The 2024 Kia Carnival Is A Fantastic Minivan For Those That Want To Pretend They Are Driving An SUV 

They're not that economical anymore. Carnival SX trim is $42k, probably more with Stealership Market Adjustment ™

Absolutely 👍🏼

Long past raising kids, but still can't go without one. :)

Economical? Lol

Yup! Everyday is a carnival when you have kids. 😂

🔥🔥🔥👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Will have no problem driving a mini van . It only means you are smarter than the masses who swear by SUVs .From a cargo & practicality perspective in relation to the road footprint ,van mini or not is the only obvious winner.

And yet Honda and Toyota still make a better van lol.

@@MeliorIlle ...but all block access to the rear with huge consoles between the front seats.

Fuel economy is substantially similar between 3-row crossovers and minivans. Carnival and telluride are the same MPG. Highlander hybrid and Sienna hybrid are the same MPG. Odyssey and Pilot are the same MPG. Definitely beats full-sized SUVs like the V8 Tahoe and Suburban though.

+1, but pure EV! I'm honestly surprised there aren't any on the market yet.

The trouble is that the batteries have to go somewhere, which means you give up things like folding seats down... Which defeats the purpose of a minivan... So why not have a higher clearance and more capable SUV at that point?

@@Snerdles Yes, they would need to do a better engineering job, and perhaps need battery tech to improve a bit. Remember, a PHEV doesn't need a ton of range to serve its purpose (to ensure that much of one's daily driving is done with batteries). Also, for anyone that has ever had kids, the usefulness of sliding doors can't be overstated. Sort of to your point, sort of.. , I'd be perfectly happy if they just put sliding doors on a PHEV Palisade etc.

@@amigajoe Personally I think a regular hybrid with a smaller 4-5kwh battery that has a solar roof to top up the traction battery would be ideal. You could do the hybrid assist in the rear wheels and keep the rest of the drive train disconnected from that and up front making an AWD minivan without the need for a transmission tunnel while likely being able to retain the features of a minivan like folding seats. Since a 1 square meter solar panel probably won't get more than 5kwh in any given day you have a nice passive system that self tops up the traction battery but otherwise works like a regular hybrid.

@@SnerdlesMy parents had a Chrysler minivan back in the early 2000's before "stow-n-go" was a thing; the seats didn't fold into the floor, but instead could be removed. It seems like a novel concept now but I wouldn't be against the idea of having to remove the seats instead of folding them into the floor. Or hey, another idea is to take a page from the Honda Element and just have the seats fold up to the walls!

That is good to know! I have a 2018 Kia Sedona SX. I love my Sedona.

You only just now figured out that Toyotas are cheap and poorly made lol.

How reliable is the Kia Carnival?​@@naveenthemachine

@@LuisUrbietawith its v6 and 8 speed and a long warranty it should be fine. If you keep up with the maintenance you’ll be fine

​@naveenthemachine Kia has been having a metric shit ton of recalls for their engines which seem to catch fire

@@naveenthemachine Thanks a lot.

Lol

AWD is overrated. It’s only been commonly available for the last 30 years. We all happily lived without it for the first 80 years of driving.

@@alliejr I slipped in my minivan too often, even in warm weather while stopping up the hill, not to mention winter ice on my driveway or on the way to shops, to not want AWD.

​@@zdzislawmeglicki2262 Agreed. I've lived in cold climates my entire life (and still do) and driven all kinds of vehicles with all kinds of drivetrains in all kinds of winter weather, and when it comes to winter driving safety - specifically, the ability to turn on snow and ice - there is no comparison. The handling characteristics of AWD vehicles are just safer, period. Especially if the driver doesn't know how to correct under/oversteer with throttle or handbrake. RWD is unstable and prone to snap oversteer, FWD tends to understeer as soon as even one tire loses grip, which when turning on snow is basically always. Obviously, good tires are priority #1, but for me and for a lot of people in my region, AWD is non-negotiable. It's wild that in 2024 people would say AWD is overrated. To me, it's like saying seatbelts and traction control are overrated.

The Toyota sienna has an AWD option, it’s also a hybrid, and it’s a Toyota so the company actually makes a reliable car with low cost maintenance, and they build their cars ethically too.

@@Where2bub Toyota's is an e-AWD. While better than nothing it's not as reliable as a fully mechanical drive, which you get, e.g., in Honda CR-V. But that's not a minivan, sadly.

Absolutely agree

Darn it! Missed opportunity!

Especially given the fact that mechanical shifters are effectively non existent

Kia's putting all their resources into the ugly-ass Telluride and their other money-makers.

Agreed. That, and the uncomfortable seats, were the main reasons I didn’t buy one. how many van needs a ton of storage and cubbies and this has hardly any.

I loved our pacifica hybrid, the only issue i had was we needed 3 seats across in the 2nd row with 3 kids. The recalls are worrying but that plug in hybrid got me 54mpg on average and only need to gas up once every couple months. Loved it. It depreciates like a rock though. Bought for 47 and sold for 31k 2 years later

@bigby6023 we have four kids and it works great so far. We fill up about once a month. My wife loves the roomy and looks. We haven't had any issues so far and plan to keep it till the kids graduate. I have a sorento hybrid and it's great too no plug but get 35 Mpg and fits the kids

So far, love my 2021 Pacifica PHEV, vast percentage of usage is battery only, but love the long road trips with the v6. No issues other than the recall which was performed.

Aww, thanks!

What!?! That’s wild. Should probably threaten them with a lawsuit…

The LDV mifa does. I test drove one couple of days ago. Drives beautifully, 2nd row seats are like a business class seat, has heating, cooling, fold out tray tables, massage features, full recliner with leg support. I actually preferred it in many ways. But husband wanted something with better reputation. Doesn’t trust LDV despite fact the mifa has a great reputation overseas

Mechanically the Pacifica’s hybrid transmission has been reliable, it’s been some electrical connectors that have failed. Bear in mind the Pacifica’s hybrid transmission is manufactured by Aisin which is a semi-subsidiary of Toyota and the same company that makes all Toyota’s hybrid transmissions. We don’t know true failure rates so it’s not really possible to compare. Recalls don’t equal failures.

I am sooo sad that I have to wait for the 2025 :(

yes.

I rented a brand new one for a week at the end of November in Ottawa, so it did have to deal with some snow on its stock all-seasons. It was fine, surprisingly manoueverable around parking garages, comfortable interior. Hauling family and friends around my elderly mom found it hard to get in and out of, and a bigger buddy of mine found the front seats very comfortable. I managed to do 25-30mpg but there was a lot of highway driving and I was taking it easy.

Well great your own channel and design the content as you see fit

Thank you!!! I’m glad someone else is paying attention!! I don’t understand why all these car reviewers just talk about design and dimensions without even touching on this company’s terrible past.

Or… well I think I do.. these car channels are all either paid off, or afraid to say anything bad for fear of not being given free cars.

I have a Pacifica as one of my cars. Rainy uphill intersections in winter are burnout city

The newly refreshed carnival will have AWD

What makes this your choice above the Odyssey or Pacifica?

@@ALMX5DP the carnival is nicer and has more features. Odyssey for its driving dynamics and Pacifica for the v6 PHEV

@@naveenthemachineany particular features that the other two don’t have which puts it above?

@@ALMX5DP power rear seats w ottomans ventilated rear seats a larger touchscreen and gauge cluster. Oh and a rear sunroof that opens.

@@naveenthemachine that may be nice for an Uber black vehicle, you think children would appreciate that or think those rear features make other things like stowable seats or other practical features like the vacuum less important?

No it’s very easy to beat the sienna. Like it’s so easy a brainless dolphin can do it 😂

Thank god its optional

Toyota quality has gone down for the Sienna since the 3rd gen. While the drivetrain may be the most reliable of the bunch, other pricey components like the sliding doors, AC/Heater core, and even suspension components are giving up a lot earlier than previous iterations. My neighborhood is covered in minivans and consequently I'll take the fuel hit in my '08 Odyssey over having to repair a sliding door motor every 2 years like my neighbors (3 of them with this problem).

@@Tokamak3.1415 You don't have real problems, just buy a Chrysler and then you will see what real problems look like.

@@goru426Them's fighting words lol. My family has owned 7 Fords and I have friends who have had GM and Chrysler vehicles - I know how horrible UAW made vehicles are. I've driven Pacificas in Hawaii with only 5K miles that felt like the tranny was going to drop out going up and down over every cinder cone on the Big Island. I was simply stating what many Toyota and Honda fans are well aware of - that the quality has been slipping over the last 15 years. It's to be expected as mode of Toyota's product is made in the US instead of Japan AND Toyota put more emphasis on making their vehicles exciting instead of being the "I drove a Corolla 30K miles with no oil change" they once were. As Rav4 and Highlander are their most popular vehicles their CAFE numbers went down, so they were forced to put turbos and switch all their V-6s to I4s. Naturally the reliability is going to go down just from that. So it may very well be possible that a new Carnival for some users may prove much more reliable than a new Sienna - something that couldn't be said a decade ago between a Sonata and a Corolla. I was going to buy a Sienna in 2018 to replace my Odyssey but Toyota refused to hybridize it at the time and I saw no plans for a BEV from either Toyota or Honda. Ended up going with a Model X.... ended up being the most reliable vehicle I ever had. Almost 6 years and not a single bit of maintenance - although I will probably have to spray the AC coils because they're getting musty. Still not an issue compared to my neighbor's Siennas or my Acura TLs that went through 11 batteries in 15 years and ended with a class action for the parasitic handsfree module.