Updated Kia Sedona minivan pampers passengers (pictures)

Kia gave its Sedona minivan a major update for its third generation, releasing it as a 2015 model year vehicle.

The new Sedona represents a major style update over its predecessor.

This grille treatment shows very elegant styling from Kia's designers.

The new Sedona comes with a direct injection 3.3-liter V-6 engine, a very efficient power plant that, however, does not leap ahead of the pack in fuel economy.

As with other minivans, the Sedona uses a front-wheel-drive platform, so no transmission tunnel need intrude on the cabin.

Power sliding doors open and close at the push of a button.

Despite the refined front styling, there isn't much to be done about the Sedona's rear design, which reflects the necessarily boxy shape of the vehicle.

With the third-row seats folded into the floor, the Sedona can hold a whopping 78.4 cubic feet of cargo.

Make room for third-row seat passengers and the rear cargo space goes down to a still substantial 33.9 cubic feet.

In Limited trim, the Sedona offers quite a few creature comforts as standard, such as heated and cooled front seats.

These captain's chairs have built-in ottomans.

CNET editors enjoy the middle-row seating in this Limited trim Sedona, but in lesser trims the middle row uses a bench seat.

Every Sedona above the bottom trim level gets a touchscreen in the dashboard for audio and phone systems, while the SX trim and above include navigation.

Between analog gauges, an LCD shows trip info, audio, navigation guidance and phone.

A six-speed automatic transmission comes standard in the Sedona, and offers a manual gear selection mode.

The button-happy steering wheel lets you activate voice command and adaptive cruise control.

Shortcut buttons below the touchscreen give quick access to different cabin tech features.

Other than the shortcut buttons, you can view all the cabin tech features on the touchscreen.

The surround-view camera is a great help when maneuvering in tight parking lots.

Voice command works well in the Sedona, with control over many functions.

UVO is Kia's telematics service, integrating with a smartphone app.

The Info menu is a bit of a catch-all for cabin tech features, and includes submenus for further options.

Data brought into the car through satellite radio gets buried in the menu structure.

To use Google search and Yelp, you'll need to log the car into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot, such as a smartphone.

Maps in the navigation system offer good resolution, but only show in top-down, or 2D, mode.

The hands-free phone system offers typical features, such as contact list integration and voice control.

The music library interface shows up for devices plugged into the car's front USB ports.

The audio playback screen shows album art.

HD Radio offers better sound quality and multiple channels for local radio stations.

An Infinity audio system, with 10 speakers, comes standard at the Limited trim level.