Are you in the market for a new minivan? There’s something about the minivan that makes it a pervasive and popular choice for families. That’s thanks to the minivan’s ease of use, its safety, and its ability to carry a lot of kids and cargo. The 2022 Kia Carnival is one of the best new minivans, and for a lot of good reasons. Here are the top three reasons you just might want to think about buying the new 2022 Kia Carnival – and one reason why you might want to look at something else.

The 2022 Kia Carnival is a good SUV with a nice price 

The 2022 Kia Carnival costs $33,275 for the base model, the Kia Carnival LX. The Carnival comes standard with a 3.5-liter V6 engine that makes 290 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque. This is matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.

The Kia Carnival is loaded with features

The Carnival LX also comes with LED headlights, 17-inch wheels, and power-sliding rear doors, which is a huge help when you’re trying to load kids and groceries into your vehicle. The Kia minivan can seat up to seven passengers with second-row captain’s chairs. It also comes with an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system and is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The 2022 Kia Carnival LX has USB ports and a six-speaker sound system.

It’s the only new minivan that doesn’t win a top safety award 

The 2022 Kia Carnival has all good crashworthiness scores. It’s the headlights where things fall apart. The 2022 Kia Carnival’s headlights are rated both good and poor. The good rating applies to the SX Prestige trim level while the poor rating is for the other three trims: the LX, EX, and the SX. If you decide to buy a Carnival, you’ll want to make sure you choose the SX Prestige. Still, this is enough for the Carnival to be rated a Top Safety Pick.

To be an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ minivan, the vehicle has to have all good crashworthiness scores. These categories include things like the small overlap test on the driver and passenger side as well as the moderate overlap test and the original side crash test. It also most have superior or advanced safety systems as well as good or acceptable headlights available on all vehicles.

However, the Carnival is loaded with safety features 

The 2022 Kia Carnival LX comes with safe exist assist, which helps to prevent rear passengers from opening doors into traffic. It also comes with rear occupant alert, reminding you of a child or pet left in the backseat. The 2022 Carnival LX also has blind-spot monitor, lane departure warning, and lane-keep assist. If you get tired while driving your Kia minivan, driver attention warning will help wake you up. There’s also forward collision warning and automatic emergency braking.

Overall, the 2022 Kia Carnival is a good SUV with a lot of great features. However, the Kia Carnival is just short of a top safety award, and if safety is your number one priority, then you might want to consider a different sport utility vehicle.