IKE MANY A FAMILY VACATION, everything was perfect when we started out. The sky was sapphire blue, Palm Springs was just closing out its fashionable Modernism Week, and we had scheduled several days of activities designed to challenge our convoy while highlighting how minivans have evolved from bare-bones people-hauling boxes to sophisticated and feature-laden luxury transports.
The plan was to soak up the February sunshine in the desert, alight through power-sliding doors in the valet drop-off at hip farm-to-table eateries, and test the sturdiness of the many cup-holders on the twisting roads surrounding the valley. Then there was a sandstorm, a windstorm, a wildfire, a power outage, a canceled hotel, and a blizzard, all within the first 36 hours. It was decidedly not luxurious, but you only really appreciate the comfort and entertainment value of a minivan when you're huddled in the back during a surprise hailstorm. If only anyone had brought a portable oven, some chicken wings, and a few DVDs of Chevy Chase movies, we would have been all set for the night. (Yes, DVDs are still a thing.)
There was a time when a minivan comparison could have featured half a dozen slant-nose, sliding door, three-row crates, all with V-6 engines, front-wheel drive, and similar prices. These days, the minivan is a vanishing art form, and those that remain have branched out with electrified drivetrains, all-wheel drive, and wildly variable price points from the $35,000 range all the way up to nearly twice that amount. We ended up with a plug-in-hybrid Chrysler Pacifica Limited, a Kia Carnival SX Prestige trying to pass for an SUV, a hybrid Toyota Sienna Limited with all-wheel drive, and an old-school underdog, the Honda Odyssey Elite. All were the top trims or close to it and loaded with options to best represent the plush, pampering offerings of Minivandia.
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Esta historia es de la edición May 2023 de Car and Driver.
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The Best Odds
SOMETIMES-NOT OFTEN, BUT sometimes-car manufacturers create something semi-wondrous that is also borderline irrational and three-quarters inexplicable to their own marketing types.
Mileage Booster
Kia Carnival Hybrid HIGHS: Big mpg bump, no CVT weirdness, solid ride and handling. LOWS: Shared HVAC and audio controls, second-row loungers can't be removed, changing brake-pedal feel.
Medium Spicy
Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo HIGHS: Lengthy list of features, spacious interior, generous trunk. LOWS: Uncomfortably flat seats, rivals are quicker, only modest grip.
Drivelines
HORACIO PAGANI IS A visionary designer and self-taught engineer.
Suspensions of Disbelief
It's easy to say a vehicle rides well but much more difficult to explain the nuanced implications of that highly subjective statement.
PUMPED-UP KICKS
NISSAN ISN'T SHY about experimenting with its subcompact of ferings. In the recent past, it briefly gave us the adorable Cube, seemingly designed by Hello Kitty, followed by the frog-eyed Juke that somehow spawned a six-figure R-badged super-SUV in other markets.
THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO. THE BMW M3 COMPETITION. AND THE CADILLAC CT4-VBLACKWING HEAD SOUTH ONA ROAD TRIP TO FIND OUT WHICH ONE BEST DELIVERS ON THE SPORTS-SEDAN PROMISE.
One of us, gassing up the 2025 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, says, \"No, we drove from Michigan.
SINCE WE APPRECIATE GREAT TALENT IN ALL ITS FORMS, WE ALSO HONOR THE 10BEST TRUCKS, SUVS, AND VANS. INCLUDING ONE WINNER WITH LITERAL BUZZ.
THE DISCUSSION AROUND this year's 10Best Trucks competition had some editors wishing the award were called 12Best.
OUR VERSION OF A 2024 AUTOMOTIVE AWARDS SHOW (SOMETIMES HUMOROUS, SOMETIMES NOT).
America's fastest senior citizen made the save of the year when his Funny Car's engine exploded at Virginia Motorsports Park.
"A ROMANCE THAT BUILDS WITH SPECTACULAR PASSION. THE LONGER YOU DRIVE IT, THE BETTER IT GETS."
When the history of the sports sedan is written, the late-narrative plot twist that few would have seen coming is the emergence of CadillacCadillac!-as the keeper of the flame. And yet, that's exactly what's happened.
