2022 Kia Carnival Review | Philkotse Philippines

The all-new 2022 Kia Carnival is a holdout. We can say that because it is one of the last minivans from a big-name car brand in the Philippine market. Sure, the Mercedes-Benz V-Class , Lexus LM, and Toyota Alphard are present in the market, but those command heftier price tags. Plus, the Honda Odyssey was already dropped locally this year.

The 2022 Kia Carnival

While a few locals who actually like minivans will find this lamentable, this presents a golden opportunity for the Kia Carnival. For one thing, it fills in the void left by the departure of the Honda Odyssey, and it may also become a good alternative to the usual seven-seater models. We’re talking about it being a good option for buyers instead of going for a midsize SUV, an MPV, or a van.

Can it really do that though? Also, how does it work as a daily driver in the local setting? Find out the answer to that with this 2022 Kia Carnival review.

The Kia Carnival at first glance is not your typical “soccer mom” mobile. In fact, it looks more like a squat, more streamlined version of an SUV. Kia took great pains to do this, to shed the unfortunate stereotype that has been attached to minivans since time immemorial. The brand even went on to describe it as a “Grand Utility Vehicle.”

Check out that fancy grille

With that said, we have to admit that Kia can back this up with the Carnival’s  “grand” SUV-like looks, and all the utilitarian space it offers. But if we get technical though, it still does fit the very definition of a minivan.

Starting with the front of this Kia seven-seater is a sharp, SUV-like front end that’s made all the more eye-catching thanks to its interesting LED daytime running lamps. Its LED headlamps are also seamlessly integrated with the grille, and it comes with an automatic on/off function which I made great use of.

It has straight lines and good proportions

Its side profile also looks quite straight which is a common design feature on plenty of sizable vehicles nowadays. From this angle, one can also see that it gets enormous sliding power doors on either side, providing easy access to its second row. These I could see would be helpful, but as a nitpick, I found the automatic doors’ closing and opening action to be a bit slow. One however, can hasten its action manually with a push or a pull.

Also present on the side are sizable windows that cough up plenty of side visibility. The third window, however, is a bit smaller than the rest, and it gets a big fat C-pillar as well. I would rather that it came with a larger rearmost window and a thinner C-pillar for the benefit of the third-row occupants and even more visibility from the side. Up top is a pair of roof racks, which gives additional cargo space when needed.

That tailgate is enormous

The rear also has the same levels of eye candy as the front end due to its pretty-looking LED taillight design element. The Carnival’s rear is finished off with a shapely trunk door, roof-mounted spoiler, and silver-colored faux skid plate. Of note, loading and unloading stuff at the trunk was also easy thanks to an electronic tailgate.

Just like many other vans and SUVs in the market, the 2022 Kia Carnival is quite sizable. It is 5,155mm long, 1,995mm wide, and 1,740mm in height. That said, it is indeed wider than the 2022 Peugeot Traveller van that we’ve already reviewed, but the Carnival is a bit shorter and just as tall as the said model.

As a result of its generous size, the Carnival also gets a generously spaced interior with plenty of room for seven.

At the helm of this minivan is a tilt and telescopic, multi-function, leather-wrapped steering wheel which felt good for my grip. Behind that is an analog gauge cluster, which some would say would be better if it were digital, but for me, it was legible enough.

The Carnival's cockpit

Also adding comfort for the front row is a soft elbow rest which was positioned at just the right height. On our test unit though, it was wrapped in white leather, and I would prefer a darker color for ease of maintenance.

Looking for my preferred driving position was also made easy thanks to the front seats having electronic adjustability. These come with heated and cooled seats, the latter of which is a great addition considering our weather.

A view of the Carnival's interior

The buttons on the center console and dashboard were also well-arranged, though I would have liked to have physical buttons instead of digital touch-sensitive controls for the triple-zone climate control system.

All seats are then wrapped in leather, including the electronically adjustable captain seats on the second row. Mind you, this is where the magic happens for this vehicle, as it gets the most space. The captain seats also get electronically deployable ottomans for maximum comfort. Occupants in this area will also appreciate the fact that they have their own air-conditioning controls, as well as plenty of USB charging ports.

Its occupants can get plenty of sun

The Carnival also gets two separate sunroofs. There’s one above the second row and one slightly forward above the third row. Both have manual shades.

Going further back is the third row, which is pleasantly spacious as far as third-row seating goes. Confidently, I could say that it can accommodate three average-sized adults. Even with the third row up, it gets a total of 1,000 liters of cargo space. With these folded down, you get an impressive 2,000 liters.

This is where the magic happens

The top-spec Kia Carnival SX that we’ve tested is filled to the brim with tech. Safety is handled by a suite of driver-assistive technologies which includes blind spot detection with collision avoidance assist, rear cross-traffic alert, forward collision avoidance assist, and lane keep assist.

The Carnival's 8-inch touchscreen headunit

Strangely enough, the Carnival SX lacks adaptive cruise control. This is a bit striking considering how much dough you’ll need to cough up for this minivan. Furthermore, the other features already present on the car already use the same technologies. So what gives?

Then again, taking it on long cruises was still easy thanks to its standard cruise control. Conveniently, its toggle and speed adjuster were located on the steering wheel so modulating its speed was simple.

Those advanced features are then supported by a number of standard safety features like its dual front, knee, side, and curtain airbags, anti-lock braking, stability control, hill-start assist, ISOFIX, etc. It even gets a trailer stability assist.

Its analog, but its quite legible

Parking this minivan is also easier thanks to a rear parking camera and its parking distance warning system. The said camera becomes a bit blurry at nighttime but the dynamic guidelines did help quite a bit. Also for its size, a 360-degree view camera would also make a nice addition.

The eight-inch touchscreen sitting on the pretty-looking dashboard was also easy to use and relatively legible. Connecting smartphones to it is also made seamless thanks to its wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The six-piece speaker system also sounded quite good.

There's plenty of charging points inside

Paired with wireless connectivity is a wireless smartphone charging pad. That said, the front occupants can say goodbye to the wired life on the Carnival.

While it carries a style reminiscent of SUVs, it also gets a turbodiesel just like many SUVs in the market today. Specifically, it uses a 2.2-liter turbodiesel that can make up to 200 horsepower and 440 Nm of torque.

The Carnival's 2.2-liter inline-4 turbodisel mill

Those are good numbers on paper, but it doesn’t actually drive like an SUV. That’s because power is sent to its front wheels. Interestingly enough, I found its eight-speed automatic gearbox to be a joy to use.

Power delivery is predictable on city driving, but turn on that sport mode and what you have is a responsive vehicle that likes to rev. The steering also provides ample feedback, and it isn’t too light or too heavy either.

Then again, one will feel it flex a bit on bumpy roads and even sharply curved roads just like any vehicle with sliding doors as it does get less lateral support after all. Noise and vibrations though are minimal when driven normally.

The Carnival's gear shifter. Yes, that's piano black plastic

I also didn’t find the ride too bouncy, but one may feel that Kia did try to make it handle well. So sometimes, some road obstacles like those pesky potholes on EDSA can be jarring.

In the city, the Kia Carnival returned a fuel economy reading of 9.5 km/l at an average speed of 20 km/h. When I took it cruising on the highway, it managed a reading of 20.3 km/l at an average speed of 85 km/h. On both tests, there were two occupants in the vehicle. Of note, the Carnival is equipped with a 72-liter fuel tank.

As a point of reference, the Ford Everest Sport that we reviewed returned 8.3 km/l in the city, and 15.6 km/l on the highway. On the highway run though, the Ford model had seven people on board.

The Peugeot Traveller, in turn, clocked in at 9.5 km/l in the city, and 17.2 km/l on the highway.

Is the Kia Carnival a good alternative to MPVs, vans, and SUVs? Well, for MPVs and vans, a definite yes. This is especially true if what you’re gunning for is something that has the style of an SUV, and more in the way of features compared to the typical MPV.

But for a vehicle of this size, its quite nimble

As an alternative to SUVs though, that’s both a yes and no. Yes, in essence, it does have the macho-ness and good looks of the modern-day SUV. But where driving it is concerned, it does not have the abilities of a body-on-frame SUV when taking on rugged terrain.

To shed more light on this, the Carnival does not have the amount of suspension travel and ground clearance of say, the Toyota Fortuner or the Isuzu mu-X. So obviously, it can never handle real off-roading. It does, however, have the satisfying grunt of an SUV, even more so when compared to certain models.

To add to that, there’s also the fact that other luxurious cars within the Carnival’s price range are most often gasoline-powered. So plenty of diesel-loving Pinoys looking for a luxury seven-seater might just give this Kia more than just a second glance.

Its comfy, plus it has plenty of cargo space

The Kia Carnival also gets a five-year, or 160,000-kilometer warranty, whichever comes first. Buyers of this minivan may also take advantage of Kia Philippine’s 24/7 roadside assistance program. Those add more bang for your buck to this already well-equipped Kia-made model.

Lest we forget, the Carnival also has a captive audience in a way. It is, after all, one of the very few minivans left in the Philippine market.