Kia Carnival 2.2D 7-Seater Facelift Review: A Fantastic Family Bus

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It only remains to be seen if Kia could launch the hybrid version for an even more appealing proposition.

Now, here is the list of criticisms that this writer has with the Kia Carnival:

The starter button is a bit small and located in a slightly obscure position for easy reach.
The 12-speaker Bose surround sound system could be a touch richer-sounding, though that probably has something to do with having to pump all that sound through such a vast cabin.
The lane keep assist needs to be turned off every time, and doing so requires a four-tap sequence on the infotainment screen.

And if going by that rather inconsequential list, it is perhaps quite telling that this writer is quite fond of this Korean family bus. In fact, for all the Japanese peti sejuks around, the Carnival feels like it was designed by a proper family person, for a family. Which, after all, is exactly what most buyers of one of these will want.

In extolling the virtues of the Carnival, it makes sense to begin with the topic of space. And perhaps unsurprisingly, there is tons of it within this people carrier.

One of the most surprising aspects upon stepping inside this Kia is just how supremely wide it is, to the point that this fairly long-limbed writer could barely reach the other door without having to pull a Mr Fantastic. Though all this space does of course come in handy for ferrying people around, as there is easily enough room for six full-sized adults in supreme comfort, and seven if the three in the back do not mind becoming very close friends.

Likewise, its size comes in handy when it comes to moving stuff around too, because this Carnival has a truly cavernous boot. Even with all seven seats up, there is somehow still enough cargo capacity to shame most small SUVs, and certainly more than enough room to carry everything a family of seven could foreseeably need on even the most fruitful balik kampung adventures.

It has to nevertheless be said that all this vastness should not come as much of a surprise, as the Carnival is, after all, also available as a proper 11-seat people hauler. But do not mistake this for some sort of workhorse bus, because the cabin is actually properly business class.

Now admittedly, with this 7-Seater being the flagship variant, this particular Carnival on test does get the fancy captain chairs and climate control for all four main seats. Though even without all the fineries, there are still some really good bones underneath for a comfortable family hauler.

And comfortable it certainly is. There is not much in the way of NVH, while the suspension is well damped and does a good job of keeping the cabin isolated from the less-than-perfect roads around us. It does feel like a heavy car, but in a good, solid sort of way, with the Carnival simply feeling planted and stable when on the move.

Rounding out the good things about the interior, it is worth highlighting that this is still largely a tactile place to be. Fancy haptic control centre panel aside, which does the funky thing of switching between audio and climate controls at the touch of a button, the rest of the main switchgear consists of nicely weighted and satisfyingly clicky buttons.

Moving on meanwhile to what it is like driving this bus around, it is actually quite pleasant to be behind the wheel of the Carnival. The steering is decently weighted and has more lock than one might expect, thereby making this vast car surprisingly manoeuvrable. It does not quite shrink around you in the way a smaller MPV might, but it is certainly far less intimidating to thread through a car park or squeeze into a tight road than its dimensions would suggest, with the more-than-decent surround-view camera also coming in handy when it comes to squeezing into that last available millimetre of space.

As highlighted previously too, the ride is rather supple and the Carnival feels remarkably stable, even at speeds that would have gotten this writer into trouble with the law.

And for those using this people mover as a true intercity bus, this writer has got to give props to the adaptive cruise control, which is one of the best in the business. It is generally smooth in its operation, while it is also nice to have a separate switch for activating and deactivating the active steering function. In fact, from personal experience on an interstate run from KL to Ipoh, this writer could have set it at a respectable speed and conceivably not touched the pedals until he got his chicken rice.

Finally, as perhaps is worth mentioning given that this is a facelift after all, the refresh itself is quite minor in the grand scheme of things. The new face does nevertheless give the Carnival a chunkier and more muscular look, while the new wheel designs on this flagship are rather Art Deco.

The Elephant Under The Hood…

Now it may have not gone amiss noticed that this review has yet to touch upon the powertrain portion of this Carnival, because this is probably the part that may turn the most prospective buyers away from this Kia. Such is as the Carnival is still soldiering on with the sole 2.2-litre turbodiesel option, which may not be the best choice of fuel… especially given the current diesel subsidy situation in Malaysia.

But to Kia’s credit, it is actually a rather great engine. After all, it does not make itself known for most of the time when just pootling around town or cruising on the highway, with it being barely noticeable in either the noise or vibration department.

And even when it does make itself known, it usually comes with a healthy dose of oomph. Such is as with the power of diesel, there is an ocean of torque to tap into on the off chance that this minivan needs to show some hoodlum in a battered, braaaping Saga who really is the boss on the roads.

Of course, there is also the fuel efficiency aspect to discuss. Such is as, while largely thanks to its massive 72-litre tank, the respectable 12 km/l that the Carnival achieved while this writer was behind the wheel nevertheless saw it go over 900 km between fuel stops. So while it may be a pain to fill up at the pumps, you will not necessarily need to visit them all that often.

Though a word directly to Kia Malaysia, you might already know that there is a 1.6-litre hybrid option available elsewhere for the Carnival, with this exact powertrain configuration for people mover incidentally even being assembled here for export to Thailand. So while you have said that it may eventually be launched here “when the time is right”, why is now not necessarily the right time for it?

Because with a hand on his heart, this writer can say that the Kia Carnival genuinely is a fantastic family bus. To the point that one does now wonder whether the only reason people still flock to those Toyota fridges for moving their kids around is because they simply have not considered the Kia yet!