2023 Kia Carnival SX Status
Class: Minivan
Coloration: Astra Blue
Miles pushed: 150
CG Report Card
Room and ComfortA-
Energy and PerformanceB
Match and FinishA-
Gasoline EconomyA-
ValueB+
Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus different autos in the identical class. Worth grade is for particular trim degree evaluated, and will not replicate Client Information’s impressions of your entire mannequin lineup.
Massive & Tall Consolation
Massive GuyA
Tall GuyA
Massive & Tall consolation rankings are for entrance seats solely. “Massive” ranking based mostly on male tester weighing roughly 350 kilos, “Tall” ranking based mostly on 6’6″-tall male tester.
Drivetrain
Engine Specs290-hp 3.5 liter
Engine TypeV6
Transmission 8-speed computerized
Drive WheelsFront-wheel drive
Noticed gasoline economic system: 18.6 mpg
Driving combine: 70% metropolis, 30% freeway
EPA-estimated gasoline economic system: 19/26/22 (mpg metropolis/freeway/mixed)
Gasoline kind: Common gasoline
Snow efficiency: N/A
Base value: $45,700 (not together with $1295 vacation spot cost)
Choices on check automobile: Rear Seat Leisure Bundle ($1000), SX Status Seat Bundle (no price), particular paint ($495)
Value as examined: $48,690
Fast Hits
The good: Wonderful passenger room and luxury; satisfying acceleration; very respectable freeway gasoline economic system for a automobile of this dimension and energy
The nice: Distinctive styling; upscale trim in and out; broad array of consolation and comfort options
The not so good: Second-row reclining “lounge” seats are of doubtful worth and might’t be eliminated; hybrid and/or all-wheel-drive powertrains not out there
Tom Appel:
Let’s be sincere about one thing proper up entrance: Each minivan in the marketplace at this time is fairly good. Actually good, really. For 2023 Client Information named the Chrysler Pacifica its minivan Finest Purchase—this primarily for the automobile’s deft mix of utility and luxurious—however we nonetheless suggest significantly that consumers check drive all 4 autos within the class.
We admire the Honda Odyssey for its stout drivetrain and sporty dealing with, the Toyota Sienna for its glorious gasoline economic system and out there AWD, and the Kia Carnival as a result of it’s cool. Significantly. The Carnival doesn’t fairly match the utility or drivetrain sophistication of the opposite minivans on the market within the U.S., nevertheless it does trump all comers relating to presentation, and the Carnival presents properly.
Take a look at Drive Gallery: 2022 Kia Carnival SX
Kia desires clients to consider the Carnival as an alternative choice to the minivan, and never a minivan itself. Kia goes as far as to keep away from utilizing the phrase minivan by itself web site. Test it out. If yow will discover the phrase van wherever on this website, please tell us. As a substitute, Kia refers back to the Carnival as an MPV (Multi-Goal Car). Nobody is being fooled.
Take a look at Drive Gallery: 2022 Toyota Sienna XSE
That’s okay, we all know the reality. And, the reality is, name it a van or not, there’s an terrible lot to love in regards to the Carnival. As a public service, we now have recognized the best purchaser for the Carnival, and that’s a divorced man with younger children who’s nonetheless within the courting recreation. As such, dad will get the complete utility of a minivan when he has the youngsters, and an aesthetic luxurious experience when he’s out in town. Name Carnival the bachelor dad get together pad, and also you get the concept.
The Carnival debuted as a 2022 mannequin, changing the stodgy Sedona within the Korean maker’s lineup. The van was—and is–a revelation style-wise, proving that even a big, slab-sided van can sport an attractive look if designers imagine strongly sufficient within the challenge. The Carnival is little modified for 2023. The massive information is that the entry-level LXS trim has been dropped from the lineup, and the 2nd-row captain’s chairs, beforehand commonplace on high trim ranges, at the moment are a no-cost possibility.
For ’23, the Carnival is obtainable in entry LX, midlevel EX, well-equipped SX, and luxury-level SX Status trim ranges. Base costs vary from round $35,000 to round $48,000. Our check SX Status got here to $48,690, together with the now elective 2nd-row captain’s chairs—dubbed VIP Lounge Seats–which restrict seating capability to seven occupants.
So, how luxurious is a virtually $50,000 minivan, and the way impressed will bachelor dad’s perspective second wives be? The reply to each questions is “very.”
Our check van arrived in elegant Astra Blue with Tuscan Umber leather-based seating, with steel-gray accents. As a substitute of wooden trim, the Carnival options brushed hammered-aluminum accents, in addition to black-lacquer console and sprint trim. The look is recent, somewhat aggressive, however in the end good-looking.
Take a look at Drive: 2022 Kia Carnival SX Status
When it comes to passenger house, Carnival trails the voluminous Sienna, however gives about the identical quantity of passenger and cargo room because the Odyssey and Pacifica. However except to plan to recurrently fill the van to its limits, you’ll discover the cabin open, ethereal, and many roomy.
The front-row seats are lots comfy, as are the reclining 2nd-row VIP chairs. Because the 2nd-row seats slide each side-to-side in addition to for-and-aft, entry to the Third-row in all fairness simple. The far-back seat is roomy sufficient for midsize adults, however the knees-up seating place will doubtless show fatiguing for bigger occupants on longer journeys. Be aware, too, the VIP seats can’t be eliminated, one thing to contemplating when checking that possibility field.
Additionally value noting that for nearly $50,000, the Carnival isn’t out there with power-folding Third-row seats, one thing all the competitors gives. Folding the seats manually, nonetheless, isn’t a crushing chore.
The dashboard and management format will really feel acquainted to Kia—and Hyundai—loyalists, and is just and elegantly organized. The configurable instrument panel consists of Kia’s glorious Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM). The turn-signal activated system supplies a blind-spot digital camera view on the instrument-panel of the lane you might be signaling into. The system works for each left and proper lane modifications, and is extremely helpful in heavy site visitors.
And, for date night time, the 12-speaker Bose audio system commonplace on the SX Status ought to impress. After a dinner of shrimp de jonghe paired with a bottle of Terlano Terlaner Classico, a high-fidelity Spyro Gyra jam needs to be simply the factor to assist underscore our bachelor’s erudite credentials.
Take a look at Drive: 2021 Honda Odyssey Elite
On the highway the Carnival acquits itself properly. We had famous our appreciation for the sleek energy supply of the Honda Odyssey, however the Carnival isn’t any slouch when it comes to acceleration or refined drivetrain conduct. Plus, the engine makes good noises when pushed, however is in any other case principally unheard.
2023 Kia Carnival SX PrestigeRide high quality can also be good—long-haul highway journey good—although cabin noise ranges on the highway are considerably greater than within the different vans. Dealing with is one other shiny spot. Whereas nobody would significantly name the Carnival, or another minivan, sporty, the Kia comes shut, with moderately fast strikes in site visitors, and decently managed roll in quick corners.
The Carnival is EPA rated at a mixed 22 mpg. We acquired nearer to town estimate of 19 mpg in driving biased considerably in direction of metropolis operation.
So, let’s say you’re not a bachelor dad on the prowl. As a substitute, you simply want a sensible household hauler and also you’d choose your automobile not appear to be each different van on the highway. We strongly recommend you’re taking the Carnival for a check drive. Whereas it’s rather less practical than the competitors, and might’t be had with AWD, it’s, frankly, the good minivan, and maybe the one van with actual character.
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2023 Kia Carnival SX Status Gallery
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