Kia Carnival wins 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best People Mover
The Kia Carnival has made it three in a row, beating an impressive field to again claim the Best People Mover trophy.
Let’s call out the obvious straight off the bat: the Kia Carnival is exactly the kind of large car that growing Australian families should buy. Yes, big SUVs are as good as they have ever been for family duties, but they still aren’t as good at moving people as… people movers.
While people movers might not have the same carpark panache as SUVs, they still reign supreme for outright space, seating capacity and versatility.
Like the minivan equivalent of the Gypsy King Tyson Fury, Kia’s Carnival was able to rise up and defeat the competition once again, cementing its status as the best in the segment.
The Carnival is as strong as ever in the most important disciplines of a people mover: space, comfort, safety and practicality.
Kia’s competent people mover is able to dedicate its interior to the purposes of usable and versatile space. The floor is low, the seating is spacious and comfortable, and the seats themselves move in all kinds of directions.
Along with having room to fit up to eight adults comfortably, the Carnival has a huge load space at the rear for luggage.
The middle row – with more space than an SUV could ever dream of – slides fore and aft over long distances and has a removable middle seat. There are air vents everywhere, and higher-specification variants also benefit from additional air-con controls, power outlets and other creature comforts. The electric windows are massive as well.
The driver isn’t forgotten, with a comfortable driving position and good technology on offer.
The infotainment display – 8.0 inches on the base Carnival S or 12.3 inches for all other grades – still isn’t paired to a digital instrument cluster (as it is in the closely related Kia Sorento SUV). However, it’s a good quality system with all of the important bells and whistles.While all-wheel drive isn’t available for the Carnival, the eight-speed automatic transmission gets the front wheels turning smoothly and without complaint.
The 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel engine is the choice for those wanting fewer visits to the fuel pump, but the silky power of the 3.5-litre V6 is also a nice companion. And it’s probably not as thirsty as you might have first expected.
Read about the Best People Mover category
Read about all the other 2022 Drive Car of the Year categories and winners
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