by Peter Ciani, RPM News Weekly Co-Founder ~
It’s a curious thing how automakers are fastidiously avoiding the term minivan these days. Case in point, this week’s press announcement for the upcoming February 23 reveal of the all-new 2020 Carnival where Kia teases the not-a-minivan Carnival Multi-Purpose Vehicle without ever mentioning it as a replacement for the long-running Kia Sedona minivan.
Curious, indeed! But Kia is not alone in reframing the the minivan’s personality to attract buyers.
On last week’s episode of the EV Power Podcast, hosts Rich Taber and I discussed the refreshed 2021 Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which takes on a more “utility-vehicle look” according to the Stellantis marketing team.
While Chrysler has no problem referring to the Pacifica and the Pacifica Plug-in Hybrid as minivans, style-wise their goal is to make them look less like one, and others are doing the same.
In the press release for the recently redesigned Sienna, Toyota placed a strong emphasis on its SUV-like utility and versatility saying, “The all-hybrid 2021 Sienna, influenced by the bold and robust character of SUVs…” Clearly, Toyota wants the Sienna to resonate with active families, even highlighting its 3,500-pound towing ability as one of Sienna’s advantages.
Like the Chrysler Pacifica, the Toyota Sienna is already one of the handiest family vehicles on the market and it’s weird that many buyers will still sacrifice utility – and even their family’s comfort – because they don’t want to drive a vehicle with a minivan vibe. It’s just not cool.
With the upcoming Kia Carnival, it seems that Kia is taking the minivan avoidance to the next level. First, there’s the name Carnival MPV, which stands for Multi-Purpose Vehicle – not to be confused with the long-departed Mazda MPV family hauler of the 80s and 90s. The Carnival name itself is what Kia called the Sedona in the overseas markets, so it makes sense that they’d want to rebrand the Sedona while at the same time making it more of a global product.
Then there’s the wording in Kia’s (short) press release: “This three-row, seven- or eight-passenger adventurer takes on a bold and boxy appearance that follows the same visual language that defined the brand’s recent lineup of rugged utility vehicles, such as Telluride, Sorento, and Seltos.”
“Eight-passenger adventurer / bold and boxy styling” – so… uh… minivan?
I joke of course because you really can’t blame Kia for wanting to cash in on the popularity of the Telluride. I don’t think even Kia expected their latest SUV to be such a hit, earning a fair amount of positive press and numerous industry awards. And deservedly so. We enjoyed driving the Telluride and it’s arguably one of the best-looking SUVs on the market.
While Kia hasn’t released more than a teaser photo for the upcoming Carnival MPV, you can clearly see the SUV design inspiration with its aforementioned boxy styling and flared wheel arches.
If you’re familiar with our podcasts, then you’d know that we here at RPM News Weekly are minivan geeks. So even if the car companies are trying to hide what they truly are, as long as they serve their intended purpose then we can give it a go.
You can catch the live reveal of the 2022 Kia Carnival on February 23, 2021 at 1:00 AM PST.
