Unveiled last year, the new Kia Carnival went on sale in several markets abroad at the start of this year, including Australia and New Zealand, and it was the model sold in these two countries that was used for the ANCAP crash tests.
What the 2022 Kia Carnival SX Prestige eloquently elaborates is that you no longer need to pony up $50K for the privilege, as its $46,000 MSRP affords at least a 10% cut compared to its Japanese rivals that are still holding back the curtain on the full luxo-van experience.Īlthough this latest model might have arrived chronologically last, the Carnival feels ahead of the curve when it comes to carving out space for cross-cultural pollination straight from the heart of the broad boulevards that pierce the heart of Gangnam.The 2022 Kia Carnival has secured a full five stars in the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) crash tests. have certainly taken similar, if not quite as concentrated stabs at minivan magnificence. There’s certainly room in the modern marketplace for both of these perspectives to peacefully coexist, and the Odyssey et al. Whereas the marketing for crossovers and SUVs encourages us to strap on the bikes, kayaks and canoes, fill the hatch with camping gear, and head off into the wilderness, minivans and their multi-purpose ilk just want everyone to relax, take a load off and maybe stay in this weekend after picking the kids up from band practice, all while surrounded by a cabin that could pass for first-class accommodations on a trans-oceanic flight. It’s ultimately this concept - the “van as refuge” from quotidian travails - that best encapsulates the Korean take on the MPV mood. The rest of the van is handsomely hewn, especially the front fascia with its toothy grin of a grille and elaborate LED lighting details. Dressing up the traditional costume is a flying buttress of chrome that rises up on either side just behind the rear doors, an affectation that is either attractive or regrettable depending on your point of view. Apart from a brief flirtation with the term by Mazda two decades ago, the “multi-purpose vehicle” acronym never caught on this side of the Pacific, but if that’s the pantomime required to get brand execs to sign off on the Carnival’s mission statement, then so be it.įrom almost any objective perspective the Carnival fits the definition of a minivan perfectly, what with its simple box design and dual sliding doors separating it from the more fluid forms afforded to current crossovers. There’s a bit of wink-wink, nudge-nudge going on with Kia’s positioning of the Carnival, which is billed as an “MPV” rather than embracing the minivan moniker afforded its predecessor, the Sedona (which was sold as the Carnival outside of the U.S.). Korea, like Japan, is a nation where limo-like vans dominate urban life, but both brands seemed hesitant to truly commit to exporting that concept to America.
With Dodge’s Grand Caravan left behind to soak up contractors and those seeking basic transportation, the Odyssey and the Sienna began to pile on features and equipment that elevated their pricing, if not their status, to the point where transactions today now hover around the $50,000 mark for top trims.Īll the while Kia and Hyundai hovered around the minivan periphery, alternating between bargain-basement and upscale attempts to gain an American foothold with van-shaped people movers of their own. A funny thing happened when buyers fled the minivan market as part of the mid-2000s cultural migration towards the SUVs that currently dominate the automotive landscape: the few, the proud and the almost entirely Japanese badges that were left behind began their slow but inexorable ascent into luxury land.īoth Honda and Toyota realized that it made little sense to court the masses with entry-level models that had been devastated by sexier crossovers, and instead focused their efforts on importing portions of the premium van culture that had long existed in their native Japan.