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Carnival’s Drawbacks

57K views 133 replies 31 participants last post by  Sasse 
#1 ·
Hi all!
I have been waiting with my vehicle upgrade for the Carnival. I love the machine and wanted to get it but below are the letdowns :(
What do you think?

1. Why am I forced to go with black wheels if I want one of the SX trims? It should’ve been an option (like Chrysler’s S Appearance)

2. Top trim only comes with 7 pax seating

3. Digital cluster, heated steering wheel, auto dimming rearview mirror (believe it?) are only available on top trim which automatically excludes me and all others who need an 8 passenger vehicle. (I’ll forgive the LED headlights and sunroof)

4. Even top trim doesn’t offer auto dimming side mirrors

Overall, Kia is pretty inconsistent with the features they offer for each trim level. While they include some extra gadgets in the lower EX trim (intercom, passenger view camera, etc.) they don’t offer everyday useful driving features on the SX trim

PS
Is rain sensing wipers an available option?
 
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#2 ·
I fully agree with you. And quite honestly, I've been waiting and extending my current lease for a good few months excitedly awaiting the sedona, but now I'm reconsidering and thinking about the payroll as pacifica again.
Reason I need a minivan is for the 8 seater, so that's my starting point. So now on the sx, missing so many of these features, getting a downgraded instrument cluster, while the pacifica always had kick to open doors, and also has some of the autonomous driving features, plus self parking. And just add the gas savings from the hybrid into the mix and its really difficult to see a reason to go with the kia.
To me, the way the features are done, seem like they just made a bunch of dice's with features, and threw them on a board with the car models, and that's how they assigned who gets what. I guess the rain sensing wiper feature must've off the board, and the sx getting digital instrument cluster landed only in the Canadian region...
 
#3 ·
Agreed! Not offering all the tech and full-LED features for 8-seater buyers is very frustrating! Not sure what the logic is there.

Other small things like not offering the full color palette for all trims is also silly as I was very keen on the Deep Chroma Blue, but it isn't offered on the upper trims. Also, non-North-American models have paddle shifters. I was SO excited to have those, but they took that away and put a traditional gear shifter instead.
 
#5 ·
Honestly, I wonder if this is actually just a mess of which trim gets which features, or they just have a mess of programmers and designers, but in actuality the features will be better streamlined.
However, either choice undermines my reliability on the vehicle...
 
#24 ·
The monitors are specifically on 3 year warranty for a reason :)

Btw I may be the only one loving the monitors once we've got it figured out 1. turn on mobile hot spot and kids pick it up from there 2. the younger kid who doesn't how to operate the screen can just mirror the screen 3. we can cast / control through the software when we want to play pre-downloaded contents instead of hot spot (I think it operates through blue tooth or some sort of UWB)
 
#25 ·
The monitors are specifically on 3 year warranty for a reason :)

Btw I may be the only one loving the monitors once we've got it figured out 1. turn on mobile hot spot and kids pick it up from there 2. the younger kid who doesn't how to operate the screen can just mirror the screen)
You are the target buyer for that feature!!! For this "old fart", Navigation is about as high tech as I get to in the owners manual. For nine years the "screen" on the ceiling of my Odyssey has been in the "wrapper".
 
#31 ·
And some people go for the clean de-badged look. I haven't actually seen a Carnival yet (not here in Oklahoma), but looking at some of the pictures in this thread, removing the Carnival badge (and any dealer advertisements) from the rear and just having the new Kia logo above the license plate would look really clean, and keep a lot of people guessing for a while.
 
#35 ·
There is no DVD player in the SX. The screens have one HDMI input and one USB input. So, you will need to bring your own player, plug it into the 115V outlet, run an HDMI cable to the screen and there you go. A bit disappointing. And another ZONK for the Kia.com website.
 
#39 ·
Another small bother: The 2 side seats in the center row only have an armrest on the side to the door. If the middle seat in folded than that becomes the armrest but I use the the middle seat for a car seat and 2 older kids at the other 2 seats.
The Sienna and Odyssey do have 2 armrests
176
Car Vehicle Fixture Motor vehicle Car seat cover
 
#43 ·
First MPV (minivan) ever, at the age of 69. We wanted those VIP middle row seats, which are very comfortable with the seat reclined and the footrests out. Even I, at 6ft, fits nicely with the seat in relaxation mode (with front passenger seat slid up). Of course, I will usually be in the driver's seat while my wife and Mother-in-Law (age 90) occupy those cushy seats.
I have tried 2 different ways to get to the 3rd row seats. Down the middle of the VIP seats and with a VIP seat slid up as far as it will go. Either way is difficult for an adult. Less difficult for a child.
For us, the 3rd row will be folded down for 95% of the time. Only need it up for the grandchildren, when we are all in the van together.
 
#45 ·
First MPV (minivan) ever, at the age of 69. We wanted those VIP middle row seats, which are very comfortable with the seat reclined and the footrests out. Even I, at 6ft, fits nicely with the seat in relaxation mode (with front passenger seat slid up). Of course, I will usually be in the driver's seat while my wife and Mother-in-Law (age 90) occupy those cushy seats.
I have tried 2 different ways to get to the 3rd row seats. Down the middle of the VIP seats and with a VIP seat slid up as far as it will go. Either way is difficult for an adult. Less difficult for a child.
For us, the 3rd row will be folded down for 95% of the time. Only need it up for the grandchildren, when we are all in the van together.
Thanks. Very insightful, indeed. I believe Kia had folks like you in mind when they designed the VIP seats.
 
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