New Carnival (Australia)

[McCoy]

New Kia Carnival – the perfect SUV alternative

Everyone loves a Carnival. As Australia’s No.1 selling people-mover since 1999, the Kia Carnival has long been famous for style, comfort, an affordable price tag and a range of extras designed for maximum pleasure.

With the launch of new VQ-series this year, the Kia Carnival has been redesigned and re-engineered for the 21st century and appears at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney retaining all the qualities that made the original Carnival a crowd favourite.

The new Kia Carnival is the smaller brother to the Kia Grand Carnival, launched earlier this year and already one of Australia’s top-selling 8-seat people-movers.

Customers buy people movers not because they want to, but because they need to – they need to move more people than the average car can handle and they need to do it on a frequent basis.

The new short-wheelbase Kia Carnival is the perfect alternative to an SUV, vehicles which traditionally have been larger, heavier, harder to drive and park, and very thirsty on fuel.

New Carnival is a spacious, stylish, affordable, comfortable, powerful, economical, complete package that’s easy to drive and park and offers seating for up to eight people when you need to move a crowd – everything that Australian people-mover buyers are seeking in a fuel-conscious world.

The new Kia VQ-series Carnival offers significant improvements over the outgoing LS Carnival in most categories – design, comfort, performance and safety.

Indeed, the VQ Kia Grand Carnival was the first and only MPV to be awarded a five-star rating in all four crash test categories by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).


Now, new Kia Carnival continues Carnival’s record of safety by offering standard anti-lock brakes (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD) and emergency brake assist (EBA), dual front SRS airbags and pre-tensioner front seatbelts.

The new Kia Carnival is powered by an upgraded version of Kia’s 2.7-litre V6, featuring Continuously Variable Valve Timing (CVVT), delivers 136kW @ 6,000rpm and 246Nm @ 4,000rpm driving through either a five-speed manual transmission or upgraded four-speed tiptronic-style automatic transmission.

New Carnival features multiple seating variations to accommodate up to eight people and luggage. Starting with a 2-3-3 configuartion, the 2nd and 3rd row seats can individually slide, folded or be removed to create a large and very useable luggage compartment.

Pricing
New Kia Carnival and its larger brother, the Grand Carnival, offer a high level of standard specification with the option to upgrade to higher levels of equipment if desired.

The starting point for the VQ Carnival range is the Carnival EX 2.7-litre model at a recommended promotional retail price of $32,990 drive-away for the five-speed manual or $34,990 drive-away for the four-speed automatic. An EX-L model is available with front side and curtain airbags; leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearshift knob; and rain-sensing wipers at a recommended retail price of $36,490 drive-away (automatic only).

The entry-level 3.8-litre VQ Grand Carnival starts at a recommended retail price of $37,990 plus on-road costs and is available only with five-speed automatic transmission. An EX-L model is available with front side and curtain airbags; leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearshift knob; and rain-sensing wipers for an additional recommended retail price of $1,500.

Top of the Kia Carnival range is the Grand Carnival Premium with a recommended retail price of $43,990 plus on-road costs. The Grand Carnival Premium adds front side and curtain airbags; electronic stability program (ESP); electric sliding side doors; 16” alloy wheels; leather interior trim; leather-wrapped steering wheel and gearshift knob; metal-look console trim; and remote audio controls on the steering wheel.