The Kia Carnival was voted 2018 Australia's Best Family Wagon! It is an eight-seater and obviously intended for family life! I'm looking forward to putting it through our BabyDrive testing to see how family friendly it really is!
I was initially a little overwhelmed by the Carnival, as it is a different style of car to most I have reviewed to date and everything seemed to work a little differently. It definitely had that feel of a BIG people mover rather than a car. For starters, the rear doors slide down the side of the car rather than opening outwards! I love this because it gives you a lovely big door opening to post Bub into their seat from outside the car, you don't have to worry about car doors bashing into the car next to you when you're parked and there are buttons in the front for the driver to control them from there.
The Carnival boot is not the same as I am used to in nearly all other cars either. When you are using all three rows of seats, the boot floor is like a trough at the back of the car and it is really low down. This is also the space that the third row of seats collapses down into.
I had no idea the boot space would be like this and at first glance, I thought it looked really small and I didn't think I'd get much in there without stacking it all on top of each other but actually it held ten shopping bags and the trough worked really well to stand strollers up in with shopping bags beside them. That's the same amount as in the Infiniti QX80, two more bags than the Nissan Pathfinder and three more than the Mazda CX-9.
When I was only using five seats the third-row seats collapsed into the trough in the floor and created a flat-ish and very large floor like you would find in a van. I could fit 24 shopping bags in there! That's two more than the Infiniti QX80 and six more than in the Nissan Pathfinder and two more than the Mazda CX-9.
When it came to the installing child seats in the back, it took a while to get to grips with all the different seat combinations, sliding mechanism options and top tether and ISO Fix positions! So there are four top tethers in total and three ISOFix.
The second row is made up of three individual seats that slide and fold up separately. The two outer seats have ISOFix and top tethers. The ISOFix points are not within plastic guides, they are between the seat back and base, but I found them relatively easy to connect to.
The top tethers are really far down on the seat backs, so I found for both rear facing child seats I tried to instal there I needed an extension strap.
In the third row, there is another three seats too, split 60:40, and there is ISOFix and top tether in the seat on the 40 split side. There is another top tether in the central seat. I was a little confused by there being top tethers in the two seats next to each other and not in the two outer rear seats. Again the top tether anchor points are really far down on the seat backs, and while I didn't need an extension strap with my forward-facing child seats, I did with rear-facing.
I was able to install two forward-facing child seats in the third row of the Carnival; the Britax Maxi Guard and Kid Guard Pro fitted next to each other and I could actually squeeze into the seat beside them! Head and legroom are excellent in the third row.
In the second row, I installed the rear-facing Britax Platinum Pro and Britax Graphene child seats in the two outer seats and I was able to sit in the central seat between them.
Although I could only get four child seats into the Carnival because there are only four top tether anchor points, the good thing about it is the remaining two seats are usable by adults! So the Carnival is good for a family where some kids are too big for child seats and will be just on the car's seats.
Legroom was excellent! With child seats in both rows, there was plenty of legroom for each row and the front passenger and driver. To climb into the central seat in the second row there was enough room when the second-row seats are slid back to climb around the front of an installed child seat.
If you slide an outer second-row seat all the way forward and use the seat lifting lever to bring the seat back and base upwards, I think there would be enough room for a child to climb in behind it or by folding down the seatback of the central seat in the second row and climbing across there, the central seat is also removable so you can have a walk through to the third-row seats. The only problem is I didn't think there was an easy way for an adult to reach through to do up the child restraints in the third row, without uninstalling a child seat in the second row and climbing up?
The media touch screen is very simple and easy to navigate, and the inclusion of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is really good. I did find the Carnival a bit ‘beeeepy' for a family car. The boot beeps to open and close, the car beeeeeped continually when I got out, I think because my keys were still in the cab.
The Sat-Nav was easy to use but I couldn't mute the voice guidance easily and found it hard to reach the screen while I was driving as it was too far away!
The reversing camera was really quite pixelated and basic, there weren't any sensor visuals on it but they are on the digital display in front of the steering wheel instead, and I couldn't mute the sensor sound without turning the sensor visuals off too. Turning them on and off is by pressing a button in the central console.
The air-conditioning in the Carnival is very effective, there are vents in the rear ceiling as well as across the front dashboard. There are controls in the second-row ceiling as well as on the front dash. So you can control the rear airflow while driving, in case your rear passengers are too little or fighting over it!!
Storage in the Carnival is AMAZING!! There are 10 cup holders, the central console storage box is fully felt line, there are extra storage areas in the doors and side of the central console and a double glove box. The vanity mirrors in the front are lit and extendible and there are four cup holders for the second row of seats and there is a conversation mirror so I could keep an eye on the back seats without having to turn my head away from the road!
The Carnival is a nice car to drive; it's smooth and road noise is good but you can hear the engine working hard, especially when you're going up hills! Visibility is quite hard from the second row back, purely due to the size of the vehicle and the child seats installed. The windows are nice and large and the side mirrors help with visibility too but I found I relied a lot on the reversing camera when maneuvering and the image wasn't the best quality.
The seats in the Carnival were cream leather and perforated! For a family car, I thought these were the ultimate impractical combination which would be very difficult to keep clean and crumb free!
The Kia Carnival got a 5-star ANCAP safety rating in 2016 and has 6 airbags as standard. The side curtain airbags do extend to the third row.
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
Storage in the Carnival is AMAZING!! In the front, there are two cup-holders in the central console that will hold a disposable coffee cup or my reusable Cheeki travel mug and my large refillable water bottle will fit in them too. Behind them is a good sized well I found I put the keys in. The central console storage box is a really good size and is fully felt lined, there is a 12V socket in there and a glasses tray too.
There is a well in front of the cup holders for your phone and the 12V, AUX and USB sockets are there too.
There are two glove boxes, one above the other in the dashboard. The top one I found useful for my purse and the lower one was a good size for my iPad with the manual; this one can be cooled as well. There is also another storage area in the side of the central console, a good for 600ml water bottles or an iPad or my handbag fitted in there.
The door pockets in the front were full of storage too! My large refillable water bottle fitted easily with an iPad and wallet and above them was another storage area too!
In the second row seats there are map pockets on the back of both seats, however, they are made of net and very small so anything you put in there would be visible. There is a hook on the back of one seat too so you could hang a bag from it. There are two cup holders in the rear of the central console box, they are a good size for a reusable or disposable coffee cup and a Pigeon baby bottle fit well in them too. There is a rubber lined shelf and a glasses case in the back of the central console too.
The back door pockets are really big too, they are big enough for a large refillable water bottle, iPad and wallet and more. The central seatback also folds forward with two cup holders on its back. They are a good size for re-usable and disposable coffee cups and a large refillable water bottle fits in them too.
In the third row seats, there are two cup holders on each side, they are a good size for a reusable and disposable coffee cup and a large refillable water bottle.
The boot space in the Carnival is rather odd! I think it was the main thing that threw me when I was testing it! When you are using all three rows of seats the boot space is like a trough behind the third-row seats!
I really didn't think much would fit in there at all but actually, 10 shopping bags fitted.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres ia not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
With the Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller, I can fit five shopping bags alongside it. I actually liked this method of standing the stroller up as I felt it used less space than in conventional car boots where you have to lay it down.
The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fitted also with five shopping bags. The problem with the Flexx tandem stroller was that it is modular so not as easy to put in and out of the boot because the pieces do not stand independently like the Duet and Urban Jungle do and I had to wedge them in place.
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller also fitted with five shopping bags beside it.
The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with seven shopping bags.
When you are only using two rows of seats you can fold the third-row seats away into the trough behind them. When you do this it feels very much like a van only the floor is not flat and smooth, there are metal seat anchorages sticking up, handles and straps and it is very uneven and when we used it like this, when our fish and chips at the beach got rained on, I threw a big towel over it all.
When only using five seats I could fit 24 shopping bags in the back.
The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted with 15 shopping bags.
I found I could just reach to put the shopping in the back of the boot space but really I found the first two rows nearest the front of the boot the easiest to reach and I'm 164cm. The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fitted with 16 shopping bags.
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with 16 shopping bags too.
The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with 22 shopping bags.
Loading things in an out of the boot is relatively easy when using all three rows of seats but it is is low so you have to bend down to it and it is not a good height for an emergency nappy change either! There is a 12V socket on the right-hand side and shopping hooks on both sides of the boot too.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
The reversing camera in the Kia Carnival has quite a low res, grainy image.
The parking sensor visuals are on the digital display in front of the steering wheel rather than on the camera view. I find this very difficult as while you are turning the steering wheel, its spokes and your hands get in the way of the display that is alerting you where an obstacle is. When reversing you have to stop, peer around the wheel or your hands and it can be really off-putting.
You can not easily mute the parking sensor beep unless you turn the sensors off altogether. You can do this with a button down in the central console.
Lane departure warning in the Carnival can be turned on and off with a button by your right knee.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The indicator volume is not too loud and would not affect sleeping children on board.
The sat nav volume controls are not easily adjusted on the touchscreen. I found it difficult to reach while driving and although the icon is on the screen it doesn't mute it at a touch, you have to click through to a volume screen and press the volume down button enough times to get it really quiet.
In the media screen settings, you can change it so that you can use your volume knob to adjust the sat-nav volume which I find much easier to use while driving.
You can also turn the screen touch beep off in this screen too.
It was quite easy to connect my phone to the Carnival; the system is quite straightforward and easily navigated. There is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which makes things easier. Once I had connected my Apple CarPlay then whenever I had my nursery rhymes already playing on my phone as soon as I plugged in the USB the song played out of the car speakers.
The Carnival also has a drag and drop screen in the volume screen settings where you can adjust which speakers the music will play out of.
The windows open and closed really noisily in the Carnival and I think would definitely disturb a sleeping child.
The rear doors in the Carnival open by sliding along the side of the car rather than opening outwards. There are buttons to activate them in the front ceiling so the driver can do it.
On the handle on the outside of the car and on the pillars on the inside of the door. I did try pressing these buttons while driving along as I was a little worried about little hands pressing the buttons but the doors did not open; instead an alarm sounded to alert the driver.
The Carnival does not have auto engine cut out to save fuel when you are stopped at lights.
The road noise is good in the Carnival, however, the engine is loud especially when going up hills!
An alarm did not sound when I came to a stop, took off my seatbelt and opened the door with the engine still running. However, as soon as I turned the engine off it chimed a deafening alarm! This would wake any sleeping child you were hoping might remain asleep or you wanted to delicately transfer into the house!!
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back! If it's hot I need to leave the engine running and the aircon on but I do like to get out and drink my cuppa tea in the fresh air while enjoying the fact my limbs are free from said dangling child!!
SO this is a very important test as I have found that sometimes I have been held hostage by a cars BEEEEPING alarms when I have taken off my seatbelt or opened the door while the engine is still running!! (I only stand outside the car, I am not a bad mother!!)
There are seatbelt alarms for the front and outer second-row seats but not the rest of the seats. A light shows up on the dashboard to alert you of the seatbelts being unfastened in these seats only and an alarm chimes but not for any of the other seats. I would probably want to know about the third-row seatbelts as they are the ones I couldn't see while driving.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
The Carnival is a large eight-seater people mover; the seats in the second row of the Carnival each slide and moves individually. They each have a large sliding range to allow you to distribute legroom. There is ISOFix in the two outer seats but not in the central seat and although they are not within plastic guides, they protrude slightly from the seat upholstery between the seat base and set back. I found them relatively easy to connect and disconnect the ISOFix connectors.
There are only top tethers for the two outer second-row seats. They are situated right down the bottom of the back of their backrests. I found with both rear-facing child seats I installed I needed an extension strap for the top tethers.
I could easily install two child seats in the second row of seats and I could sit between them very comfortably. I installed the rear-facing Britax Graphene and Britax Platinum Pro.
The third row is split 60:40 and there are three seats. There is ISOFix in the seat on the driver's side of the vehicle.
This seat and the central seat both have top tethers in the back, accessible through the boot. They are positioned right at the bottom of the seats too.
I thought it was strange the two top tethers were in the seats next to each other, I thought if they had been in the two outer seats then you would more easily fit two child seats? I installed the forward facing Britax Maxi Guard Pro and Britax Kid Guard Pro in the third row and there was still good space beside them that I found I could fit into (I'm 164cm).
Although the Carnival only has anchorages for four child seats, they did all fit well and the Carnival seems to allow for families with children of varying ages and sizes because you can install the four child seats and carry two bigger kids or adults beside them. Legroom is extremely good. With the first and second-row seats in their furthest back position I had 23cm of knee room in the third row, 19cm in the second row and 32cm in the driver's seat and ample headroom. With the Britax Platinum Pro rear facing, in the second row, the front passenger had 22cm of knee room which we found ample for a 180cm front passenger.
To access the third row without uninstalling a second-row child seat, I could see two options; one sliding the second-row seats all the way back and folding down the central seat and children squeezing in front of the rear facing child seat and climbing over the central seat. This would, of course, be much easier if one of your second-row child seats was forward facing. Or bringing the second-row seat all the way forward and tipping the car seat up using the handle on the side of the backrest. The only thing I think would be an issue is an adult trying to reach into the third row to do up and undo child seat harnesses and you would want third row passengers to be big enough to climb into their own child seats too.
My daughter was 105cm at the time I tested this Carnival and she found it difficult to climb into her forward-facing Britax Platinum Pro child seat in the second row, so I awkwardly lifted her up into it each time but I did find the ceiling and door frame a bit low. The child seat is a bulky one so it may have made it harder but I think the seat of the car sits quite high up. Posting baby into their child seat in the second row from inside the vehicle is fine, as the interior is very roomy.
Australia being a country of weather extremes- blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is room to feed Bub in both rear rows of seats if you only have one child seat installed. All seats are made from perforated cream leather, so keeping them clean is difficult as all crumbs and sand will get trapped in the perforations and cream is a crazy colour to try and keep clean for a car full of kids!!
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
The driver's seat in the Carnival I tested, is fully adjustable and although nicely padded etc I just didn't find it always very comfortable. I felt the backrest didn't support me at the shoulders and the headrest pushed my head forward and didn't allow for a ponytail at all. It may be my height and that others taller or smaller may find it more comfortable.
I spent hours styling my hair this morning, said no new mum ever!!
The second and third-row seats were very comfortable, even the central second-row seat was good and seat belt buckles could be moved out from under your bottom.
For the first year of Tulsi's life when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with Tulsi so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
In the back of the central console box, there is a USB socket for charging phones.
The second-row seats slide and adjust individually to allow for distribution of legroom, which is excellent throughout the Carnival.
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down. The cruise controls are on the right side of the steering wheel and are easy to use, the cruise control I found to be accurate on undulating roads at 60km/h and on more straight faster roads.
There are four aircon vents across the front dashboard, two in the centre and one at either end.
In the back, there are round vents in the ceiling above the third-row seats.
Also in the ceiling above the second-row seats and a control panel in the second-row ceiling too. I do find you have to make sure before you set off that these round vents are not pointing directly on little bubs as I have found it upsets my little one and you can't reach to adjust them while driving.
There are dual aircon controls on the dashboard in the front and for the rear aircon, which I found easy to use and great for being able to control the airflow in the back for my little passengers!
I found the aircon great on a warm Queensland day and the ‘Clean Air' filter helps to keep the bad smells out too!
The windows in the Carnival are big and deep so visibility is not actually as bad as you would expect for an eight-seater! With all the child seats installed visibility from the second row back is minimal, the side mirrors and reversing camera help hugely with this. Compared to an SUV, I find I can judge where the edges of the Carnival are though as there are not a lot of protruding bumpers etc.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we get the big cars and utes as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, the visibility in the Carnival meant it was not really quick to park but no where near as hard as you would expect for a car of this size because you can see the front and back of it!
The second-row headrests fold forward automatically when you fold the seats forward and they are a good shape to hold the rear-facing baby mirror, increasing visibility for the rear-facing child.
There is two press on lights above the second and third-row seats, in the centre of the ceiling, and another light behind the third-row seats for the boot. Those in the second-row ceiling I found are not reachable while driving.
I find it important to reach the interior rear lights so that when I am driving bub at night I can turn the lights on while she is awake so that she is not scared in the dark and then I can switch them off once she is asleep.
In the front are two press on lights positioned in the ceiling and buttons to control the lights in the back, but you have to have them all on there are not individual controls. There is not a glasses case in the ceiling but a conversation mirror which I LOVE as it allows me to check on the rear passengers without turning my head and allows my forward facing passengers to see my face, which I find keeps my little one a lot calmer while travelling in the car.
The Carnival has lit vanity mirrors on both sides in the front and they are extendable too.
The Kia Carnival is a surprisingly nice car to drive, I thought it would feel frumpy and enormous but it is not at all. I do enjoy driving big vehicles though so I didn't find it at all intimidating. It's more like a van that has big windows so the visibility is much better and makes it feel light inside. It is not the kind of car that on country roads you are going to be throwing around corners! It is big and like a van, you need to drive it considerately on bendy roads. Around town and suburbs, it is fine, a bit noisy uphill as it tries to haul itself up them but feels easy to maneuver and I found parking fine.
There is handles above the back doors and in the ceiling on both sides above the third-row seats, which is great for hanging a child’s toy from.
The interior of the Kia Carnival I drove had some nice finishes and felt much more modern and luxury than I was expecting in a people mover. The dash and black surfaces would be easily cleanable but the cream perforated leather seats and cram surfaces I think would be hard to keep clean with lots of kids spills, sticky fingers and muddy feet!
There are floor mats in the front and rear seats but when the third-row seats are folded away I think it would be good to have a big floor mat that covers the boot space.
There is keyless entry and one of my favourite features has been the press button sliding rear doors and press to unlock and lock the front doors. I was able to go to my car with my arms laden and just press the button to unlock the car! Also really handy just press the rear door button and the doors open, there is no handle to pull, which leaves your hands completely free for carrying kids and kid stuff!! The same to leave load yourself up with everything and then press the button to close the rear doors and press the front one to lock the whole car!
The tailgate is powered too, you can press the button to open and close the boot too, but it does beep loudly initially to open and close. Another great feature to this is that you can open and close the rear doors and tailgate from the key. So as you walk out to the car with the kids you can open the car doors while you are still a fair way from the car and the kids can start climbing up into their seats before you get there! I never realised this was something that would make life simpler until I had it! Now I think I will miss it when I go back to regular car doors!!
BabyDrive Indepth - Safety
The Kia Carnival got a five star ANCAP safety rating in 2016. It was awarded a total score of 34.62 out of 37. For the frontal offset test, it scored 14.29 out of 16 and for the side impact test it got the maximum 16/16 and 2/2 for pole test and pedestrian detection was rated acceptable.
The Carnival has six airbags as standard. Driver and front passenger frontal airbags, front side airbags and curtain airbags for all three rows of passengers.
The Kia Carnival comes with anti-lock braking system (ABS) with brake assist (BA) and electronic brake force distribution (EBD), hill-start assist control (HAC), electronic stability control (ESC) with traction control system (TCS), lane departure warning system (LDWS), autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning system (FCWS), speed sensing auto door lock and dusk-sensing automatic headlamps.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound.
I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Tulsi’s asleep!
For family day care educators the access to 3rd row to fasten children in would burt ypur bach with school drop off pick ups..
The middle seat 2nd row needs a bolt
I would just like to thank BabyDrive for this comprehensive review. I pick my brand new MY19 Carnival S tomorrow, your review helped my husband and I to decide that the Kia was a right fit for our family of 7. Also thank you for using Britax child seats in your video, this really helped us, as both of our seats are Britax (milenia and kid guard pro).
You are more than welcome Kristen, I’m so glad to have been able to help you 🙂 Enjoy your new car and your beautiful family 🙂
Hi there, we are from Malaysia and have bought this car for about a month now. We were really glad that we came across this guide before we bought this car.
Anyway, we did face some issue with “floating isofix”. We have two car seat, namely Joie i-spin 360 and Joie spin 360. We noted that both the child seats are “floating”
as there is a gap between the car seat base and vehicle seat.
Although Joie said it is alright, we are slightly concerned by this though.
Nevertheless, thanks for the great guide in this blog!
Hi i do chilcare and had a 2008 carnival , that car had 5 anchor points. I recently purchaced a 2017 and not realising it only has 4. I now have 6 kids that need 6 anchor points. Can this model have added anchor points please
Best to ask ACRI https://acri.com.au
Thank you for your comprehensive and realistic review. Yours is the first review that actually discussed baby seats in the second row and access to the back row that I’ve come across after months of searching (can’t physically check any vehicles due to lockdown).
We are looking for a 7-8 seater, I have a 4yr old and a 1yr old and I’m looking to now transport my aging parents too (for family outings when/if lockdown ends) this review has helped me realise that it’s going to be between a multivan or a imax for us. I’m looking for a used vehicle at the moment as my work hours are less due to COVID and i don’t need any more debt. I love the multivan, but it seems very over priced in comparison to the imax (which is less practical and has less safety features). If only there was an affordable option that had it all!! Haha