Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Kia Carnival cleverly packaged
I’M HOPING that South Africa, like some of its European counterparts, starts to take more of a liking to vans as opposed to SUVs.
Much has been made of the futuristic Hyundai Staria which has made people sit up and take notice as a real and more affordable alternative to the traditional German vans out there, and now Kia has come to the party with the new Carnival.
There’s hope. While I had the SX Limited 8AT 7-seater on test, I received many inquisitive glances. Also, while waiting for my son to finish school play rehearsals, a father came up to me and asked for a closer inspection. He’s in the market for a sleek family carrier and, thank goodness, has very little interest in an SUV.
His first impression of the handsfree electric sliding doors piqued his interest and once he had seen the seven-seat configuration, I think a call to a Kia dealer was on the cards.
I particularly like the dash which, unlike the trend sweeping across manufacturers to have everything digital, has an analogue speedometer and rev counter with a centre digital readout providing the vehicle feedback. The elegance of the interior has quality materials throughout with high-gloss black surfaces and chrome garnish.
Cleverly, Kia has placed darker leather two-tone trim to areas to be
touched more often. Handy for a vehicle that’s likely to carry a lot of kids.
The 12.3 inch touch screen infotainment system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatible, is nicely moulded into the dash and easily reached from the uber-comfortable driving position. You’re able to adjust the air conditioning throughout the vehicle from there as well as actual
controls, while strategically placed cameras give variety of views when parking or getting out of tight spaces.
The bus is powered by Kia’s new ‘Smartstream’ 2.2 CRDi turbo diesel engine that delivers 148kW and 440Nm of torque powering the front wheels via an eight-speed torque converter auto transmission.
It will happily tow a 1 500kg braked
trailer, boat or caravan and you can toggle between Eco, Sport, Comfort or Smart which adjusts itself, depending on your driving style and environment.
Our test coincided with a week where there would be a lot of travelling between home and school with extramural activities adding to the to and fro. There was also a trip to Redstar
Raceway out Delmas way for the start of the Motorcycling Racing Series SA.
The Carnival was a pleasure to drive, with enough oomph when needed and it cruised impeccably throughout.
The suspension made short shrift of road imperfections and handled sudden swerves for potholes and stray dogs without raising a sweat.
Despite its size and volume, the interior is remarkably quiet at speed, testament to the sound dampening that’s better than more expensive competition.
Best of all, when I stopped to top it up before it went back, consumption stood at 6.9l/100km. Granted, most of it was highway driving but colleagues who have tested it carting people around and doing a lot of town driving have returned figures of 8.6l/100km.
The new Kia Carnival comes with an unlimited kilometre five-year warranty, including roadside assistance and a six-year/90 000km maintenance plan.