2022 Kia Carnival EX Yearlong Review Verdict: Was a Skeptic Convinced?

This van had one job to do over the course of 12 months and 20,000 miles: Convince me the 2022 Kia Carnival deserved to win that May 2021 comparison test. As a former vehicle-packaging engineer on Chrysler's NS-generation minivan, my first encounters with the loaded Carnival SX Prestige version soured me to the Kia minivan because of its giant, dopey, fixed middle-row lounge chairs. Our midgrade "sweet-spot" Carnival EX we've been driving for the past year assuaged many of my original frustrations while adding some new ones, but countered the latter with other delights and a spotless reliability record. And I've heard good reports from several owners. So, has the Kia Carnival EX earned the full-throated endorsement of this minivan savant?

Our Carnival met every passenger and cargo-hauling challenge we threw at it. When carrying eight passengers, three middle-row adults reported surprising comfort, and the passenger-talk feature eased communications between the helm and the hinter rows. Reader/owners reported rejecting our comparison runner-up Toyota Sienna on the basis of its narrow, uncomfortable second-row middle seat.

Many in the shrinking minivan market consider folding/removable seats as an immutable right enshrined in an unwritten minivan Magna Carta. The Carnival's middle-row seats are heavy and unwieldy, but removing the Toyota's, for instance, requires tools and a willingness to disconnect an active airbag. But Kia should consider adding anchors at the corners for securing loads. With no available luggage rack, items that don't fit inside must instead go on trailer-hitch-mounted accessory racks; this at least makes them easier to reach and load, and improves fuel economy as compared with roof-rack mounts.

Many of the niceties that helped the Carnival SX Prestige win our comparison are unavailable on lower trims, but the aftermarket can help. Our JBL sound system upgrade ($2,900 installed) vastly improved the bass response and overall depth of sound and even left us with a removable USB speaker for campfire or tailgate use. An electrochromic HomeLink mirror and ambient lighting kit boosted our Carnival's panache level. In all, such spiffs cost just over half the price difference between the EX and SX Prestige. We miss the 12.3-inch fully digital gauge cluster with its blind-spot-monitoring camera views during lane changes, but our upgraded EX served and indulged us sufficiently.

Kia doesn't offer all-wheel drive on its minivan, but with a fresh set of Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2 winter tires featuring Blizzak Multi-Cell Technology to wick water away from ice ($197 each from Tirerack.com plus $100 installation), no weather canceled our Carnival. Acceleration and braking felt almost as strong as on wet roads, and it changed lanes across snow berms with confidence.

We never tired of the Carnival's bold design, inside and out. The Smart driving mode is more responsive than Eco mode, more economical than Sport mode, and its dash telltale changes colors to signal its current leanings. The mix of hard buttons and infotainment screen menus seemed appropriate and was easily mastered. Inside and out the paint, upholstery and trim have held up great, and thanks to tires sized to bulge out sufficiently, our wheels are unmarred by curb rash. Readers who claimed the random stack of surplus rearview mirrors we received, which were offered in Update 8, also shared their impressions. Paul from Columbus, Ohio, who traded in an older Kia Sorento, was pleasantly surprised to find "Japanese quality like I'd expect from Honda." He also applauded his dealer bringing a car to him for a test drive, with zero sales pressure. Mike from Atlanta occasionally swaps his Carnival for his daughter's Telluride when she needs more space. They find the Carnival more responsive and the Telluride smoother riding.

The infotainment screen seems wide enough to show both Apple CarPlay and other data, like song or station information. The front and middle-row seats both leave occupants fidgeting after three or four hours, and the soft suspension (especially in the rear) too easily bottoms out on freeway overpass transitions, jarring rear-occupant spines. A set of Nivomat self-leveling shocks are needed but not yet offered on the aftermarket. Readers and staff alike wish for more, better storage options in front. Ryan from Chesapeake, Virginia, noted that nobody new ever guesses the correct lever when trying to access the rear seat, unlike in the Telluride SUV. His biggest peeve is one of ours, too: The van won't lock until every door is closed. Can't the electronics hold a locking request and execute it when the doors finally close? And the wait lengthens after implementing a power-door safety recall that further slows the door-closing rate. (Reader Paul above filed a report with the NTSB after a door pinched his child.) Finally, Kia needs to simplify the infuriating process to initiate and renew its onboard Wi-Fi service.

Apart from a few early electronic niggles (CarPlay blacking out, warnings of battery drain from radio usage while the car was running), our Carnival never let us down nor utilized its long warranty. We spent $273.97 on two service stops, which were both performed expeditiously. That total would be slightly higher with a fuel-system treatment, but the manual mainly recommends it for owners without access to top-tier premium fuel, which we use exclusively. That roughly matches the $276.88 spent on a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica but exceeds the $218.31 we spent on our 2021 Honda Odyssey over equivalent mileage. The Carnival's predecessor, a 2016 Sedona, cost us $364.30 over four services in almost 35,000 miles.

Our average observed fuel economy leveled off at 21.9 mpg, nearly nailing the EPA combined average and besting the Pacifica (19.4 mpg), its 2016 Sedona forebear, and that 2021 Odyssey (19.3 mpg for both). This may say more about how many epic road trips our Carnival made, starting with its repositioning cruise from California to Detroit, then several visits each to Tennessee and the Carolinas, plus myriad drives to editors' up-north cabin retreats. That brings service and fuel costs to $0.20/mile, with depreciation adding just $0.24 to that.

In a rematch of the leading vans against a 2023 Kia Carnival SX Prestige (which can now be had with eight-passenger removable seating and no rear-seat entertainment), the contest would be way closer in my mind. Kia's superior styling, seating flexibility, and feature content, plus terrific value, reliability, and warranty coverage weigh strongly against the Sienna's non-removable seats, less useful eighth seating position, and ugly mug. But hybrid fuel efficiency, available AWD on all models, and a comfier suspension and seats make a reasonable counterargument for the Sienna. Regardless, I'll miss this van, after spending so much time making it "my own."

We asked the readers who responded to claim the electrochromic mirrors offered in Update 8 several questions about their purchase and ownership experience with Carnival LX, EX, and SX models and six responded with some interesting insights.

Chrysler Pacifica (3), GMC Acadia (1), Honda Odyssey (3), Honda Pilot (1), Hyundai Palisade (1), Kia Telluride (1), Toyota Sienna (4), Volkswagen Atlas (1), Used vans (but they cost more than new ones when we were looking!).

I REALLY wanted to love the Sienna because of its hybrid powertrain (36 mpg) and Toyota reliability. I liked how it drove but the center seat in the eight-passenger version is soooo small, no one can seat there.—Ryan from Chesapeake

We have three kids under six and knew that if we didn't have sliding doors there would be constant hands/arms/heads shut in the doors or they'd be banging them into other cars in parking lots.—Mark from Portland

With a family of seven who takes several vacations each year, we needed space behind the final row of seats. The Sienna and Odyssey were great options, but after driving them, I really preferred the feel of the Kia and its interior felt less like a minivan than the Honda's or Toyota's.—Daniel from St. Louis, MO

Two of our respondents mentioned reversing the middle row seats—an "option" not mentioned in the owner's manual but which apparently works and has been shared on the internet.