Our 2022 Kia Carnival Continues to Haul People Gracefully

30,000-Mile Update

Now that the Toyota Sienna has finished its 40,000-mile stay with us, the Kia Carnival is the sole minivan doing duty in our fleet. Granted, Kia's three-row Sorento SUV has joined the C/D garage, but its smaller cabin and lack of sliding doors only serve to remind us that you can't beat a minivan for passenger comfort and versatility. And so, we continue to put the Carnival to good use as we approach the last quarter of our long-term test, with the Kia flying past the 30,000-mile mark this summer thanks to a steady diet of road trips.

Over the summer, the Carnival shuttled assorted staffers and their 93-year-old grandparents, pregnant siblings, and friends. It also went camping at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. It has garnered praise for its smooth ride, quiet interior, and comfortable seats, but a few small niggles have cropped up. It can be difficult to raise the heavy third-row seats from the well in the floor that they fold into; more mechanical assistance would be appreciated. And the steering-wheel controls strike us as counterintuitive: When listening to music, for example, instead of pressing the up arrow to go to the next track, you press down. The Carnival is so good that tiny issues like this stand out.

In previous updates, we mentioned the Carnival's optional $360 roof-rail crossbars and their effect on the van's fuel economy. And we now have more data to support the hypothesis that the bars hurt highway mpg when installed. We performed our 75-mph highway fuel-economy test once again, but with the crossbars removed, and saw a big difference: The Carnival without the bars achieved 28 mpg, compared with 25 mpg with the bars installed. Overall, our fuel-economy average has continued to rise and now sits at 22 mpg, matching its EPA combined estimate.

Regularly scheduled maintenance has continued to be, well, regular. A service at 24,149 miles included an engine air-filter replacement, a tire rotation, and an inspection; the dealership forgot to perform an oil change, so we went back a few days later for that. The total came to $185. The dealership also replaced a blown right front speaker under warranty, and at 26,278 miles we replaced a damaged rear mud flap for $86 after waiting a few weeks for the part to come in.

With only a few thousand miles left in its test, our Carnival SX Prestige will soon depart, and we'll be sad to see it go. Keep an eye out for a full recap of its 40,000-mile stay within the next few months.

Months in Fleet: 11 months Current Mileage: 34,191 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 22 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 19.0 gallons Observed Fuel Range: 410 mi
Service: $464 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $86

20,000-Mile Update

It's only been a few months since we last checked in with our 2022 Kia Carnival, but it has already accumulated another 10,000 miles and blown past the halfway point of its 40,000-mile evaluation. And those miles haven't been easy on our Kia minivan, as we made use of its towing capacity for the first time and added Tennessee, North Carolina, Vermont, and Florida to its list of road-trip destinations.

The Carnival's biggest task lately was to tow a U-Haul trailer full of stuff from Michigan to New York, which it handled admirably. The Kia's stable highway manners instill confidence no matter what it's pulling, and the 3.5-liter V-6 didn't feel overly taxed by the extra weight. Its indicated highway fuel economy during the trek wasn't bad, hovering around 18 to 20 mpg, and the 19.0-gallon fuel tank made it easy to go 300 miles between pit stops. Unladen, we're often going over 400 miles per tank, with 457 being the current maximum. Still, that is less impressive when compared with our other long-term minivan, the Toyota Sienna hybrid, which is averaging more than 30 mpg and can easily do 500 miles on a tank. Curiously, we have pumped more than 19 gallons into the Carnival's 19.0-gallon tank on two occasions, and the last miles leading up to those stops weren't exactly nail-biters. We've asked Kia if there's a reserve amount that's not accounted for in the tank-size rating, and will report back next time.

Overall, our Carnival's average fuel economy has risen 1 mpg to 21 mpg, and several highway trips have approached its 26-mpg EPA highway estimate. We've even occasionally exceeded that number, recording a few tanks upwards of 27 mpg when all the stars align. While it's difficult to isolate variables, we did remove the roof-rail crossbars and remount the stock all-season tires since our last update, both of which seem to have helped its efficiency.

While initial opinions were mixed on the Carnival SX Prestige's standard VIP Lounge second-row seats due to their limited versatility (they can't be removed or folded flat), our passengers have started to appreciate these hedonistic thrones. Senior associate editor Eric Stafford described the recliner-style chairs as a "perfect refuge for hungover bodies after a weekend-long bachelor party in Nashville." Indeed, the seats' heating and cooling functions and power-adjustable ottomans seem to surprise and delight our friends and family members whenever we put them back there. Technical assistant Jacob Kurowicki also had good things to say about the Carnival's front seats after a 1200-mile round trip to Florida, noting that they provide better comfort than the Sienna's front seats on long journeys.

The Carnival visited the dealer for routine service at 17,000 miles, which included an oil and filter change, tire rotation, multipoint inspection, and a new cabin air filter. This cost $174, and we were also able to convince the service techs this time that the audio speaker in the passenger's side A-pillar was in fact blown. A replacement speaker has been ordered and should be installed before the Carnival reaches 30,000 miles, which at this rate shouldn't take long.

Months in Fleet: 7 months Current Mileage: 20,270 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 21 mpg
Fuel Tank Size: 19.0 gallons Observed Fuel Range: 390 mi
Service: $279 Normal Wear: $0 Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $0

10,000-Mile Update

It didn't take long for our long-term 2022 Kia Carnival to start doing minivan things. We've had it for only a few months, and we have already used it as a family conveyance on road trips to South Carolina and New York, as a daily commuter, and occasionally as a mobile office. Some have likened it to a "Telluride minivan," which is high praise considering how much Kia's 10Best-winning three-row SUV impressed us during its own 40,000-mile stay.

Initial praise has revolved around the Carnival's smooth ride and quiet on-road demeanor, along with its appealing center stack, which features helpful menu buttons that make navigating the 12.3-inch infotainment screen easy. We found the front seats to be comfortable, but we still aren't sold on the second-row VIP recliner-style captain's chairs, which appear to be tailor-made for adults getting chauffeured around rather than for kids. Not only do they reduce legroom in the third row, but they also make it difficult to get back there because they must be slid closer together—leaving only a narrow passageway between them—to enable their full range of rearward travel and allow for the ottomans to be extended.