At a time when fertility rates are plummeting across the Western world, experts have been scrambling to figure out a solution. Indeed, in countries such as South Korea which has the world's lowest birth rate at just 0.72 as of 2023, it has been labelled a "national emergency" by President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Of course, you're probably wondering right now why you're reading about this on a car website, rather than The New York Times or Psychology Today.
Ironically, it's because the South Koreans might just have the answer right under their noses. That's because the country is home to Kia, makers of the Carnival, which is unequivocally the best minivan on sale today.
Where companies such as Ferrari and Porsche have spent more than half a century trying to perfect the car as a concept, Kia perfected the people mover in a little over 20 years. Talk about efficiency.
This is a vehicle that looks shockingly stylish, incredibly functional thanks to considerations such as waterproof upholstery, is very pleasant to drive, and has more room than a penthouse apartment.
Yet, what vehicle do you see parents taking to school pick-up or football practice? Nine times out of ten, I'll bet you it's an SUV. If you're one of those people, it's time to wake up and smell the coffee, because you're wrong.
You don't need an SUV – you need a minivan and an ego check.
Almost everything an SUV can do, a minivan can do better. With sliding doors, it's easier not only to access the second and third row seats, but to fit bulky child seats as well. Often, you'll find room for eight occupants inside, rather than the standard seven in an SUV. There's more legroom across all three rows, and there's more boot space for your things as well.
In the case of the Carnival, it's a good thing to drive as well. I recently spent a week with one of the cheapest versions you can buy – the base S Diesel which is a steal at A$52,380 before on-road costs – and it didn't put a foot wrong in the driving department.
Not only is it smooth and comfortable, it's far more efficient than an SUV, sipping just 7.7L/100km over the course of 432km that week. I drove a hybrid Kia Sorento a few weeks prior to that – it's also a fantastic car – but it used 8.2L/100km over almost the same distance on the same roads. See what I mean?
Plus, even as someone still single and childless, and therefore another part of the broader problem at this point in time, I didn't feel embarrassed to drive it. Even as a white-painted base model, it's a good-looking vehicle that doesn't scream "can I speak to the manager?" the same way MPVs of yore might have.
If you've only got one or two kids, then I can make a pass for you, but it still isn't an SUV that you need. My parents had sedans or hatchbacks when I was growing up, and that was more than fine for a family car.
If you were to buy a seven-seat 4x4 as an alternative to a soft-roading SUV, don't you dare let me catch it without so much as a single speck of dirt on it. Unless you have to cross the Andes to get to work or you hit the dirt every other weekend, you probably don't need one of these either.
Here's the thing: city living leads to lower birthrates, with such population density causing our primally-wired brains to perceive a shortage of resources and space whether true or not. Buying a compromised seven-seat SUV with a cramped third-row isn't going to make you think having more children is viable, but buying a spacious MPV sure will.
If we really want to solve the issue of a catastrophic replacement rate around the globe, making the minivan more desirable is what I think the right answer is.
Kia itself bills the Carnival as a 'GUV', a Grand Utility Vehicle, which quite frankly doesn't do it justice at all. What Kia should be calling it is the potential saviour of humanity itself.
