Ferrari Mailing List: Comparison Test: 1984 Ferrari 308 GTSi vs. 2007 Kia Sedona EX

[Dennis Liu (bigheaddennis]

Matt already sent the link around, but here is the full text.  While the
Ferrari "beat" the Kia Sedona in performance, keep in mind that (a) the
Ferrari was wearing modern Goodyear rubber and not the 1984 version, which
would most assuredly have reduced lateral grip and slalom performance
dramatically.  Also, (b) as the article itself notes, the Toyota RAV4 is
pretty close, and that little cute-'ute will haul 6 folks (well, 4+2) *and*
keep everyone nice and chilled with working a/c.

Not to knock the 308qv, of course, just to point out how far we've come.
You can go out and buy a five-passenger uber-sedan today that will smoke a
355.  

Vty,

--Dennis




http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=122612/pageNumber
=1

Comparison Test: 1984 Ferrari 308 GTSi vs. 2007 Kia Sedona EX
Who's got it better, Magnum or Mom?

By Josh Jacquot, Senior Road Test Editor 
Date posted: 09-16-2007

Comparing a minivan to a Ferrari is surely absurd to some. Who cares? Those
people never got girls in high school. Their idea of kooky, crazy fun is a
red Prius. Tell them to have another soy milk latte and stick to reading
www.lactoseintolerant.org, the Web site for the lactose-intolerant.

There's a real question to be answered here: How far has the automobile
progressed in 23 years? Can a new minivan outrun a two-decade-old supercar?

Sure it's stupid, but that's the point.

Dollars and Sense
To get the show on the road we called Kia and borrowed this Sedona. We chose
the Kia because it was the quickest accelerating of the group in our 2006
Minivan Comparison Test. It also had the fastest slalom speed, produced the
third best lateral acceleration and was the least expensive. So, as minivans
go, it's an outright performance bargain.

Now we needed an outdated, crusty old exotic. Enter our long-term 1984
Ferrari 308 GTSi. Magnum, P.I.'s car. The car entire movies were made for.
The car that delivered a naked Christie Brinkley to Clark W. Griswold, for
crying out loud. It's got a shrieking, midmounted Italian V8 powered by pure
testosterone. It's got a body by Pininfarina. It's Rosso Corsa red. And most
importantly, it's nothing like a minivan.

But it does cost the same as one.

This Kia Sedona costs $31,995. Opt out of the $2,400 Luxury Package and
$1,700 Premium Entertainment Package, however, and its price dips below the
$28,000 we paid for the Ferrari. And you still get to keep the $1,000 Power
Package that gives you power-sliding doors and a power liftgate.

Respecting Physics
Dimensionally, there aren't two more different automobiles. With a wheelbase
more than 2 feet longer than the Ferrari's (118.9 inches vs. 92.1), the
Sedona is, quite simply, large. It's about 3 feet longer, 2 feet taller and
10 inches wider than the Ferrari. Then there's the matter of its additional
1,500 pounds of curb weight (4,686 pounds vs. 3,186).

Ironically, their engines make similar power (or at least they did when the
Ferrari was new). The Sedona's 3.8-liter V6 is rated at 250 horsepower and
253 pound-feet of torque. The Ferrari's 3.0-liter (actually 2.9) V8 is rated
at 230 hp and 188 lb-ft of torque. Our Ferrari is a Quattrovalvole GTSi
model, which means it's got the four-valve engine and uses Bosch fuel
injection. It's hardly new. In fact, during this test, it ticked over 49,000
miles.

Kia gave the Sedona a five-speed automatic transmission with manual shift
abilities. It puts power down through the front wheels. The Ferrari's
five-speed manual transaxle has a ZF limited-slip differential and delivers
power to the rear wheels.

And the minivan wears the larger rubber. Its Michelins measure 235/60R17.
The Ferrari wears Goodyears. Why? Because Mr. Ferrari wanted it that way.
But they're an inch smaller in diameter than the Kia's tires, and quite a
bit narrower (205/55ZR16 front and 225/50ZR16 rear).

Performance
As we headed for the track, staff predictions leaned in favor of the Sedona.
Many who had driven the Ferrari were convinced the Kia was going to walk
away with the acceleration tests. Some even extended the van's dominance to
the braking tests where, they claimed, its modern ABS would laugh in the
face of the Ferrari's dated, non-ABS equipped stoppers.

In reality, the Ferrari kicked the minivan's ass in every test. Twenty-three
years is a long time and, yes, the van benefits supremely from modern
advances, but it still ain't no Ferrari on the track. In 1984, this 308
really must have been something.

The biggest ass-kickin' came in the handling tests, where the Ferrari proved
its pedigree by slithering through the slalom at 68.6 mph, almost 1 mph
faster than the 2008 Subaru WRX and far better than any minivan we've ever
tested. The story was similar around the skid pad, where the Ferrari's
modern Goodyear Eagle F1 tires yanked it around at 0.91g. The Sedona
squealed its way to 0.72g.

In a straight line it wasn't much closer. Seriously, did you ever see Magnum
get outrun by a soccer mom? The Ferrari hit 60 mph in only 7.3 seconds - a
number we likely could have improved if we were more willing to abuse its
aging clutch. The Sedona managed the same milestone in 9.0 seconds. By the
end of the quarter-mile, the gap had extended to 1.3 seconds, with the
Ferrari breaking the traps in 15.4 seconds at 92.1 mph and the Sedona
finishing in 16.7 seconds at 84.6 mph.

Even the braking contest, where ABS is invaluable, fell in the Ferrari's
favor. A solid, easily modulated pedal allowed the Ferrari to stop from 60
mph in just 123 feet, 5 feet shorter than the Sedona.

In other words, our Ferrari goes and stops as well as a V6 Toyota RAV4,
which means the car has come damn far in the last 23 years. Just not quite
as far as we had thought. A 2008 Ferrari F430 would, of course, run circles
around our 308.

Living
With our theory validated, or invalidated, depending on your degree of
cynicism, we took this ridiculous exercise a step further. That's right. We
made it a full-blown comparison test with scoring and everything.

Don't laugh. After driving both cars for a week it became clear that the Kia
had a real shot. It's by far the easier of the two to live with every day.
Take the four cupholders within reach of the driver, for example. Between
them they've got more liquid capacity than the Ferrari's entire cooling
system. And they're better at keeping things cool, too. The 308 has exactly
zero cupholders, by the way. It also has zero airbags (the Sedona has six),
zero power steering and practically zero air-conditioning.

Then there's the cargo capacity issue. The Ferrari has zero. Well, not
exactly zero. Between its trunk and a bit of space behind the seats, the 308
has the cargo room of a large Gucci diaper bag. And it's even less
practical. Don't put anything in the trunk you don't want cooked. We
actually baked some Betty Crocker cookies back there during our track test.
This isn't a problem in the Sedona. We packed lots of Girl Scout Cookies in
our long-term Sedona earlier this year. They didn't even get warm.

Then there's the expected wear that comes with any 23-year-old car. The
Ferrari's ventilation controls are worn and awkward and the ignition and
door lock cylinders are sticky and require patience. And good luck getting
in or out without some sort of yoga training.

On the Road
With a surprisingly comfortable ride, the 308 is actually a joy on a long
drive, provided it's not more than 80 degrees outside. But it has its
moments of glory. Find yourself on a winding road on a cool evening and even
the 308's dead-on-center steering has some redeeming value. It's easy to get
lost in the Italian's burble-come-shriek exhaust note while rowing through
the gears in the right conditions.

The only way the Sedona could offer this much manly satisfaction is if it
were loaded with five naked members of the Hawaiian Tropic bikini team and
driven over a series of speed bumps. Repeatedly.

But the Sedona's road manners are respectable. An impromptu mountain road
face-off against the 308 proved it a worthy contender - for a few minutes.
Shifting its automatic transmission manually allows better control than in
most minivans and it's admirably quick. It held its own until the flames
coming off its front brake calipers forced us to surrender to the slippery
Italian.

Fuel mileage was a contest won by the boxy Sedona, although its 16.7 mpg
average isn't exactly going to impress the Sierra Club. The Ferrari averaged
14.9 mpg during the week, but it would crack 16 mpg on the highway.

The End of This Ridiculous Story
In the end, it comes down to the modern convenience and usability of the
Sedona versus the passionate pull of the Ferrari.

It's the choice every man faces come midlife crisis. The family is getting
bigger, the old sedan just won't cut it anymore and the need for a minivan
looms large on the horizon. Enter the hulking, stigma-ridden reality of the
2007 Kia Sedona. The price is right, the warranty is incredible and it's got
good reviews.

But with the rational need for more space, stain-resistant surfaces and
self-closing doors comes the undeniable urge for something svelte, red,
mid-engined and...Italian.

We've already bought our Ferrari. Which would you choose?

Kia provided Edmunds the Sedona for the purposes of evaluation. We own the
Ferrari.