The Sacramento Bee's view

Hyundai has been on such a roll of late that I was stunned when the South Korean automaker announced it was offering up an all-new minivan for 2007, called the Entourage.

A new minivan? Now?!

Minivans haven’t exactly been burning up the sales charts these days as U.S. consumers have turned to versatile crossover vehicles and fuel-efficient autos of various stripes. The heyday of the minivan was in the mid-1980s and 1990s.

Hyundai’s unveiling of the ’07 Entourage earlier this year was regarded in some automotive circles as tantamount to Giorgio Armani rolling out a new line of zoot suits.

But after a week in the Entourage Limited — the priciest of three trim levels — I will say this: Hyundai makes a pretty nice minivan.

On the tester, the most impressive thing was the package of luxury features. It rivaled anything dressing up minivans made by automakers foreign and domestic.

The long list of standard amenities on the tested Entourage included tri-zone climate controls, dual power sliding rear doors, a power tailgate, a tire pressure-monitoring system, leather seating surfaces, heated front seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and even premium chrome scuff plates.

The standard safety package was equally impressive, with side-curtain air bags in all three seating rows, electronic stability control, a traction-control system and active front head restraints. Not surprisingly, the Entourage has scored well in various crash tests.

Throw in Hyundai’s top-drawer warranties — including 10 years or 100,000 miles on the powertrain — and you’re looking at a seriously alluring hunk of seven-passenger automotive hardware.

Other nice touches include ample interior space for seven normal-size adults and a third-row seat that folds flat into the floor to create a wide-open space for large cargo, which can easily be loaded onto the flat floor from the vehicle’s tail end.

Auto-reviewing colleagues have balked at the Entourage’s cost, but a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $28,795 on the Limited version seems entirely reasonable, given all that has been stuffed into the vehicle.

However, I thought the nearly $4,000 “Ultimate Package” of options — it included goodies such as a power sunroof, power foot pedals and back-up warning sensors — on the tester pushed the sticker’s bottom line ($32,920) over the comfort zone. I would have settled for a basic Entourage Limited without the add-ons.

Please note, a basic Entourage GLS starts at a mere $23,795; that won’t get you a luxury laced Entourage, but the GLS is pleasantly sprinkled with comfort/convenience features.

The Entourage’s exterior look is pretty standard contemporary minivan … that is to say a bold grille, with an aerodynamic roofline to better slice through the air.

Where the tested Entourage dropped off was on the move.

I found the 3.8-liter, 242-horsepower V-6 sluggish on acceleration, and it struggled noisily at the top of inclines. Even with the revs up, there was delayed engine response when my right foot asked for more power.

Once a freeway cruising speed was established on the flatlands, the Entourage was quiet and comfortable. Body sway was evident on sharp corners, but it was not overpowering.

The minivan’s air-conditioning system struggled in the Sacramento area’s summer heat, taking many minutes to cool down a moderately hot interior, even with the setting set at full-blast.

One other annoyance included an ill-advised positioning of the exterior lights switch, which my left knee kept finding. Perhaps that was due to my being 6-4, but I have not encountered the problem in other vehicles.

I’m willing to cut Hyundai a little slack, considering that the Entourage is the automaker’s first minivan offering in the United States.

Hyundai has been nimble enough to boost quality and sales in North America in recent years, dispatching a past image as a maker of cheap, low-quality motor vehicles. One assumes that Hyundai will be quick to tweak features found lacking on its new Entourage.

Along that line, Hyundai’s affiliate, Kia Motors Corp., has upgraded its Sedona minivan. Given that Entourage is based on Sedona, one has to believe the former will be made better over time.

But for a first-time-out-of-the-box vehicle, the Entourage shapes up as a good effort. It’s bound to get better up the road.

Who knows? Maybe it will help inspire a minivan revival.

Hyundai Entourage at a glance
Make/model: 2007 Hyundai Entourage
Limited Vehicle type: Seven-passenger, four-door, front-drive minivan
Base price: $28,795 (as tested, $32,920)
Engine: 3.8-liter V-6 with 250 horsepower at 6,000 revolutions per minute and 253 foot-pounds of torque at 3,500 rpm
EPA fuel economy: 18 miles per gallon city; 25 mpg highway (regular unleaded)
Transmission: Five-speed automatic with overdrive
Steering: Power-assisted rack and pinion
Brakes: Power-assisted, four-wheel discs (ventilated on front), with anti-lock and electronic brake force distribution
Suspension: Independent, MacPherson strut-type on front; independent, multi-link on rear (stabilizer bars and coil springs front and rear)
Fuel tank: 21.1 gallons Interior volume: 172.3 cubic feet Maximum cargo volume: 141.5 cubic feet Curb weight: 4,659 pounds
Height: 71.5 inches
Length: 202 inches
Wheelbase: 118.9 inches
Width: 78.1 inches
Track: 66.3 inches front and rear
Ground clearance: 6.6 inches
Towing capacity: 3,500 pounds (with specified trailering package)
Tires: P235/60R17 radials Final assembly point: Sohari, South Korea