2022 Kia Carnival review: A party on wheels

Kia is out of the minivan business — effectively, relying on who you ask. The unpopular Sedona spouse and children-hauler is long gone, supplanted by the colorfully named 2022 Kia Carnival, which is billed as a multipurpose motor vehicle, or MPV for limited. The South Korean automaker is striving to fill a vaguely described white place with this merchandise, which transpires to be a tall and boxy device with a few rows of seats, cavernous interior place and a sliding doorway on just about every facet. What type of motor vehicle does that describe? Appear on, Kia: Embrace the minivan, specially given that the Carnival is so good.

Whatsoever you really feel like calling it, the 2022 Carnival is designed on Kia’s 3rd-era N3 system, which underpins other automobiles like the handsome Sorento SUV and avant-garde K5 sedan. Offering it significantly sturdier styling than the old Sedona, which was rounded in comparison, the Carnival options a modernized edition of the brand’s signature tiger-nose grille, comprehensive with exclusive sculpting and tasteful brightwork. For a much more rugged seem, the wheel arches are accentuated, in addition the hood is greater and flatter than what you are going to find on other minivans. This is also the initially Kia in The united states to aspect the brand’s revamped logo, which is modern and angular, or as Roadshow opinions editor Antuan Goodwin explained it in a photo caption, “K-backwards-N.” What has been viewed cannot be unseen.

Many thanks to these layout attributes, the Carnival appears to be like much more robust than its rivals, significantly the billowy Chrysler Pacifica. But you will find only so significantly you can do with visual sleight-of-hand. This Kia is even now undeniably a minivan, as evinced by its imposing two-box form. Sizing-smart, the Carnival is in lockstep with rivals — its 121.7-inch wheelbase may be the longest of the bunch, but it’s just .1 inches bigger than the Chrysler’s. At 203 inches from grille to liftgate, it’s an inch or two shorter than its rivals, with the Honda Odyssey being the longest of the team (if only just).

That generous size offers the Carnival lots of interior place. Powering its 60/forty-split 3rd-row seat, which manually folds into the flooring with the pull of a pair handles and a large downward shove, you get forty.2 cubic ft of storage place. Powering the next-row chairs it supplies 86.nine cubic ft so you get up to a hundred forty five.1 cubes to enjoy with, much more than in all but the voluminous Odyssey.

Aside from capaciousness, convenience is an additional a person of the Carnival’s solid fits in this midrange EX product. The Slide-Flex next-row chairs are lots comfy and supportive, in addition they effortlessly go fore and aft by a substantial amount, though they do not fold into the flooring like Chrysler’s ingenious Stow ‘n Go method. For optimum cargo place, you have bought to clear away them and hope you never pull a muscle in your back again. Ensuring passengers have accessibility to electrical power, USB ports are built-in into the front seatbacks. Mirroring the Toyota Sienna, the assortment-topping SX Status product options twin VIP lounge seats, which slide, recline and have built-in ottomans for included luxury. They also give electrical power controls as effectively as heating and ventilation for all-period convenience. The Carnival’s 3rd-row seat is accommodating with lots of place also, even for lanky adults. As with the next row, passengers in steering have accessibility to a pair of USB ports. No issue exactly where you’re sitting, you will find almost adequate headroom in this motor vehicle for Shaquille O’Neal to bolt upright while carrying a leading hat.

Roomy and comfy, the Carnival’s interior is trendy and effectively designed. The dashboard is simple and cleanly laid out. The local climate controls, which are partly comprised of physical switches and contact-delicate buttons, are clearly labeled and simple to function. Aside from there becoming a minimal also significantly piano-black trim (a magnet for dust and fingerprints) in this EX product, the materials utilized are of higher good quality, anything is assembled with painstaking precision and absolutely nothing is loose or if not cheap feeling.

An 8-inch touchscreen is common gear in the foundation LX product, comprehensive with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. EX and greater models, even so, occur with a significantly more substantial 12.3-inch display, which is household to a swanky infotainment method. This multimedia array is amazingly snappy, responding to finger inputs practically instantaneously, in addition it’s a cakewalk to use, with practically zero understanding curve. This makes the Carnival a person of those people automobiles you can jump right in and get started using without the need of having to thumb by way of the owner’s guide or waste time figuring out how things work. This infotainment method also appears to be like great. Icons on the household display resemble minimal neon signals and the radio tuner is styled like nixie tubes, a playful contact. EX and greater models also occur common with a wireless charging plate and each cabin digicam and intercom programs — so the driver can maintain tabs on and talk with passengers in the back again seats.

The Carnival is run by a 3.five-liter V6 that belts out 290 horsepower and 262 pound-ft of torque. This Kia has a few much more horses in its steady than the Pacifica and Odyssey, but unexpectedly, all a few of these minivans have an identical amount of torque. The Carnival’s engine is silent and sleek, the minimal tingles manufactured by all V6s are effectively attenuated, with minimal vibration becoming felt inside of. Acceleration is good, the van pulling effectively when you punch it, a overall performance aided by the tremendous-responsive 8-speed automated transmission. As gearboxes go, this a person is ideal: imperceptibly sleek, rapid-witted and eager to downshift when you need to have much more oomph. What much more could you ask for?

Fuel financial system is right in line with the Carnival’s key rivals. The Kia stickers at 19 mpg metropolis and 26 mpg freeway. Put together, it’s rated at 22 mpg, identical to a front-wheel generate, non-plug-in Pacifica or the Honda Odyssey. By natural means, the hybrid-only Sienna blows this Kia away like topsoil in the course of the Dust Bowl with its across-the-board rating of up to 36 mpg (as does the pricier Pacifica plug-in hybrid, which returns 82 MPGe when working solely on electrical energy). If optimum gas financial system matters, get the Toyota. If towing prowess tops your chart, nab the Chrysler, as it’s rated to drag up to 3,600 pounds, a hundred much more than the Carnival, Odyssey or Sienna.

The Carnival’s steering is mild and moderately rapid, which assists this minivan really feel nimble and a little bit smaller sized than it is. The common lane-retaining aid technological innovation is exceptionally good, under no circumstances sawing at the wheel or darting for the ditch when a line will get interrupted. The accessible adaptive cruise control is effective a take care of, also. Standard driver aids consist of blind-spot checking, rear cross-traffic inform, lane-retaining aid and reverse parking sensors.

Dynamic downsides are few, but the Carnival’s most important weakness is its unsettled trip. Choppy, noisy and on the floaty facet, this spouse and children-hauler can really feel a little bit uneasy at periods. A total load of kiddies and cargo would likely settle things down, but the unladen tuning wants a minimal much more work to seriously get things dialed in. Commotion from the tires and wind is also visible at speed, probably exacerbated by the cavernous interior.  

An appealing and effectively-rounded giving, the 2022 Kia Carnival is accessible in four trim levels: LX, EX, SX and SX Status. Base price tag for this not-so-mini van is 33 large kinds and improve, including $1,one hundred seventy five in shipping and delivery service fees. As it sits, the EX product proven below checks out for a not-unreasonable $38,775.

If you’re browsing for a minivan, thank you! Far more motorists would be smart to think about a person of these flexibility all-stars above the SUVs everyone is obsessed with these days. Generating the determination even much easier (or possibly tougher), you can not acquire a bad minivan. All the key gamers are wonderful in their own way. The gas-sipping Toyota Sienna is fingers down the most affordable product without the need of a plug Chrysler’s Pacifica appears to be like the nicest as Stow ‘n Go even now blows the competition away and the Honda Odyssey is the most effectively-rounded of the bunch and probably the finest to generate. As for the Carnival, it’s as outstanding an possibility as any, and has no problems going toe-to-toe not just with other minivans, but with a few-row SUVs, also.