Minivan Comparison: 2022 Kia Carnival SX vs 2021 Toyota Sienna XSE

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Stephanie Wallcraft: Here we go again, back on our van thing, and we can’t stop, won’t stop. Minivans are perfectly practical for families for so many reasons: lower floors for all generations to step into, tons of cargo space, and sliding doors to prevent those dreaded parking lot dings. We really don’t understand what’s not to love.

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If you agree, join us as we examine two of the automotive industry’s most recently redesigned models.

On one side, we have the Toyota Sienna . This test unit is a 2021 model, but since it was entirely redesigned just last year, the Sienna will continue unchanged into 2022. Toyota opted to make a hybrid powertrain standard in this generation — more on that later — and the Sienna remains one of only two minivans available in the Canadian market with all-wheel drive. This Sienna isn’t the priciest in the line-up: it’s the XSE FWD model and is equipped with the additional Technology Package, which brings the final price to $53,157 including a $1,840 destination charge.

On the other side, we have the 2022 Kia Carnival , the minivan formerly known as the Kia Sedona. Kia has gone in a different styling direction with this redesign for 2022, attempting to mimic the SUV look as much as possible to lure in fashion-sensitive young families. Anecdotally, there are a lot of these on the road in the Greater Toronto Area, so it seems to be working. The unit we’re testing here is in the top-of-the-line SX trim, which comes with, among other things, a pair of captain’s chairs in the second row that Kia calls VIP lounge seats. These move forward, backward, and side to side along with having retractable leg rests and plenty of recline. Including the $1,850 destination charge and an extra $250 for the blue exterior paint, this Carnival rings up at the nameplate’s highest possible price tag of $50,495.

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There’s a lot to cover with these vans, but the number one consideration in this segment is comfort and usability in the interior. I’ve got one kid myself, but you’re part of a family of five, Renita. What’s your impression after spending a week in each of these two vans?

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Renita Naraine:  I love minivans! And let me just say, there’s nothing wrong with the look of a minivan. However, for those looking for the presence of an SUV with the cargo space of a minivan, the Carnival is as close as you’ll get. Personally, I like that the Sienna isn’t trying to be anything but a minivan — it is what it is, and that is a great minivan.

As for comfort, let’s start with those VIP lounge seats; I think they’re gimmicky. Sure, if you’ve got some spare time and you’re waiting around in a minivan, then yes, those captain’s chairs are comfortable. As for usability, well, in order to use that feature, the seats need to be pushed towards the centre of the minivan, meaning there’s even less room to pass through the middle. If you’re standing outside the vehicle, don’t even try; the buttons are centre-facing on each of the captain’s chairs and difficult to reach without being in the seat; even then, it takes a bit of playing around to get it right. Not to mention, the third row’s space becomes extremely limited when the second row’s passengers are reclined (though, if you slide the Sienna’s middle row all the way back, the third row is also limited). Throw a couple car seats on those captain’s chairs, and it’s no longer useable as a recliner, but enough about that.

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Simply put, both vehicles are comfortable to sit in. If I hadn’t driven them back-to-back, I probably wouldn’t be able to say the Sienna is a lot comfier, but we did, and it is. From the front to the back, the Sienna’s seats are wider and nicer than those in the Carnival. Comfort aside, the most notable difference — especially with a family of five — is the simplicity of getting to the third row in the Sienna, either through the middle of the second row’s seats or by easily folding the seat forward. The Carnival doesn’t have quite enough space in between the second row’s seats, nor is there a button to quickly fold it down; it seems like a key feature for a minivan, and yet it’s missing.

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SW: Good point about the VIP lounge seats, and I tend to agree. More importantly, they’re only equipped on this most expensive SX trim, while every other Carnival is equipped with a bench middle seat that brings the capacity from 7 to 8 passengers. The Sienna’s second-row captain’s chairs may be slightly more pedestrian, but they’re still plenty versatile, don’t get in the way as often, fold away more easily, and come available much earlier in the product line-up. That strikes me as being a fair bit more practical all around.

As far as the other side of interior space goes: the Carnival can store up to 1,139 litres of cargo behind its third-row seats, 2,460 litres behind the second-row seats, and a downright cavernous 4,110 litres behind the first row. This contrasts significantly with the Sienna’s capacity of 2,860 litres behind the first row. However, given that in both cases the second-row seats need to be removed and stored to access that full amount of space, it’s likely that anyone with a regular need to do so is going to look straight to the Chrysler family of vans and their Stow ‘n Go second-row seating. The Sienna’s 2,129 litres behind its second row — which might be easier capacity to access given how bulky the Kia’s second-row seats are — and its 949 litres behind the third row are much more important figures. The Kia outdoes both, but functionally, it’s likely both vans will serve their owners just fine once we’re talking about having access to this amount of space.

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And speaking of comfort, today’s minivans have come a long way from the days when vans handled like a plank of plywood. The Carnival rides on independent MacPherson struts on the front suspension and a multilink setup on the rear, which helps keep its 2,140 kilograms (4,718 pounds) feel relatively planted without exhibiting excessive body roll or compliance over bumps. The same can be said for the Sienna, which also went to a multilink setup in the rear with the latest generation and also comes with front and rear stabilizer bars. The XSE grade we’re testing here comes with a sport suspension that is a fair bit tighter and hugs the road more than the bouncier configuration found on the LE, XLE, and Limited grades. Some people prefer the latter, but I prefer the setup on the XSE enough that it would affect my purchasing decision.

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I also mentioned following our first drive of the Sienna that I wondered whether having so much weight at the front of the Sienna might make front-wheel drive models less stable in the rear. Although we never encountered any truly low-traction scenarios during this comparison test, we can report that the FWD version offered plenty of stability in daily driving.

RN:  All trims of the Carnival get the same engine, a 3.5L V6 producing 290 hp and 262 lb-ft of torque, driving through an eight-speed automatic. The hybrid works differently — every Sienna features Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive, a self-charging gasoline-electric powertrain. It’s built around a 2.5L I4 that works with a 174-kW motor and 1.9-kWh motor on the front axle, as well as a third electric motor on the rear axle when AWD is added. It produces a combined output of 245 horsepower (Toyota doesn’t publish combined torque for hybrid powertrains). The Carnival doesn’t currently offer AWD on any of its trims, while the Sienna, though a bit pricier, does have that option for its two lower trims. The two top trims come with standard AWD, and I can’t imagine being caught in that last winter snow storm without it.

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I’ll admit that before testing vehicles, I assumed (largely based on my dad’s 2011 Lexus CT200H) that hybrid vehicles drove differently than gas-powered ones — more specifically, that the pick-up on hybrids is extremely slow. Technology has come a long way though, because that isn’t the case with the Sienna. It drives so smoothly and picks up like a normal gas-powered vehicle. The Carnival does feel a bit lighter while driving it, but it’s not a significant difference.

If you’re interested in fuel savings, it’s probably most important to note the Sienna’s combined fuel efficiency comes in at 6.7 L/100 km, while the Carnival is quite a bit higher, averaging 10.6 L/100 km. The difference grows a bit if you’re doing a lot of city driving — which I suspect, like myself, is what many minivan drivers are doing — as the average for the Carnival jumps up to 12.0 L/100 km, almost double the average of the Sienna’s city average of 6.8 L/100 km.

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Speaking of city driving, both minivans are fairly simple to park — just don’t try to squeeze into a tiny spot at the mall that’s clearly not made for bigger vehicles. However, I will say that the government-mandated back-up cameras on the Sienna are very outdated and blurry, and in dire need of an upgrade. If you’re heavily relying on the Sienna’s back-up cameras to reverse, well, don’t.

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SW: A quick note about our Sienna: because it’s the front-wheel drive version of the XSE sport-oriented model, it comes with 20-inch alloy wheels that aren’t offered on any other grade. The XSE AWD costs $2,000 more and comes with 18-inch wheels. Both models include the aforementioned sport-tuned suspension, so it’s difficult to imagine many people choosing the FWD version based on this feature alone.

Digging further into features, then, XSE is the top grade of Sienna available with front-wheel drive and is a mid-level trim overall. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility are standard (neither van includes wireless versions of these). Heated front seats and a heated steering wheel are standard on the Sienna, while they are an added upgrade on the Carnival.

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The Sienna also has an industry first in its kick-activated sliding side doors, which are included on most trims. This is a great feature, particularly for parents who might have little ones on a hip or in an infant car seat, but they can be a bit finicky to activate and opened for us about as often as they didn’t. Relying on it regularly may lead to frustration.

By the time we get up to the XSE, the Sienna includes satellite radio, the long-track second-row captain’s chairs, four-zone climate control, and upgraded headlights. But the best features are in the Technology Package: a wireless charger, 12-speaker JBL audio system, wide-angle back-up camera with a built-in washer, a digital rear-view mirror that uses a camera to project an exterior view onto the mirror, rear cross-traffic braking, a rear-seat entertainment system (which we don’t think many families necessarily want anymore), and the Sienna’s best feature of all: two 120-volt, 1,500-watt power points, one in the back of the centre console and another in the cargo area. These run off the hybrid battery and allow small household appliances to be plugged in, and I see great potential in being able to bring a video game console or even a microwave along on longer road trips. It’s this package that adds $5,500 to the purchase price, though, and tips the cost of this Sienna over that of our Carnival SX, which is in that vehicle’s top trim. That’s before bringing some of the Sienna Limited AWD’s exclusive features into the picture like ventilated front-row seats, heated second-row seats with ottomans, a driver’s seat memory system, power-folding side mirrors, and ambient lighting, none of which are available on the XSE.

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The Carnival SX comes with many of these features: tri-zone climate instead of quad, slightly smaller 19-inch wheels, no digital mirror or camera washer, USB ports are the only rear seat entertainment to speak of, and the hybrid-powered plugs are missing, but everything else lines up. Plus, the Carnival adds ventilation on the second-row seats, a feature that’s not offered on the Sienna at all.

Furthermore, with twin 12-inch digital displays for the instrument cluster and the infotainment system, on higher grades the Carnival’s dashboard is very pretty. It also works relatively well. I’ve mentioned several times that I’m not a great fan of Kia’s current infotainment system itself, but there are touch panels below the screen to access most major functions. Although some of the furthest ones are a stretch for this short-armed driver, the steering wheel controls make up for any gaps. The digital instrument cluster also displays Kia’s blind-spot view monitor feature, a camera projection of each side’s blind spot that displays when each side’s turn signal is activated. The Sienna XSE comes with the smaller 4.2-inch version of Toyota’s standard hybrid instrument cluster (a 7-inch version is included with Limited) and a 9-inch touchscreen that displays the infotainment system. Both are functional but not especially modern.

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All these flashy features might be enough to sway some buyers toward the Carnival, and that’s understandable: there’s a lot of value here for the price, and in a comparison of these two exact vehicles the Carnival would win a lot of people over. But when I think of the things that make minivans the most useful — specifically, moving a lot of people and stuff — the standard hybrid powertrain and access to all-wheel drive are the factors that lead me to pick the Sienna as the winner in this comparison.

RN: It’s not often that we agree in comparisons, but for this one, we’re on the same page. The Carnival has a great starting price and will attract customers looking for a modern exterior design, but the Sienna’s fuel savings, accessibility, ease of use, and all-around comfort give it the top spot. The Toyota Sienna is still the minivan to beat!