The Kia Carnival is Coming to Dethrone the Toyota Sienna
Has anyone warned the Toyota Sienna? Because the Kia Carnival is coming. The 2022 Kia Carnival will cruise on over to the United States sometime this summer to show what minivans can do.
The 2022 Kia Carnival is coming
If you aren’t into minivans, then this article isn’t for you. We know that minivan sales are down, and they have taken a hit because they are seen as soccer mom vehicles. But in reality, minivans are incredibly practical.
They have lower loading floors, making filling them up with cargo a breeze. The Chevy Tahoe, for example, requires some muscle when loading it up because you have to lift heavy items up and over the tall cargo floor.
Vans also keep cargo dry. When in a pickup truck, your load could get wet or fly out of the bed. Also, when the seats fold flat, minivans provide a ton of space! Wait, I need to get off this tangent and refocus on the 2022 Kia Carnival.
The Carnival may replace the Kia Sedona as an all-new grand utility vehicle (GUV), which sounds better than the name minivan. The Carnival has been a better selling model overseas for quite some time, so it may do better than the Sedona in the states.
The 2022 Carnival vs. the Toyota Siena
The 2022 Kia Carnival has a sharper exterior design to take on rivals like the 2021 Toyota Sienna. Plus, the Kia Carnival is bringing a little more muscle to the minivan scene despite not having a hybrid powertrain yet.
The Carnival currently has two engine options. The 3.5-liter V6 engine pumps out 294 hp and 261 lb-ft of torque. You can upgrade to the diesel engine for 202 hp and 325 lb-ft of torque. But according to AutoBlog, the diesel variant might not make it to the United States.
In the 2021 Toyota Sienna, you will find a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that’s paired with two electric motors to provide 245 hp and 176 lb-ft of torque. The Sienna used to have more power, but the V6 engine found in the 2020 model has been dropped.
The Toyota Sienna is offered with all-wheel-drive, though. This can help you make it up a few dirt roads and tackle slippery weather conditions. The Carnival is expected to arrive with a front-wheel-drive base model. It may receive an AWD powertrain a little later.
Kia Carnival and Toyota Sienna features
The 2021 Toyota Sienna has 39.1 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third-row seats with up to 150 cubic feet total. The Kia Sedona has 33.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats with 142 cubic feet total. So, the Carnival may be slightly smaller than the Sienna, but we have to wait for official numbers to be released to know for sure.
According to Car and Driver, the 2022 Kia Sedona or Carnival will have a longer wheelbase to improve passenger and cargo space. This will also improve the ride quality and could reduce the noise in the cabin.
The Carnival may also seek to match the safety features that are included with the Sienna, such as standard automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning with lane-keeping assistance, and available adaptive cruise control.
