Kia teases look of new minivan

Kia offered a teaser photo this week of the look of the "an all-new midsize multi-purpose vehicle" that it will unveil at the New York Auto Show later this month in a photo Thursday.

The description appears to be Kia's code for "our new minivan." If you look closely, you can see the rear door handle for a slider just behind the front handle.

As its Sedona minivan aged, Kia kept saying that there would be a successor, that it was not going to just kill it and get out of the segment. As others did leave the slow-growing minivan market -- GM, Ford, Hyundai, Chrysler heading to a single model -- we had our doubts.

And Kia sold just 7,079 Sedonas last year, down 60% from 17,512 in 2012.

But here "it" is (we suspect it may get a new name along with the new design):

"This global debut will challenge the segment and will offer the functionality to transport as many as eight passengers and their belongings while also serving as a purposeful offering for adventure seekers," Kia says in a statement.

It appears to be going for a sportier look in front with a big version of the Kia signature grille shape and LED running lights. It's also a more upscale look than the Sedona, so we'd guess Kia wants to compete in this market on more than price.

We queried Kia about that "mid-size" description, given that they say it'll handle a party of eight, and also about what they are doing to craft a mninivan for "adventure seekers," but were told only that more will be revealed next week.