Australia's favourite family freighter has come in for a mid-life facelift that includes a motherload of standard safety equipment -- and a more efficient V6 petrol engine. Front, side and full length curtain airbags and stability control are now standard across the short-wheelbase Carnival and long-wheelbase Grand Carnival eight-seater range.
By comparison, curtain airbags are still optional on the base model Toyota Tarago -- and are not available at any price on the Hyundai iMax people mover.
With the facelift -- which is distinguished by Kia's new corporate grille -- the starting price of a Kia Carnival has increased from $33,890 to $35,990. This reflects the fact the company has dropped the manual version of the base model after "only a handful" were sold (340 of the 17,000 sold over the past four-and-a-half years).
But the $35,990 price of the 2.7-litre V6 petrol with four-speed automatic transmission -- mechanically unchanged from the previous model but now called the Carnival S -- is actually $400 less than the model it replaces. In the reconfiguration, the base model lost front foglights, roof rails and heated side mirrors, but gained crucial safety features such as side curtain airbags and stability control.
Meanwhile the starting price of the Grand Carnival has risen by $600 to $39,990 but now comes standard with the aforementioned extra safety equipment and an all-new V6 engine.
The V6 engine in the new Grand Carnival is smaller than the old one -- it has shrunk from 3.8-litres to 3.5-litres in capacity -- but performance and economy have improved. The fuel consumption average for the previous Grand Carnival V6 was 12.8L/100km but the claimed figure for the new model is 10.9L/100km -- 0.1L/100km less than the combined cycle rating for the Kia Carnival 2.7-litre V6.
The new 3.5-litre V6 engine has more power (up by 20kW to 202kW), but torque has dropped by 7Nm to 336Nm. Nevertheless, Kia says the new engine is more driveable thanks to a new six-speed automatic that replaces the five-speed auto in the previous Carnival. As an aside, the new six-speed auto has 62 fewer parts than the old five-speed auto; is more compact and weighs 12kg less.
Meanwhile, the 2.9-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel (136kW/343Nm) and five-speed auto are unchanged. The starting price of the Grand Carnival diesel also increases by $600 to $42,590.
Both the 3.5-litre V6 petrol and 2.9-litre turbodiesel engines are available in three long-wheelbase Grand Carnival model grades: Si, SLi and Platinum.
The price-leading short-wheelbase Carnival S with the 2.7-litre V6 is a standalone model.
The Carnival S and Grand Carnival Si come with six airbags, stability control, air-conditioning, remote entry, CD player, cruise control and 16-inch steel wheels with plastic wheel covers. Rear parking sensors and/or a rear view camera are dealer-fit accessories.
The Grand Carnival SLi gains as standard fitment leather upholstery, sliding and reclining second-row seats, electric side doors, six-CD player, steering wheel audio controls, a rear view camera integrated into the rear wiper, and 17-inch alloy wheels.
In addition to the SLi equipment, the Grand Carnival Platinum gains a sunroof, privacy glass on the rear windows, three zone air-conditioning, rear parking sensors (as well as the rear camera) and six-way electric adjustment for the driver's seat.
The Kia Carnival has been Australia's biggest selling people mover since 2004. The current shape 'VQ' model has been on sale since January 2006.
There was a brief period where both the 'VQ' and the previous generation 'KV11' Kia Carnivals overlapped and were sold at the same time, between January 2006 and February 2007. It was this early edition KV11 Kia Carnival (sold in Australia from September 1999 to February 2007) fitted with an old Rover-sourced 2.5-litre V6 that was at the centre of thousands of engine failures.
But the new generation Kia Carnival left those problems in its wake when the Korean maker switched to its own V6 engines.
Indeed, the Kia Carnival now accounts for almost one-third of all people mover sales Down Under after six years at the top of the class.
The Toyota Tarago came within 203 sales of regaining the top-selling people mover title in 2008, but the gap has since widened. In the first five months of this year Kia Carnival sales are up 18 per cent compared with the same period last year, with a tally of 1404 sales -- ahead of the van-based Hyundai iMax (1034) and Toyota Tarago (683) according to figures compiled by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Despite its dominance, the eight-seat Kia Carnival continues to face strong competition from seven-seat four-wheel drives and softroaders, so the new model is timely.
In a media statement issued by Kia this week, the president and CEO of Kia Motors Australia MK Kim said: "The peoplemover segment has been under attack for several years now, firstly by the introduction of seven-seat SUVs and then more recently by a global economic downturn affecting families, car rental companies and the hospitality industry -- the segment's three core markets. The refreshed Carnival range is entering at a good time."
The first of the updated models to arrive in Australian showrooms this month will be the long-wheelbase Grand Carnival variants. Production of the more affordable short-wheelbase regular Carnival model commences in Korea this month and cars are due to arrive in late July or early August.
As with all Kia cars, the Carnival is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.
The Manufactuer List Prices (MLP) quoted in this story are not inclusive of registration and dealer charges. A drive-away pricing list supplied by Kia shows that, curiously, the on-road costs vary from $1000 to $3000 depending on the model.
The new Kia Carnival line-up: MLP and drive-away prices
- Carnival S (SWB) 2.7 V6: $35,990 (MLP) or $36,990 (drive-away)
- Grand Carnival Si (LWB) 3.5 V6: $39,990 (MLP) or $41,490 (drive-away)
- Grand Carnival Si (LWB) 2.9 TD: $42,590 (MLP) or $45,590 (drive-away)
- Grand Carnival SLi (LWB) 3.5 V6: $45,990 (MLP) or $48,490 (drive-away)
- Grand Carnival SLi (LWB) 2.9 TD: $48,590 (MLP) or $51,590 (drive-away)
- Grand Carnival Platinum (LWB) 3.5 V6: $51,990 (MLP) or $54,990 (drive-away)
- Grand Carnival Platinum (LWB) 2.9 TD: $54,590 (MLP) or $56,990 (drive-away)
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