Kia Carnival
How it looks on the street: For those of us in specific life stage, the Carnival is the right kind of party.Kia Carnival boasts a strong-spirited design that’s minivan-like, but with a bit more oomph that says, I’m not quite a minivan mom. (But let us stress, if you’re a minivan mom, we support your bold statement, too.) We put the Carnival through the tests — the first one was asking a teenager to ride in a minivan, and Carnival sailed under the radar with no pushback. We also had a medium-size kid on board, and there’s really no one better to ask about minivans than the kids since babies in car seats can’t talk. More on that below. Carnival has five different available trim options. We drove the toniest the SX Prestige.
How it feels on the inside: We piled in for a proper road trip using those sliding door functions. Not only safer for kids, but as a city dweller safer for everybody. We see people regularly swinging doors into oncoming traffic, but here the Kia minivan body bypasses that risk. Onto the interior, where the 12.3 panoramic screen sets the mood. The kids loved the reclining seats and pop up footrests. Everyone in our car likes air circulating and preferred the panoramic sunroof that opens up air in the second row. The Carnival has seven USB ports and two power outlets. Our tester did not have the rear-seat entertainment, but we imagine that’s a good bonus.
How it drives: We drove the ample V6 model that earns 21 miles per gallon in wintery conditions on winding mountain roads. Power was respected for climbing hills, but it was noticeable Carnival doesn’t have an all-wheel drive option. We haven’t driven the hybrid just yet, but sense that’s one we’d go with if within budget. The Carnival has safety systems galore are there to support parking functions, and to protect again forward, crossing, and blind traffic avoidance. We also like safe exit highway assist for family drivers, where propensity for on-board distraction is higher.
Space for people and things: All the space we wanted for our purposes. The Odyssey and Pacifica may have slightly more. Space is the second practical reason people opt for minivans over midsize SUVs and here we have a best-of both-worlds situation.
What to compare it to: Chrysler Pacifica, Toyota Highlander.
How much does it cost: The Carnival SX Prestige we tested was priced at $52,755 and added on extra paint and floormats to the base price. The base Carnival starts at about $38,000.