Kia Carnival 2015 Review

If you think life with a people-mover is boring then think again.

Our two weeks spent with a couple of examples of the new third-generation Kia Carnival included being rear-ended in thick rush-hour traffic – by a thick rush-hour driver – and then having a piece of wood shaped like a knife cut through the sidewall of the left rear tyre, flattening it like a pancake.

Neither event stopped the Carnival’s progress; there was no damage from incident one apart to the other bloke’s insurance rating, while after incident two the emergency spare was pressed into service for the 80km/h and 200km run home from up the country.

Mind you, the number of people who pulled up alongside us on the 110km/h freeway as we progressed at 80km/h with hazard lights flashing to mouth ‘hey your hazards are on’ did nothing to bolster confidence in the intelligence level of the average Aussie driver.

And as the for the person in the Nissan Navara who gave us a blast from aftermarket million watt foggies for having the temerity to be driving down the left lane of a three-lane freeway at 80km/h – with hazards on – impeding his zig-zagging progress… you’re an absolute dickhead.

Yes, life with the latest Carnival proved interesting to say the least. Gosh knows what it would be like if you actually owned one rather than just sampled it for a few weeks.

Maybe then with a longer time to acclimatise it wouldn’t feel like navigating the Queen Mary through the shoals each time a car park approached. Familiarity, hopefully, would breed a better sense of spatial awareness.

‘Unfair’, I can hear Kia saying. After all, the new Carnival is actually 15mm shorter than its predecessor. But at 5115mm long (and 1985mm wide), not even this three-row, eight-seat wagon’s greatest fan would argue it’s anything other than bloody big.

Consider this; the Toyota LandCrusier, Australia’s biggest selling full-size SUV measures up 165mm shorter. And we criticise that thing as being a land yacht.

Really, it’s no wonder given the imagery of SUVs (great outdoors, macho, freedom) versus people-movers (vasectomy, family, suburbia) that sales of the former taking on tidal wave proportions while the latter barely raise a ripple. And now it turns out those huge road-hogging SUVs aren’t as big as a Carnival. Well, the choice is easy really.

Or is it? If we were talking about the old Carnival then it would be an easy choice. But Kia has come a long way in the last decade and there is no better evidence of it than this car. It is good looking, mechanically resolved and – very importantly – well thought-out inside its cavernous interior.

For us the sweet spot in the four-model range is the one-up from entry-level Si mated with the carry-over 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine and standard six-speed automatic transmission. Priced at $47,990 (plus on-road costs) it’s no cheapy family transporter, but then that’s the eternal plight of people-movers – the big families that most need them are the ones that can least afford them.

It’s also more expensive than its only obvious competitor, the Honda Odyssey VTi-L, although it does offer as compensation a seven-year rather than three-year warranty.

You also get a stain and odour resistant cloth upholstery, lap-sash belts for all occupants, six airbags covering all three rows, stability control, anti-lock brakes, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors, 17-inch alloy wheels, satellite-navigation via an 8.0-inch colour touch-screen infotainment system that doubles as a DVD player, three-zone climate-control, roof rails, cruise control and keyless entry.

It’s worth noting the absence of a second-row seatbelt reminder means the Carnival only collects a four star ANCAP rating. It should be eligible for the full five-star rating once that issue is fixed and available around August.

The Carnival’s seats are laid out in a 2-3-3 pattern, with access to row two and three via sliding side doors. The outboard second row seats slide up vertically to make that access much easier than previously. It is an elegant and simple solution that means no need for tie-straps or an ugly and potentially injurious locking system to be exposed. Those seats can also slide fore-aft and recline. The middle second-row seat folds down into a table, flips forward or can be removed.

The third-row seats split into two and can fold into the floor individually. With all seats up 960 litres of luggage space is offered; 2220 litres with row three folded and 4022 litres with only two seats in use. A powered tailgate provides access.

There are all sorts of other storage features including 10 cupholders spread over the three rows, four bottle holders, a double glovebox, a huge lidded bin between the front seats that could house Eddie McGuire’s ego, three 12-volt sockets, three USB ports, Bluetooth audio and phone, 10 cup-holders and four bottle-holders.

The driver also faces a really well-designed, presented and laid out set of controls and instruments. With so much space to play with Kia hasn’t hesitated to exploit it with the full-size media screen and the large speedo and tacho dials.

All this means the Carnival is a terrific way of packing up your family and their gear and heading over a long distance. Most immediately that’s because every seating position is comfortable and there is enough space in all of them for an adult (the third-row centre-seat is the least comfortable and very much the eighth option).

The way the seats individually fold/collapse/slide also means the Carnival can be set up for everything from two to eight passengers and that significant amounts of luggage can also be accommodated, including a mountain bike without any wheels removed.

But undoubtedly what also makes the Carnival a great way to travel is the way it drives. The ride and quietness are absolutely excellent. The former benefits from the ultra-long 3060mm wheelbase, the latter from increased sound deadening materials.

This may not be the highest priority for people-mover buyers, but the driver also benefits from some excellent local chassis tuning. The hydraulic-assist power steering is accurate, responsive and commendably corruption free. The suspension set-up – MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear – is set up to control the body and roll in corners and works very well.

The Carnival is a serene rather than sporting drive, but it is absolutely competent – which is not somethings that could be said of its predecessors. Where that improved control can’t really help – as we said earlier – is in the close quarter work. It really is worryingly big for tight manoeuvring.

The diesel engine clearly works hard to deliver strong performance when saddled with the Carnival’s 2100kg (approx.) kerb weight. But with the help of 147kw and – more importantly – 440Nm of pulling power it succeeds, albeit contributing more noise and vibration than the 3.3-litre petrol V6 that is the Carnival’s other – cheaper by $2500 – engine choice. But the diesel is significantly more economical and we matched the claimed 7.7L/100km fuel consumption claim. Pretty darn good really.

The Hyundai-Kia group six-speed auto is also a smooth contributor. There is an ability to change gears manually but dunno why you would ever bother.

The Carnival’s surprising level of driving quality combined with its unsurprising level of interior space and flexibility makes it a logical candidate for anyone to consider if they are after a full-size people-mover. That is unless you take the SUV option, as most of us are. But hey, give the Carnival a go and you might be in for a surprise or two, not all of them unpleasant.

2015 Kia Carnival Si CRDi pricing and specifications:
Price: $47,990 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 147kW/440Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 199g CO2/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Four-star (ANCAP)