Review: CKD 2022 Kia Carnival - For the boss or for the family? Why not both?
Sanjay · Aug 8, 2022 01:28 PM
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Technically the 2022 Kia Carnival (KA4) sits uncontested in Malaysia. Well yes it's an MPV, with lots of seats and a couple of sliding doors, but it's the only one you can buy new in its price range that's built solely for the people-carrying business that's not a sanitised version of a commercial van.
The 11-seater Carnival that marked the Korean brand's re-entry into Malaysia
We already love the 11-seater, Korean-imported (CBU) variant that came to Malaysia first. It's far more difficult to sieve the negatives in the locally-assembled (CKD Kulim, Kedah) 7- and 8-seaters, as you'll discover if you do the decent thing and carry on reading.
It still carries traditional MPV cues, albeit one with tons more seutail to it, no?
Like the latest Kias, this won't have problems winning over customers with its slender headlights, chrome-pinned grille, and the LED lightbar at the back – only on the CKD cars for now, I'm afraid – all of which we reckon will age far better than the ho-hum Kia designs of the past.
8-seater Mid variant loses out on dual sunroof, we'll delve into specifics later
Aesthetically it's a well-proportioned thing, but it's grown much bigger, and in some cases that makes parking a tight squeeze. It's 5,155 mm long and 1,955 mm wide; already slightly longer than the standard Malaysian parking box size of 4,876 mm by 2,438 mm (16 ft x 8 ft).
Flare Red is fantastic, hope it'll be extended to the CKDs in the future
If you want to channel your colourful side then the dark colour selections might not appeal too much, with only Sonic Silver and Snowflake White Pearl breaking up the Astra Blue, Meteor Gray, and Jet Black options. It's a damn shame Flare Red didn't make the cut.
Interior: Tech-addled comfort
Exemplary passenger comfort is what the 2022 Kia Carnival CKD offers, with near limo-like space in front, 8-way powered seats, and a tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel with which keen drivers can find themselves a comfortable driving position.
Zamil is 175 cm tall
Middle-row space is just as impressive. The Carnival excels with headroom and legroom, and individual multi-way adjustability affords folks sitting at the back a pleasant seating position. Shoulder room is another particularly nice win; three people can comfortably sit abreast in the 8-seater.
Note that in the 7-seater things are obviously a bit different. Out goes the middle seat in the second row to make way for two ‘Premium Relaxion Seats’ (essentially captain seats). One-touch motorised controls, fore-aft / sideways adjustments, and a leg rest on each of these seats make this the consummate boss' choice.
The 8-seaters, meanwhile, offer better modularity for family-oriented owners. These are the only variants with the multi-function free second-row seats, meaning you can either turn them to face third row, or use the middle seat as a table, or for easy access to your baby strapped in a child seat.
2-way lumbar adjustment for the 8-seater Mid; 4-way for the 7-, 8-seater High
Though it must be noted that genuine leather seats are reserved only for the 7-seater High; everything below that gets leatherette. But nobody in our entourage to Penang brought that up as a problem, which is testament to how close it feels to the actual hide found in the priciest variant.
Zamil is 175 cm tall
Regardless of which variant you choose, the Carnival’s third row does good enough, thanks to a high seating position and reasonable headroom that allows adults to sit upright with plenty of leg support.
As cool as the cabin is, grandpa might complain about the high floor and lack of stepped access, which can pose a challenge for some elderly people to enter.
Given the three variants, we'll posit that the higher-end of the price scale is where you'd be better off spending your money. You’ll get power-adjustable front seats that are heated and cooled, a 360-degree camera, and perhaps your little ones will enjoy the dual sunroof too.
Plus, both of these High variants get a splendid 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, with beautiful graphics to match the same-sized infotainment touchscreen. Bose audio is worth the penny too – the clear vocals and thumping bass are much better experienced through 12 speakers, and psychologically it just feels more 'complete' to have premium audio in a car that's premium everywhere else.
The layouts are clinical in its user-friendliness, while materials all around the cabin look pretty and feel pretty robust too.
Cargo space: Fun for the whole family
If you don't have small kids and regularly transport more stuff than folks, then the 8-seaters are better options.
Hiding the third row into the floor opens up 2,785 litres (maximum space available for the 7-seater), and removing the second row seats reveals an impressive 4,110 litres of cargo room. Outward back there's a motorised tailgate.
Cubbies in and around the interior, as well as a few of them in the cargo well means that families won’t have to leave much behind when going on long road trips.
Safety: Now with a full set of ADAS
The CKDs bring improvement in terms of ADAS, with the 7- and 8-seater High coming with a full set of active driver safety (ADAS) features. How they work is as expected; controls are easy to work with sharp calibration.
The list of ADAS features in the 2022 Kia Carnival 7- and 8-seater High variants are:
High beam assist (HBA)
Blind Spot Collision Warning (BCW, also available on CBU 11-seater)
Blind Spot Collision Avoidance Assist (BCA)
Rear Cross Traffic Collision Avoidance Assist (RCCA, also available on CBU 11-seater)
As far as passive safety goes, all variants get 7 airbags as standard (front, side curtain and driver's knee), ISOFIX child restraints, electronic stability control (ESC), and traction control (TCS), among others.
Ride comfort: Nothing but praise
Ride quality is unanimously praised, and driving quality we’d daresay transcends into 'nicely-tuned SUV’ category. Limit handling definitely isn’t the Kia’s forte – physics still exists – but for the most part its well-sorted enough that it doesn't feel nervous even at highway speeds.
Excellent damping provides a smooth ride, doing an ace job absorbing bumps on the road and most importantly, even if you slam a pothole a little too hard, the thuds don’t last long.
However, the flipside to this is the Carnival feels a little undersprung at the back, which means it tends to oscillate over larger undulations on highways rather than being able to settle quickly. The effect is more pronounced in the second- and third rows, and might lead to some carsickness on vacations
Driving performance: The driver's MPV
My colleague, Zamil, branded the CBU Carnival as a ‘driver’s MPV’ and that doesn’t change with these Kulim-born versions. This thing always feels huge, but it's all set-up so right that driving it feels effortless.
Rid yourself of the notion that just because it weighs as much as an oil tanker, it'll be ponderous and riddled with uncommunicative steering. Street parking woes aside, a combination of great visibility, lofty driving position with bed-like comfort, and a responsive tiller makes the Carnival only marginally more daunting than driving a regular SUV.
The 2.2-litre Smartstream turbodiesel (199 PS / 440 Nm), paired to the 8-speed automatic transmission is geared towards smooth acceleration rather than winning your next traffic light drag race, but it comports itself well otherwise, dispatching highway overtakes and lane merges with no drama.
Prod it with a stick and you get a reassuring response, and it always feels like there's more to give – we reckon even when fully-loaded the Carnival won't have much of a problem. Mind you we worked the car hard, and even then it only sipped an average of 8.8 litres/100 km (trip computer reading) over a Glenmarie-Penang-Glenmarie (844 km) trip.
Verdict: Head or heart? Why not both?
There'll be no escaping comparisons to reconditioned Toyota Alphards and Vellfires, and we're okay with that because they're good cars in their own right. But we're not entirely sure if they're 'I don't need warranty coverage' good, especially at the prices you're looking to pay.
Reconditioned cars are typically unprotected by warranty coverage, let alone for recalls, and this 'what if things go wrong?' feeling nags at you. Sure, you can get yourself an officially-imported Vellfire or Alphard from RM 382,000 and RM 464,000 but at that point all comparisons with the Carnival are moot.
This is where the Carnival excels, by presenting itself as a holistic option. Hell, you can get yours without all the frilly ADAS systems if you'd so choose, but you're still be getting Kia's 5-year/100k km warranty with 5 years free scheduled maintenance.
Often times decisions have to be made by either the head or the heart; the Carnival allows you to not have to make such a compromise.
With humble beginnings collecting diecast models and spending hours virtually tuning dream cars on the computer, his love of cars has delightfully transformed into a career. Sanjay enjoys how the same passion for cars transcends boundaries and brings people together.
