Kia Carnival - 3-Row Sex Appeal

Is the Kia Carnival enough to get you to think vans are cool?

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#Kia #Carnival #SexyMinivan

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This is the Kia Carnival

This Kia Carnival is interesting because it’s very adamant about the fact that it’s NOT a minivan…they didnt do themselves any favours calling it a carnival then

Kia is calling it an MPV which is a term resurrected from the history books and stands for multi-purpose vehicle…Kia wants so badly for you NOT to call this a minivan that they sent along a thumb drive with 30 minutes of propaganda about the design and influence that went into creating it

BUT now that we’ve covered what this ISNT, let’s talk about what it is -

Whatever you want to call it, the facts are this

You have a 3.5L n/a V6 making the biggest numbers in the segment
290hp and 262lbft
You have an 8 speed automatic transmission (good/bad?)
Modes
You have front-wheel-drive (wish it was offered AWD in rust belt)

But all that displacement comes at a price, MPG is rated at Combined 22, which is significantly lower than then Sienna we tested last month which had a combined 35MPG, even though we never actually got close to that, we averaged around 28MPG

BUt numbers aren’t always everything.
This isn’t a van, and they’re claiming the most power and it genuinely feels quick
We’re testing this thing in mid/late february and in Sport mode if you even look at the throttle the traction control is going to step in
And speaking of sport mode it’s the only mode I found the steering to be tolerable
You don’t feel anything through the steering which is fine for this class, but in modes like ECO I’m convinced that you could tape a Pokemon card to the wheel and blow on it to turn the vehicle

Also included in our…let’s call it “reading material” from Kia is a section that says the Carnival can pull .87g on the skidpad…I get being thorough, but I can’t help but laugh thinking about the person cross-shopping a Sienna or Odyssey and saying “sorry lads, your Honda only pulled ¾ of a G for lateral grip…I’m gunna have to go with the Kia.

Matt mentioned the steering being numb and light, but that’s not exactly a bad thing in a people mover. It’s easy to drive and with the hyundai/kia driver assist suite it’s the perfect highway companion for long trips - one thing worth mentioning though…the lane centering has a preference to keep you right up against the left lane marking which can feel a little uneasy around big trucks

And then there’s the ride which is perfectly comfortable.
The suspension is firm enough to impersonate a sporty-ish van
But it’s also soft enough to keep everyone comfortable

From a driving perspective then, it’s pretty good! But let’s meet up with matt and talk about some of the more MP parts of this MPV

Towing 3500 lbs (not in our propaganda…weird)
This is the best LOOKING minivan (aside from the hellcat render Pacifica)
Chalky gray paint with black wheels
The DRLs are like eyebrows
The grille patterns is funky
From profile it looks like a van, but some people think it does look like a short SUV (win)
I really like the C-pillar detail, gives it some character without being as silly as the flared Supra hips on the Sienna
Weirdly enough though the taillights don’t do it for me (look cheap)
Overall love the look, and I’d have it with this nardo gray OR the crazy Astra Blue

The bummer about the interior of this one is that we don’t have the SX prestige trim
So no VIP lounge seat (really have to option up to get the goodies)
But you can lift out the second row and turn them around - I don’t think you can do that in any other van
Scrabble with the boys
Also the rear seat mic (matt)
Rear cabin camera
Wireless charging pad
Wired ACP & AA
LOTS OF GLOSS BLACK
Infotainment is 12.3 inch and it’s fine
Cluster tho…wack
Seats heated and cooled with rocker switch (interesting)
Seats are comfy and very pretty
The design is excellent, but is less useable than a Sienna
Rear entertainment package (mirror, stream, etc. - doesn’t age)
Middle section turns around and pops out
Peasant blockers (even in 3rd row)
Third row isn’t huge but I could fit back there for shorter trips
It’s dark back there, 1 USBc per side
Trunk is obviously massive

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