Honda Odyssey vs. Kia Carnival: Minivan Comparison

Considering buying a minivan? You’re in the right place as minivans have never been better and are far superior to three-row SUVs in most practical considerations for the modern family. 

The 2025 Honda Odyssey and the 2025 Kia Carnival present two ends of the minivan spectrum, with the aging Odyssey relying on its storied reliability and pleasing drivability while the redesigned Carnival adopts more SUV styling elements and a first-ever hybrid powertrain. 

Both have plenty to recommend to families. Still, one outpoints the other on the TCC Rating scale. It’s not the one built in North America, either. Which minivans tops the sliding-side-door list for us? Here’s how we break it down.

Kia Carnival vs. Honda Odyssey prices, features, trims, and warranties

• Kia Carnival LX costs $37,895, Hybrid SX Prestige tops out at $53,995
• Honda Odyssey lineup includes EX-L, Sport-L, Touring, and Elite, priced from $43,315 to $52,275
• Our picks: Kia Carnival EX, Honda Odyssey EX-L

Both the Carnival and the Odyssey have seen steep price increases in recent years, but the Kia’s an astonishing value. The Carnival starts with a base price below $38,000—and that includes power sliding side doors, a seven-seat configuration, six USB ports, and a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Another seat for the second row costs $2,000 and brings with it synthetic leather upholstery and heated front seats.

Which Kia Carnival should I buy?

Kia doesn’t offer the hybrid powertrain on the base LX, instead starting it on the LXS. The Hybrid costs $2,000 more than a similarly equipped V-6 model, and the LXS Hybrid costs just under $42,000—that’s still less than the base Odyssey. The $46,095 EX Hybrid tempts with convenience features such as a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, an in-cabin camera and intercom, and a voice recognition system that can adjust the climate and control the windows. To max out the comfort, consider the top Carnival SX Prestige at $51,995 or the SX Prestige Hybrid at $53,995. It includes the reclining lounge seats, a 12.0-inch head-up display, leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, heated second row seats, and Bose audio.

The other huge advantage over the Odyssey is Kia’s 5-year/60,000-mile limited and 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Which Honda Odyssey should I buy?

Honda doesn’t sell a cheap Odyssey LX or EX anymore, so the least expensive EX-L costs about $43,000. It comes with power side doors, a power tailgate, leather upholstery, heated front seats, a 9.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and remote start. 

We’d pick the Odyssey Sport-L. For about $45,000 it gets leather upholstery, a power tailgate, a power driver seat, and 19-inch wheels. Spend more than $52,000 and the Odyssey Elite gets a heated steering wheel, heated and cooled front seats, parking sensors, a rear-seat entertainment system with a third-row camera for keeping an eye on those passengers, and wireless smartphone charging.

Honda covers its minivan with a basic 3-year/36,000-mile warranty but throws in 2 years/24,000 miles of included maintenance.

Advantage: The Carnival’s a deal.

Carnival vs. Odyssey safety

• Both have standard automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection
• Surround-view and in-car camera systems can be equipped on either
• Both score top crash-test ratings

Both the Carnival and the Odyssey have standard automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitors, active lane control, automatic high beams, and adaptive cruise control.

How safe is the Kia Carnival?

No crash-test results are available from the NHTSA or the IIHS, but last year’s Carnival had mixed results. We’ll update this when the NHTSA and IIHS test it.  

Top versions add high-speed automatic emergency braking, a surround-view camera system, front parking sensors, blind-spot cameras, and in-board cameras to check in on rows two and three. 

How safe is the Honda Odyssey?

The Odyssey gets the NHTSA’s five-star nod, and its IIHS award comes with a Top Safety Pick+ designation—stronger headlights across the board do the trick.

All models have automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, active lane control, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control, and a rear seat reminder. Touring and Elite editions also get the Cabin Watch camera that monitors third-row passengers. 

Advantage: The Odyssey.

 

Honda Odyssey vs. Kia Carnival interior and cargo space

• Odyssey: 33.0 cubic feet behind third row; 88.6 behind second row; 144.9 behind front row 
• Carnival: 40.2 cubic feet behind third row; 86.9 behind second row; 145.1 behind front row 
• Both have vast interior space with up to eight seats

 

The minivan’s ultimate flex is flexibility, and both the Kia Carnival and Honda Odyssey can lay claim to limber limbs and double joints. Both can seat up to eight passengers—with some notes.

The ultimate in flexibility in this class is, of course, the Chrysler Pacifica. It has fold-away second- and third-row seats in non-hybrid models. 

How comfortable is the Kia Carnival?

The Carnival can’t do that, but it can provide a high level of comfort for all its cargo. The front seats have plenty of support and adjustment, so long as you opt for middle or higher-level trims. Storage abounds, in the door pockets and in the console. 

Most Carnivals come with a second-row bench seat with a sliding middle seat that folds down to serve as a console, or stays up to grant it eight-passenger seating. These seats can be removed but don’t fold into the floor. The SX Prestige offers dual airline-style seats with footrests that sound luxurious, but don’t really have the space needed to stretch out; anyone over about 5 feet tall won’t find the footrests useful. In the fold-away third row, there’s space for large passengers, but it’s not as easy to get to that space, given the Carnival’s second-row accommodations.

Cargo space tallies up to 145.1 cubic feet with folded-away third-row and folded-down second-row seats; it’s 40.2 cubic feet with all seats in use. That’s good enough for hardware store visits or long road trips with lots of luggage, and there’s no sacrifice with the hybrid model.

How comfortable is the Honda Odyssey?

The Odyssey also doesn’t offer the Pacifica’s party trick, but we like its flexibility solution better.

In front, the Honda minivan gets wonderfully supportive bucket seats, with power adjustment for the driver. They’re covered in cloth or leather, and swarmed with small-item storage. No notes here. 

Honda makes slightly better use of space in the Odyssey, with bins in the doors, consoles, side panels, seat backs, and under the floor. 

The second row is where things get interesting. Choose your chair: Honda has a bench seat with a middle section that can be removed, which allows the outer seats to slide sideways and latch into a narrower configuration that enables better access to the third row. It’s clever, it’s distinctive; ultimately it’s just not as useful as it seems. 

Honda’s third-row seat folds flat into the floor, and access to that row is easier since the middle seats slide farther out the way. 

We think Honda’s fit and finish comes off a bit nicer, too: the Carnival’s awash in glossy black plastic that doesn’t live scratch-free for long, even in the most careful hands. (Hint: children are not careful creatures, by and large.)

Advantage: Odyssey.

 

Kia Carnival vs. Honda Odyssey powertrains and performance

• Honda has a punchy 280-hp V-6 with a 10-speed automatic
• Kia has a 287-hp V-6 with an 8-speed automatic, or a 242-hp 1.6-liter turbo-4 hybrid with a 54-kw electric motor
• Both models are front-wheel drive only

Want to stay awake behind the wheel of your minivan? Pick the Honda Odyssey, which has the road manners of a smaller, more entertaining vehicle. Coupled with the punch of its V-6, it’s more engaging to drive than the Carnival V-6, but the Carnival Hybrid is quieter, cleaner, and better for families. 

How fast is the Kia Carnival?

It’s about average, thanks to a 287-hp V-6 that couples to a smooth-shifting 8-speed automatic. Passing on the highway won’t cause you to pause, but nothing about its acceleration will surprise unwitting drivers, either. It tows up to 3,500 pounds.

The Carnival Hybrid is the better buy. A 1.6-liter turbo-4 pairs with a 54-kw electric motor for a combined output of 242 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque. Similar to the Kia Sorento and Kia Sportage hybrids, this hybrid powertrain has a 6-speed automatic transmission with front-wheel drive only. It’s more responsive off the line than the gas Carnival, and it rides quieter than both the V-6 Carnival and the Odyssey. Sport mode holds the gears a bit longer, so it gets louder the harder you mash the throttle, but drivers can override the automatic shifts with paddle shifters, which might be necessary on uphill passing moves. In Eco and Smart modes, those paddle shifters become regenerative braking paddles with three settings to recapture power and replenish the 1.5-kwh battery pack when coasting or braking. It tows up to 2,500 pounds.

Is the Kia Carnival AWD?

No. It stakes its performance claims primarily on a road-soaking ride that uses front struts and a multi-link rear suspension to stifle any dissent that tries to sneak in through the tires. Numb steering amplifies its inoffensive, practical tuning. It’s just relentlessly minivan in the way it ignores bad roads—and good ones. 

How fast is the Honda Odyssey?

It’s less powerful than the Carnival but appeals to the senses more strongly. In part, it’s because the Odyssey’s 10-speed automatic has smarter off-the-line reflexes, while its 280-hp V-6 pushes out enough torque to dissolve knots in traffic. The 10-speed gets busy choosing the right gear on occasion, though.

Is the Honda Odyssey 4WD?

It’s not, so if you live where it snows, keep in mind a good set of snow tires and a front-drive car can go further than a 4WD vehicle with a big ego behind the wheel.

Like the Carnival, the Odyssey has front struts and a multi-link rear suspension that put the bias on ride comfort, not handling. Honda coaxes more feedback from its setup than Kia; the Odyssey’s steering tracks well enough on the highway, though it’s light and doesn’t have much centering weight. The Odyssey doesn’t completely relax its suspension, though, in coping with bumps: it generates plenty of lean in corners, but doesn’t let pavement seams ripple through its suspension for long. 

Advantage: The Carnival Hybrid. 

 

Odyssey vs. Carnival gas mileage

• The Kia Carnival gets 18 mpg city, 26 highway, 21 combined
• The Carnival Hybrid gets 34/31/33 mpg
• The Honda Odyssey gets 19/28/22 mpg

Advantage: The Carnival Hybrid.

 

Kia Carnival vs. Honda Odyssey: Which one is the better minivan?

Honda scores top marks for safety and utility with the Odyssey, but fuel economy and flexibility don’t top the minivan ranks. It earns a TCC Rating of 6.3 out of 10. (Read more about how we rate cars.) The Carnival beats it handily in features and value, and does it while looking more stylish, in our opinion. Elevated by its hybrid option, the Carnival earns a TCC Rating of  7.0 out of 10. It not only beats the aging Odyssey, but it is our top-ranked minivan.