Despite Kia calling the Carnival a ‘Multi-Purpose-Vehicle,’ it’s really an improved design on the classic minivan. The automaker is categorized with competitors like the Toyota Sienna and the Odyssey. The Kia offers a bit more than its rivals, especially Honda’s minivan. Here are three reasons why.

1. Kia has a lower starting price

Beginning with the base model, the LX version, you’re looking at an MSRP of $32,000. You can get seating for seven passengers, lane-keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto for that price. It also comes with an eight-inch touchscreen, more significant than some of its rivals. 

Higher trims like the top SX-Prestige, gets you an even larger screen along with premium leather upholstery, reclining second-row seating that comes with heating and ventilation features as well as pop-out footrests. The price for the cream of the crop trim starts at $46,000 and can climb with additional packages you might choose to add to the purchase.

According to Consumer Reports, the base model of the Honda Odyssey is $33,000. You get a road departure alert system, rear-view camera, and intelligent traction control, which includes a snow mode. 

2. Kia’s Carnival has a better warranty package than the Honda Odyssey

Kia offers a better warranty package all around. First, you get the basic bumper-to-bumper warranty, which covers you for five years or 60,000 miles. Then, you will get a 10-year or 100,000-mile coverage for parts like your engine and transmission for your powertrain. 

Next, a corrosion warranty of five years or 100,000 miles is included in the sale for rust issues that arise to parts that aren’t damaged. Lastly, you will get roadside coverage in the event you have a breakdown while on the road and need assistance, which may include towing. This is also for five years or 60,000 miles.

According to Consumer Reports, Honda’s warranty package is quite a bit less than what the Carnival offers. The brand offers a three-year/36,000-mile coverage for both the bumper-to-bumper and roadside assistance warranties. For your drivetrain, you’re covered for at least five years or 60,000 miles, while the corrosion coverage offers a five-year/unlimited mile warranty. 

3. The Carnival has a better performance than the Odyssey

The Carnival and the Odyssey come with a 3.5-liter V6 engine, but Kia’s minivan produces 290 hp, while the Odyssey manages 280 hp. Kia offers an eight-speed automatic transmission that can shift gears smoothly. 

Honda did improve on its drivetrain with a 10-speed automatic gearbox vs. the previous nine-speed. The combination doesn’t give you as much liveliness as you get with the Carnival but it does have a tiny bit of boost to get an acceleration time of 8.1 seconds, which is .3 seconds faster than the Carnival. Does that make a whole lot of difference in the long run? That remains to be seen.

Fuel economy ratings for both minivans are pretty close. The Carnival gets about 21 mpg overall, while the Odyssey can get 22 mpg combined, but in the end, the two vans are just too close to really declare a winner in the fuel savings department. 

The Honda Odyssey is a good minivan at the end of the day, but if you’re debating whether the Carnival or the Odyssey is the better option, we encourage people to buy the Kia and just showed you three good reasons why.