Compared: 2023 Kia Carnival vs. 2023 Toyota Sienna
Toyota aims to please with a hybrid powertrain, while Kia looks to be a price leader.
Kia | Toyota
QuickTakes:
If you find yourself in need of a comfortable, affordable, well-equipped minivan for the family, you have only a few brands from which to choose. Among them are Kia and Toyota, and both have decades of experience in this segment.
The 2023 Kia Carnival lures buyers with its SUV-like styling and value pricing. By comparison, the 2023 Toyota Sienna, featuring an efficient hybrid powertrain and lots of standard equipment, is what you might expect from a Toyota minivan.
Kia
The Kia Carnival Costs Less Than the Toyota Sienna
The Carnival — available only in front-wheel-drive form, with a 3.5-liter V6 making 290 horsepower — starts at a reasonable $34,000. The Sienna starts a bit above that, with a base price of $38,000. Toyota's van comes exclusively with a modest 245-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid powertrain, which buyers can pair with all-wheel drive (AWD).
Toyota
The Kia Carnival Can Hold More of Your Stuff
The Carnival and Sienna both come standard with power-sliding rear doors, cloth seats, and comprehensive safety suites featuring blind-spot monitoring, lane keeping, and automatic high-beams.
The entry-level Toyota justifies its higher price with a couple of desirable features — including automatic climate control and adaptive cruise — that Kia reserves for the mid-level EX trim or better. The Sienna also boasts a 9.0-inch infotainment screen, besting the Carnival's base setup by 1 inch.
Kia
Kia, however, provides a 12.3-inch touchscreen in mid- and high-level models. As for seating, the base Carnival has room for seven occupants, while higher trims accommodate eight. The opposite is true for the Sienna, which comes standard with eight chairs.
The Sienna in its costliest Platinum trim demands about $6,000 more than the highest-spec Kia Carnival SX Prestige, but the Toyota includes a useful head-up display and rain-sensing wipers, neither of which you'll find in the Carnival lineup. Other than that, the two feature many of the same amenities at the top of the trim ladder, including leather seats with heating and ventilation for the front row.
Cargo space differs significantly, with the Carnival coming out on top. Behind the third row, the Kia boasts 40.2 cubic-feet of space, besting the Toyota's 33.5 cu-ft. That gap grows considerably with the rear seats out of the way, with the Carnival offering up to 145.1 cu-ft and the Sienna with 101.0 cu-ft.
Toyota
The Toyota Sienna's Fuel Economy Outclasses the Kia Carnival
Thanks to the Sienna's hybrid powertrain, the Toyota has the edge in fuel economy, earning EPA ratings of 36/36/36 mpg city/highway/combined with front-wheel drive. Opting for AWD knocks efficiency down to 35/36/35 mpg.
The Kia, with its bigger engine and greater power, returns 19/26/22 mpg. So while the Carnival may boast the lower price upfront, its fuel costs may eat into your wallet over time.
All vehicle pricing includes MSRP plus destination charges (set at the time of publication), and will be rounded to the nearest thousand.
