Best Minivan Showdown: Kia Carnival vs. Chrysler Pacifica vs. Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna

• 2022 Kia Carnival represents a dramatic leap forward from the outgoing Sedona
• Plenty of reasons to consider the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica too
• Improved quality among minivans has raised the bar in the segment

Goodbye, Kia Sedona. Hello, Kia Carnival. The 2022 Carnival brings a new name and SUV-like styling to the minivan market. It also has loads of standard features aimed at family-friendly fun and comfort. Does that make the Carnival the best minivan you can buy today? We gathered three top competitors to see how they match up.

The 2022 Honda Odyssey boasts plentiful passenger space in all three rows. It's also versatile and, as minivans go, enjoyable to drive. There's also the redesigned 2021 Toyota Sienna, which has a new look and a standard hybrid powertrain that gets great fuel economy. Finally, there's the updated 2021 Chrysler Pacifica. Revised styling and a new infotainment join the van's outstanding ability to quickly switch from school shuttle to cargo hauler.

As a replacement for the previous Sedona, Kia's Carnival is better positioned to make a splash. For shoppers who have wrestled with the Honda Odyssey vs. Toyota Sienna debate, or who are trying to decide on buying a Chrysler Pacifica or Honda Odyssey, is it time to instead bring home a Carnival? Read on to see which stands out as the best minivan around.

Kia Carnival vs. Toyota Sienna

The redesigned Sienna largely follows in the footsteps of the previous Sienna. That's mostly good but leaves it trailing the Carnival in a few areas.

The big upside to the Sienna is its standard hybrid powertrain. It returns outstanding fuel economy to the tune of an EPA-estimated 36 mpg combined (36 city/36 highway). We've found these numbers super easy to match in real-world driving too. In comparison, the Carnival has a more typical EPA estimate of 22 mpg combined (19 city/26 highway).

Another Sienna benefit is the available all-wheel drive. The enhanced traction from AWD can be a real plus if you frequently drive on slippery roads. The Carnival only comes with front-wheel drive. The Sienna is also easy to drive — it has smooth steering and handles like a smaller car. The Carnival feels heftier and stiffer by comparison.

When it comes to traditional minivan attributes, the Sienna shines. There is plenty of room for all passengers and excellent outward visibility from the driver's seat. We're also fans of the advanced driver aids and neat optional features (such as a cabin intercom system) that can make driving safer and reduce distractions. The Carnival deserves similar praise here.

There are some downsides to the Sienna. Firstly, the Sienna makes poor use of its standard 9-inch screen, and glare from the sun can make it nearly unusable. The Carnival has a smaller standard screen but it's more capable. The Sienna also trails the class in terms of maximum cargo capacity. It has less maximum space because you cannot remove the Sienna's second row of seats (they fold up against the front row). Its total maximum space of 101 cubic feet is far less than the Carnival at 145.1 cubic feet.

Toyota has produced an impressive minivan, and while the Carnival occasionally outshines it, we still consider the Sienna an intelligent choice.

Kia Carnival vs. Honda Odyssey

OK, OK — sporty driving might be the last thing on your mind when shopping for a minivan. But in the case of the Honda Odyssey, it's worth mentioning this van's spritely manner, at least for the purposes of contrasting it against the Carnival.

The Odyssey comes standard with a gutsy V6 engine paired with a crisp-shifting 10-speed automatic transmission. In general, the Odyssey is more nimble than you'd expect. It has accurate handling and a smooth ride. By comparison, the Carnival drives more like a bulky SUV. It also has a stiffer suspension than the Odyssey, so you will experience more vibration from time to time. Overall, the Odyssey is more dialed in and satisfying.

Aside from its surprising drive experience, the Odyssey is every bit the handy minivan it seems. You'll find it easy to install child's seats of all shapes and sizes thanks to plentiful space and accessible anchors. The second row of seats can also move from side to side — a clever touch to create more room where you need it.

The Carnival wins in terms of cargo capacity. The Odyssey has 32.8 cubic feet behind the third row while the Carnival posts 40.2 cubic feet. Fold down the third rows and the Odyssey comes out on top, and it nearly equals the Carnival if both vans have the second row removed. Hurdles to that? The second-row seats in the Odyssey are bulky and cumbersome, while the optional reclining VIP seats in the Carnival aren't removable at all.

You can option an impressive list of features in an Odyssey, but it falls flat in some important areas. Its advanced driver aids can be annoying at times because they don't operate as smoothly or precisely as the Carnival's. Other downsides include dated touchscreen graphics, subpar outward visibility and no available 360-degree camera system. These are all areas where the Carnival excels. The Odyssey has catching up to do, but its outstanding ride quality and interior versatility gloss over potential shortcomings.

Kia Carnival vs. Chrysler Pacifica

The Chrysler Pacifica has its share of limitations, but there are also plenty of payoffs. Chief among them are the standard Stow 'n Go seats in the second row. You can easily fold them directly into the floor to create a flat loading space. Loading in general is a strong point for the Pacifica.

The other big benefit for the Pacifica is its available all-wheel drive. Getting that enhanced traction on slippery roads can be a solid reason to choose the Pacifica over the Carnival, which currently does not offer AWD. Chrysler also offers a plug-in hybrid version of the Pacifica. You can drive it an EPA-estimated 32 miles on all-electric power before it switches over to regular gasoline hybrid operation. This is an exclusive feature among minivans.

Otherwise, the Pacifica's performance is unspectacular. Notably, the nine-speed automatic transmission can sometimes shift into a gear higher or lower than what you really want. Fuel economy for gas-powered Pacificas is among the worst in the class too. The Carnival is no efficiency champ either, but it's more enjoyable to drive and feels more powerful and stable on the road.

The story gets better for the Pacifica inside the cabin. There is an upscale feel to the soft surfaces, and the controls are easy to use and sized just right. The 2021 model has a standard 10.1-inch screen and an updated infotainment system. They work together beautifully and even come with wireless functionality for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. That means you don't need to use a USB cord to activate these smartphone integration systems. We like the Carnival's infotainment system too. It also has wireless smartphone compatibility. But the standard screen is just 8 inches, and upgrading to the optional 12.3-inch unit will cost you.

Other pluses are the Pacifica's good outward visibility and range of advanced driver aids, which now includes standard traffic-adaptive cruise control. The Carnival has many standard driving aids too — but not adaptive cruise control. There are a few select areas where the Pacifica is better than the Carnival, and if any of them are of particular importance to you it's certainly worth a test drive.

Edmunds says

Does the Kia Carnival arrive with a splash? You better believe it. Unabashed styling and some truly eye-popping interior features certainly make a good first impression. The Carnival also comes with a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, while its competition offers five years/60,000 miles. That's an important advantage we don't take lightly.

But where does it fall in our ranking of best minivans? In our view, the Honda Odyssey remains the No. 1 option for the majority of shoppers. It checks all of the essential minivan boxes, from a roomy interior to versatile cargo space. Though the Odyssey has its share of foibles, it nails the key points for a family hauler.

In second place is the Toyota Sienna. It pulls off a remarkable transformation into an extra-efficient hybrid minivan. Available all-wheel drive is more icing on the cake. It similarly nails important benchmarks for the class such as good visibility and easy access to the seats inside. It's a smart pick as long as you don't need to remove the second row of seats. Ever.

For all its fanfare, the Kia Carnival marks its arrival on the scene in third place. It's a sharp-looking minivan and it eschews many of the segment's tired tropes, yet the Carnival remains useful with lots of interior space. There's no rule that says you have to be boring to be practical. However, the bumpy ride and lack of a hybrid option relegate it to third. It's more of a testament to the strength of the segment than an indictment of the Carnival.

The Chrysler Pacifica rounds out the group. There is a lot to like about the Pacifica, from its plug-in hybrid and all-wheel-drive options to the cushy interior and driver aids. But it falls short of its rivals around the edges. A lack of driving refinement and visible build-quality issues don't help the Pacifica's case. Still, there are valid reasons to consider making it your next family vehicle.