The Kia Sedona shall henceforth be known as the Kia Carnival. The new 'Grand Utility Vehicle', as Kia insists we should call it, has already been revealed to us despite being a 2022 model, but now we've seen some spy shots courtesy of Korean Car Blog that show the luxurious van on US soil, specifically with California plates. But before you get confused about the badge on the back of this van, a badge that reads Sedona, it's worth remembering that this is a pre-production model that hasn't been made to look quite the way the models you'll see in dealerships will.

This kind of thing could happen again as Kia has confirmed that more name changes are coming. The reason for this is that Kia wants to present a more unified global product offering, meaning that it wants all its vehicles to have the same names, regardless of where they will be sold. It's simply easier to manage and makes things more efficient too. Can you imagine if every market got a different version of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class?

So, is the Kia in these photos otherwise ready for the road? Not quite. It seems to have some pre-production wheels too, and the Kia badge is expected to change over to the brand's new logo when the Carnival launches here too, but the rest of the vehicle seems just right.

We even get a glimpse of the interior, which is clad in an attractive caramel brown shade with black and silver leather and aluminum accents respectively. As for what powers the Sedonival in the pictures, we are still awaiting exact specs on US-bound models, but we do expect that Kia's 3.5-liter V6 GDi unit will be under the hood with 290 horsepower and 261 lb-ft of torque. And with the ability to seat seven, nine, or even 11 occupants, we're pretty sure that demand for the Carnival will be just as strong as the engine. Hopefully, we'll be able to bring you more details soon.