Kia Sedona Minivan Could Be Renamed Carnival for 2022
Kia's minivan has always been called the Carnival globally but the Sedona in the U.S. market.
That may change with the new 2022 version, which will reportedly be called Carnival in America.
The 2022 Kia Carnival should go on sale on our shores by the end of the year.
It seems that the K5 (née Optima) won't be the only model in Kia's lineup to undergo a name change. Like that mid-size sedan, the Kia Sedona minivan may also adopt its global moniker, Carnival, when the redesigned model arrives in the U.S. for the 2022 model year. This is according to a NHTSA VIN decoder document posted on a Sedona forum. The Sedona nameplate has been on sale in the U.S. since the 2002 model year.
The document also shows a few key U.S. specifications that Kia has yet to confirm. The 2022 Kia Carnival will apparently offer LX, EX, and SX trim levels, and it will come standard with front-wheel drive and a 3.5-liter V-6 engine with 290 horsepower. The new fourth-generation van was revealed earlier this year with a far more modern design and a few SUV-esque styling cues such as prominent C-pillar trim and a reshaped center console inside.
We reached out to Kia for confirmation on the name change, and a spokesperson told us to "stay tuned." We should hear more about the U.S. version of the Carnival/Sedona within the next few months, as we expect it to go on sale in America by the end of the year.