If you think minivans are rather “blah,” you certainly are not in the minority. These traditional family haulers are boxy, designed more to move people and their possessions than to give buyers a reason to swoon over their visage.

The utilitarian look of minivans is under assault from both without and from within. Without, the crossover segment offers much of the same room, but much more practicality and better styling than most minivans. From within, the automakers are at least attempting to put some juice in this all too predictable segment, with Honda Odyssey attempting to appeal to men more than just moms and kids.

Design Language

Until recently, Kia was never considered to be a design leader, offering mostly bland, boxy models and hiding in the shadow of its Korean brother, Hyundai. That all changed in the 2000s, when Kia’s California design studio was unleashed to design and build some of the most stylish cars on the road. A prime example of that new design language thinking can be found in the Kia Soul, its urban utility vehicle.

The Soul has shown us that Kia does, indeed, have a soul. Since the car’s debut other Kia models have received similar design freedom, becoming far nicer and modern vehicles than earlier models. Read the rest of this entry »