is all that matters.

In every other way, it is a fine car and even safe in most situations
but not for real mountain driving. The tranny was unreliable.

Capt. Rob wrote:
8 mile or so
you must be able to use a lower gear and the Kia simply did not work.
I actually did try to use the - to try to keep her in 2nd gear (3rd
gear and you'd be over the side) but it didnt work, no engine braking
at all except on the lesser grade on Towgotee Pass and Signal Mt.



The ONLY time a sportsmatic type tranny will shift out of the hold-gear
is when you drop below or above safe RPM range. My father lives at near
the top of Pocono mountains and there are some amazing grades there.
The Sedona has no trouble and holds 2nd or 3rd perfectly. I shift
between them from 20-45 mph. No one has reported ANY trouble such as
yours in ANY review or in ANY forum.
Hmmmmmm. I guess no one else lives in the mountains and has a
sportsmatic tranny.

Dude, you're either full of it or a bad driver. Sorry. And Toyota is
switching to sportsmattic for 2008, Bob. So I guess you won't like it
anymore!

Sienna...4th rated in crash tests!


RB
35s5
NY