Here at Jim Butler Kia of St Louis as we think about all the marked spots on our busy calendar, we realized that sometimes a year can feel like an eternity, but sometimes 12 months just fly right by. The Cnet auto testing team concurred that after a full year of driving the Kia Carnival, it deserves to “be brought home for the long haul”. Also headed into their task with a full-on understanding that minivans suffer from the stigma that they are simply not hip, they concluded by stating that the Carnival will enthusiastically do anything an SUV can, and look stellar doing it!
They opted for the fully loaded Carnival SX Prestige and felt during every single drive that it always was swinging way above its class. Inside and out, the Carnival was constantly earning compliments, and one impressed coffee barista told Editor Chris Paukert that it was the “fanciest Kia they had ever laid eyes on”. Some of the features that were earliest appreciated were the very rich two-tone Tuscan umber and black leather upholstery, along with the extensive metal detailing throughout the cabin.
After a full year of wear and tear and all varieties of driving types, the cabin still looked and felt as solid as it did the very first day it had arrived at the team off the lot. One of the most noticeable results of the efforts to make the Carnival “not look like a minivan” was a tall order to follow through with, but Cnet along with many other auto experts claimed that the task at hand was handled amazingly. Another one of the “huge win” factors is the VIP Lounge seats: these second-row captain’s chairs slide forward, left and right, and backwards, and also come equipped with full power adjustment so you can recline them for even more luxury.
This is an excellent feature for anyone dragging dogs along in tow, and they also make the Carnival much easier to use for delivery jobs and larger groups of people for sports or other awesome summer activities! The 12.3-inch displays are available on higher-end models, and Kia’s signature brand of multimedia software is user-friendly and helpful right from the start. Another tech feature that the team was enamored with was the Highway Driving Assist, which they deemed as “The best system short of a true hands-free highway driving feature”.
The movement was very natural and imitated the way that a human would behave and react to on-road situations. The team not once had to have it veer into a different lane or ride on the shoulder, and thereby had a lot of confidence with the system engaged. Most Missouri families will also be glad to hear that road trips are what the Carnival did best, with the ideal ride height for highway cruising and the extreme comfort factor to really sprawl out and enjoy the distance at hand. Even though some of our other esteemed models such as the Telluride have all-wheel drive, this was the ideal family-mover and daily driver that the Cnet team was genuinely sad to see go!
