I will provide some insight as Carnival KX owner. Been using for 3 months.

What I liked:

- Noise level. On idling, it’s a very quiet cabin. Cannot differentiate petrol or diesel. But if you’re outside though then it’s a different story – the diesel sound is obvious, very obvious. In city driving, less than 2k rpm is sufficient to move this 2ton MPV effortlessly. Below 2k rpm, the diesel clatter is very well controlled. Similar to Mercedes diesel than Hilux etc. Between 2k to 3k rpm, you can start spinning the wheel (effortlessly as well). On highway speed, it’s very calm cabin. You can communicate easily without raising your voice. Quieter than Honda & Toyota. At highway speed, it’s comparable/quieter than the latest Alphard (I had been in once between Bangkok airport & city).

- Power. 2.5 Alphard/Vellfire, move away. It pulls as well as 3.5 V6 Alphard/Vellfire. At highway speed, it’s less than 2k rpm (very relaxing). 160kmh is easy. 180kmh is manageable but the engine will be too noisy, quite tiring to the ear.. It’s like driving Honda at 130-140kmh.

- Handling & Size. Good! REALLY doesn’t feel like a 2 ton car. It follows your intended direction, and brake effortlessly. Driving at highway speed, the feeling is comparable to driving CX5. At 160kmh, the confidence is there.

- Boot space!!! Why I bought this in the first place. For Alphard/Vellfire, you have to choose whether to carry people or luggage if you’re going for a long trip. This monster boot space is huge. It takes anything. Bring 8 person + all luggages. Surely, there will be questions why I chose this over Hyundai Starex. Simply because the handling. I have driven rental Starex for a week, it’s a huge boat. As a comparative, MPV with XV40 Toyota Camry handling.


What could have made it better:

- Built in Bluetooth please….I mean, how much is a bluetooth chip??? Anyway, I have found a solution. Google : Roidmi 3s. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth and transmit back to FM for the radio… So low tech.. It’s pre-order currently. My unit has yet to arrive, will test and update. DO NOT BUY ROIDMI 2S. IT DOES NOT WORK WITH CARNIVAL!!

- Auto A/C. The colour combination for high spec is not my taste…. That’s why I chose the mid spec.. But mid spec do not have auto A/C!!! Very regrettable..

- The auto door logic is hard to learn.. This is my first auto door car. I find it very troublesome to shift to P before I can electronically open the door (you can still open it manually). No override switch.. And when it refuse to open, it just refuse to open with just a ‘beep’. Kia could have incorporate warning message why the auto door is not opening. For the first 2 weeks, it’s a hide & seek game trying to find out whats wrong.

Is it hard to maneuver? Yes, especially in Multi-storey building. The steering is light and power is sufficient, but you need to be always be very aware of the size and length of the car.

These are what I could think of so far. If you need more feedback, shoot me the questions here. Will answer as much as I know.

This post has been edited by williamc: Jul 25 2017, 09:19 AM

An update : I have received my Roidmi 3S [NOT 2S]. It works with the Kia Carnival! And the sound quality is good, been testing during the weekend. You can just leave your radio to the preset frequency and leave it just like that. No hissing sound evne when there's no audio input. It's as good as using 3.5mm audio cable. And the bluetooth auto connects once your phone has been paired. Though, takes a slowish 10-15seconds to auto connect... The Roidmi comes with 2 additional USB port (3.4A max for both). So in total you get 5 USB port in the car!!