So, I just happen to be one of the early buyers of the new KIA Carnival 2012 Deluxe (No. 2 Option) in the UAE. This new model just arrived weeks back in Abu Dhabi. I grabbed a white colored, 8-seater configuration. I have been told that there are almost no differences between this model (2012) and the past year's.
Here is my objective review of the vehicle, which I intend to update periodically.
Deal & Delivery
The car came with an exact 20km done on the meter. Turns out PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) and the trip from Mina Warehouse (Al Mina) to the showroom (Tourist Club Area) contributed to it.
As with any new KIA car these days, this one comes with 5 Years or 100,000 KM warranty.
Dealer also throwed in a special price of 2000 AED for comprehensive insurance from United Insurance. I had to pay 1,000 AED extra for this insurance besides the 86,000 AED car price. Turns out that the real car value was 85,000 AED, and in case I didnt wanted insurance from them, they would have returned the 1,000 AED back. To be sure, I checked with United Insurance seperately, they quoted around 3,000 AED to me for the same model.
My car was registered with Abu Dhabi Traffic Department in the same deal as well, I think that costs around 300 AED and an hour of queues and waiting time.
First Look
When you have accepted the fact that it IS a mini-van (aka Mommy's Car), it does look quite well. The front grill and the back give the Carnival a pretty decent shape. Its not aggressive in any sense, but its not pooh bear-ish as well... works for me.
Air Conditioning
Pretty decent. Since I am used to the my Honda Civic 2001, the A/C strength seemed a bit weaker to me, but then again, I paid for a Korean car and its not fair to expect the Jap-goodness. Overall, it takes a bit of time to get the A/C to cool on full strength, from a stand still, but after couple of minutes it becomes very cold and you have to turn it off. Again, ignore my Japanese biasness, and you are looking at a well suited A/C for such a big car.
There are 2 A/C fan speed controls in the dashboard, one for the front fans and the other for the fans located in the 2nd and 3rd row seating (combined control). As a driver, you can either control the back seats fan yourself or "grant them" the control by activating the "Rear Control" button so that they can adjust it themselves. In the UAE summer of July, I found that after 15 minutes of cooling at full fan speed, you need to turn the cooling lower, 2nd and the 3rd rows passenger felt the same.
Performance
Considering its bulky size, its pretty responsive and accelerates at an impressive rate. The hike was sound/vibration-less uptil about 120km/h. I touched 155 km/h without any noticable annoyance or discomfort. Also the ride from 120 to 150 was swift, it didnt took too long or too hard for the vehicle to reach the 150, so it means you can overtake on such speeds as well, though its not recommended for obvious reasons.
I find the accelerator to be very response, and the brake to be just-average responsive. In the end making the brakes feel a bit loose. Maybe I need to get it tuned.
Safety
Here is my objective review of the vehicle, which I intend to update periodically.
Deal & Delivery
The car came with an exact 20km done on the meter. Turns out PDI (Pre-Delivery Inspection) and the trip from Mina Warehouse (Al Mina) to the showroom (Tourist Club Area) contributed to it.
As with any new KIA car these days, this one comes with 5 Years or 100,000 KM warranty.
Dealer also throwed in a special price of 2000 AED for comprehensive insurance from United Insurance. I had to pay 1,000 AED extra for this insurance besides the 86,000 AED car price. Turns out that the real car value was 85,000 AED, and in case I didnt wanted insurance from them, they would have returned the 1,000 AED back. To be sure, I checked with United Insurance seperately, they quoted around 3,000 AED to me for the same model.
My car was registered with Abu Dhabi Traffic Department in the same deal as well, I think that costs around 300 AED and an hour of queues and waiting time.
First Look
When you have accepted the fact that it IS a mini-van (aka Mommy's Car), it does look quite well. The front grill and the back give the Carnival a pretty decent shape. Its not aggressive in any sense, but its not pooh bear-ish as well... works for me.
Air Conditioning
Pretty decent. Since I am used to the my Honda Civic 2001, the A/C strength seemed a bit weaker to me, but then again, I paid for a Korean car and its not fair to expect the Jap-goodness. Overall, it takes a bit of time to get the A/C to cool on full strength, from a stand still, but after couple of minutes it becomes very cold and you have to turn it off. Again, ignore my Japanese biasness, and you are looking at a well suited A/C for such a big car.
There are 2 A/C fan speed controls in the dashboard, one for the front fans and the other for the fans located in the 2nd and 3rd row seating (combined control). As a driver, you can either control the back seats fan yourself or "grant them" the control by activating the "Rear Control" button so that they can adjust it themselves. In the UAE summer of July, I found that after 15 minutes of cooling at full fan speed, you need to turn the cooling lower, 2nd and the 3rd rows passenger felt the same.
Performance
Considering its bulky size, its pretty responsive and accelerates at an impressive rate. The hike was sound/vibration-less uptil about 120km/h. I touched 155 km/h without any noticable annoyance or discomfort. Also the ride from 120 to 150 was swift, it didnt took too long or too hard for the vehicle to reach the 150, so it means you can overtake on such speeds as well, though its not recommended for obvious reasons.
I find the accelerator to be very response, and the brake to be just-average responsive. In the end making the brakes feel a bit loose. Maybe I need to get it tuned.
Safety
- Was shocked by the inability of the front seat locks to LOCK the vehicle... weird!. See KIA Carnival 2012 - No locks for front seats?.
Nov-2015 Update (4+ years after the blog post):
FWIW:
FWIW:
- The decision to service the car at JAM or outside was a tricky one. I took the risky option as the car was new and hence low probability of parts malfunctioning. Anyway, it worked out well for me Alhamdulillah, some people may disagree. I would like to mention here that I may have been at advantage because Carnival was revamped in 2011 and the agency may have been a little lenient by not checking my service contract when I later went in for a service (without a service plan and while doing all the services outside JAM).
- The car (rather van) is good, the best when it comes to space and hauling. However its not a premier/luxury/comfortable one for sure.
- I regret the decision of not going for No. 1 option because of leather seating. If you are buying a minivan, probably you have 3 or more kids and there is a high probability that some of them are small and handful. They might (WILL) mess up the car, and its really hard to get things back in shape no matter which cleaning spray you buy. If you are planning for one, leather seating is a must.
- The 3.0L is enough to shock some people, who wouldn't imagine a minivan accelerating at this rate. However the brakes are not designed to match that engine, they take their time. 100 KM/Hr is a reasonable/controllable speed, 110 is still fine. 120 would be risky for sure.
- Disclosure: I write these comments without reviewing the revamped 2016 Carnival. Whose front grill looks a bit aggressive for a mini-van (a plus point), don't know what has changed from the inside...
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