In one of the never-ending debates in the automotive world, you can put me in the camp of arguing that there is nothing uncool about a minivan.

Despite getting a bad rap over the years as soccer mom vehicles without a personality, nothing could be further from the truth. A minivan is as useful and versatile as any SUV you can name, and sometimes more so.

Sadly, there are only four real options remaining in the minivan category — including the one I tested, the Kia Carnival. The Carnival comes in both regular and hybrid versions, and I sampled both varieties of the Carnival.

After my time behind the wheel, I’m glad that Kia is sticking around in this segment, as they’ve delivered a standout performance that holds up well against all competitors — including the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica.

The arrival of the hybrid version for 2025 is a helpful addition for Kia, as Toyota’s offering is exclusively hybrid and Pacifica also offers a hybrid version.

Read on for a full account of what the Carnival has to offer to those who, like me, are standing against the haters and supporting the minivan as a solid vehicle option that is far from uncool.

FLAT ROCK — In a finish that was not unexpected, 15-year-old Max Reaves continued his hot streak in the ARCA East Series on Saturday night, winning his third straight race in Joe Gibbs Racing equipment to begin his young career in the series. He is just the second driver in East Series history to win his first three races entered.

Reaves — a protege of NASCAR champion Bobby Labonte, who was at the track Saturday and signed autographs for a long line of fans — won the pole for Saturday’s Dutch Boy 150 and held off the hard-charging 17-year-old Tyler Reif, who kept him honest for the entire 150-lap distance. Reif managed to lead 6 laps on Saturday, but Reaves dominated with 144 laps led.

The win follows two earlier wins for Reaves at Five Flags Speedway and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. He’ll aim to be come the first driver to win four straight races to start his East Series career when the series returns July 18 at Dover. That race will be televised live on FS1.

Others who fought hard all night and came home with solid finishes include Takuma Koga, who came all the way from Japan to race and took him an ARCA career-best 3rd-place finish. The driver was ecstatic after the race, proclaiming his love for short tracks and saying, “I love Detroit!” Koga battled for much of the race with East Series points leader Isaac Kitzmiller, who ended up 7th after a flat tire derailed his race.

Matt Kemp also had a strong night, qualifying 2nd and finished 4th, his first ARCA East top-5 finish. Austin Vaughn scored his first career ARCA Menards Series East top-5 finish in fifth. 

As Volkswagen continues its efforts to grow market share in the SUV segment, it has made some updates to the 2025 edition of the smallest member of the family — the Volkswagen Taos.

This little SUV isn’t going to sit idly by while others in the segment make upgrades. WIth the 2025 Taos, Volkswagen has decided to add additional horsepower to the engine, as well as some style updates to both the exterior and interior of the vehicle, plus a larger infotainment screen.

I recently tested a 2025 Volkswagen Taos SE Black model, and I’m back with a full report on how the vehicle holds up vs. other compact SUVs — including offerings from Chevy (Trax), Mazda (CX-30), Buick (Envista) and Subaru (Crosstrek).

FLAT ROCK — History could be made tonight at Flat Rock Speedway in the ARCA Menards Series East, as Max Reaves aims to continue a dominant start to his career in the Dutch Boy 150.

Driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and coming off two straight wins to start his series career at Five Flags Speedway and Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, he is aiming to make it three straight victories tonight at Flat Rock, which would tie the series record for most consecutive wins to start a career in the series — held by road racer Will Rodgers, who won three straight starts in 2017 and 2018.

The series returns for the third straight year to Flat Rock, following victories by now-Xfinity regulars Connor Zilisch and William Sawalich. Along with the ARCA race, tonight’s action at Flat Rock will feature Street Stock and Factory Stock competition.

Other notes from tonight’s race:

— Isaac Kitzmiller, just 16 years old, comes into tonight’s Flat Rock race as the ARCA Menards Series East points leader. His team is receiving assistance from ARCA legend Frank Kimmel, who raced 15 times at Flat Rock and won twice in 1998 and 2000.

— Tyler Reif has three career ARCA Menards Series West victories and seeks his first ARCA East win tonight. In 2024, Reif won at the 0.375-mile Shasta Speedway and finished third at the quarter-mile All American Speedway, on his way to winning the West Series’ owner’s championship for Central Coast Racing.

— Zachary Tinkle sits second in the ARCA Menards Series East standings, the highest ranking in his career. He took home a career-best fourth-place finish at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

— Jackson McLerran makes his second start of the season, with two-time Daytona 500-winning crew chief Todd Parrott overseeing his effort this weekend.

— Local favorite Jeffrey MacZink makes his first start of the season at Flat Rock. MacZink, who lives just a few miles from the track, started his racing career in the Street Stock division at the track.

— The 150-lap race will be run straight through will no scheduled breaks and no scheduled pit stops. The only pit stops will be for emergency repairs or adjustments.

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Kia’s continued presence in the sedan field with its K4 and K5 offerings shows they are serious about sticking it out in this segment, as many other OEMs are dropping sedan lines to focus on SUVs.

And to spice things up, they have some interesting options available, including the 2025 Kia K5 GT, a turbocharged powerhouse I recently had the pleasure of pedaling.

The K5 is the larger of the two Kia sedan offerings, and this GT offering shows they are able to provide buyers with an option that doubles as both a solid family commuter ride and a fun weekend getaway car.

Read on to learn more about the 2025 Kia K5 GT, and how it holds up against the remaining midsize SUVs battling for critical market share.