The minivan segment, although still far down from its heyday in the year 2000, is starting to liven up in recent months – with one notable exception. The Honda Odyssey, long one of the most popular vehicles in its family-friendly class, has been suffering since the beginning of the year. Whether it's due to the van's below-average fuel economy, dated design, or something else is in question, but it makes us think consumers may be waiting for a redesigned kid carrier before they spend money at the Honda dealer. Big Wins For Toyota And Kia The Odyssey found 7,449 new owners during April 2026, a 23 percent decrease from the same month last year, while total sales through the first four months of the year were down 18 percent, to 25,924. Despite a truly gigantic interior and a sterling reputation for reliability, it seems as though the Odyssey is losing some ground with minivan shoppers.HondaThat could be due to the platform's age; the current, fifth-generation minivan debuted as a 2018 model and has seen only minor updates since (including a very light refresh for 2025). For example, it's one of few minivans to offer neither a hybrid powertrain nor all-wheel drive, and its infotainment suite is a little old-fashioned. The rear-seat entertainment system – a must for many families – doesn't offer built-in streaming services or phone mirroring, forcing owners to plug in a USB or HDMI device instead. Solid Sales For The Rest Of The Class Adding insult to injury, the Odyssey's flagging sales have coincided with stronger demand for the Kia Carnival than ever. In April, the automaker moved 6,389 "multi-purpose vehicles" across the delivery floor, a 16-unit decrease from the same month last year. Sales through the first four months of 2026 sit at 25,020, a nearly 25 percent increase from the first four months last year. That puts the Carnival only a few hundred units down from the Odyssey, the former minivan juggernaut that used to outsell Kia's offering by three to one. In fact, looking at first-quarter sales alone, the South Korean mini was on top of, not below, the Honda.Jared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/ValnetWhen it comes to showroom performance, Toyota is also doing better than its longtime rival. April 2026 was a down month for all minivans for which sales numbers are available, but the Sienna's 9,448 individual sales were the highest in the segment despite representing an 8 percent dip. Its year-to-date performance is rather admirable as well with 34,100 units sold, a slight 1 percent surge over the first four months of 2025.ToyotaChrysler doesn't publish individual monthly sales, but through the first quarter of 2026, it proved that it was still the segment champ, with 25,804 sales split between the Pacifica and Voyager. The Sienna wasn't far behind at 24,652 sales in the same time frame, with the Kia Carnival doing 18,631 units. Honda brought up the rear in the first three months of 2026, moving a tepid 18,475 Odysseys into new homes. What Do New Minivan Shoppers Want? We wish Kia broke down its minivan offering's sales by powertrain, because we're curious if the Carnival hybrid, which arrived for 2025, is helping boost both fuel efficiency and showroom sales. That certainly seems to be the case with Toyota, whose Sienna has been a hybrid-only offering since the 2021 model year. The Sienna is also the only hybrid minivan to offer all-wheel drive, something that may be appealing to families who might otherwise consider a crossover.Stellantis MediaAll-wheel drive is also an option on the segment's definitive minivan, the Chrysler Pacifica, although for 2026, the automaker went in the opposite direction as Toyota and canceled its hybrid model, going all-combustion instead. Regardless, the Pacifica's strong Q1 sales could be the result of the automaker's minivan expertise, with convenient features like Stow-N-Go hideaway rear seats and an available in-car vacuum cleaner. A rumored rugged model could bolster Chrysler's sales as well, even if its barely-there 2027 facelift doesn't.Whatever is driving the continued popularity of the Kia Carnival, Toyota Sienna, and Chrysler Pacifica could be debated ad nauseam, and we hope Honda's got a hybridized Odyssey in the works so that one of our favorites can join in the fray.Source: Chrysler, Honda, Kia, Toyota