[HudsonHornet49]

Hi: I test drove a 2023 Carnival EX this afternoon. After leaving the dealership, and looking again at the Monroney sticker online for the van, I noticed there was no mention of Homelink for opening a garage door. Does the EX have this feature, and it's just not listed? Also, this particular van had a $350 delete for the power lift gate (So it's a manual liftgate). Is that a chip issue thing? Any info on real world mpg? Carnival seems to be a very well built vehicle, and an alternative to a suv. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Phantasm22]

Not sure about the 2023’s but the 2022’s Homelink was only available as part of the SXP package. There could be some dealer installed options for homelink, so you may want to ask them. I think the delete is due to the chip shortages. That doesn’t sound like a standard delete option.

Real world MPG - we get about 17-18 mpg with exclusive city stop and go traffic with hills. On the highway, if you keep the needle pointed south of 70mph, you can pretty easily get 28mpg.

 

[HudsonHornet49]

Not sure about the 2023’s but the 2022’s Homelink was only available as part of the SXP package. There could be some dealer installed options for homelink, so you may want to ask them. I think the delete is due to the chip shortages. That doesn’t sound like a standard delete option.

Real world MPG - we get about 17-18 mpg with exclusive city stop and go traffic with hills. On the highway, if you keep the needle pointed south of 70mph, you can pretty easily get 28mpg.

Thanks for the reply. Kind of strange that Kia only offers Homelink on higher trim line, especially for a family vehicle. I think you're correct on the power tail gate delete, as it is normally standard on the EX. As far as mpg, that's about what I thought real travel experience would generate. Carnival is still an option, but I make consider Sienna awd since it's a hybrid and epa is 36/36, so maybe actual about 30 city, maybe 30+ on highway.

 

[Phantasm22]

The Sienna has great gas mileage and a great AWD system (even if it isn't able to send a lot of power to the rear wheels). We ultimately went with the Carnival because all the other features outweigh the Sienna. The Carnival has more room behind the third seat, a gorgeous infortainment and instrument cluster screens, second row heating and cooling seats along with better safety features like Lane Centering vs Toyota's Lane Tracing Assist. This is a couple years old but somewhat still relevant.

https://data.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/consumer-reports-active-driving-assistance-systems-november-16-2020.pdf

 

[Sasse]

We have an EX. We seem at average around 23 mpg in mixed driving and 28-30 mpg on the highway. I really wanted a Sienna for the hybrid powertrain and 36 mpg (which is a real number), however, the 2nd and 3rd row seat are horrible compared to the Carnival. If you like the seats in the Sienna and mpg is important to you, get the Carnival. Homelike can be added to most cars as a dealer installed option. It is typically bundled with a dimming rear view mirror. That option usually ran around $350 but I did not check if this is the case for the Carnival. My EX has the power lift gate. It must be a chip thing. I would ask if the chip can be installed at a later time.

 

[HudsonHornet49]

We have an EX. We seem at average around 23 mpg in mixed driving and 28-30 mpg on the highway. I really wanted a Sienna for the hybrid powertrain and 36 mpg (which is a real number), however, the 2nd and 3rd row seat are horrible compared to the Carnival. If you like the seats in the Sienna and mpg is important to you, get the Carnival. Homelike can be added to most cars as a dealer installed option. It is typically bundled with a dimming rear view mirror. That option usually ran around $350 but I did not check if this is the case for the Carnival. My EX has the power lift gate. It must be a chip thing. I would ask if the chip can be installed at a later time.

Thanks for the reply. I did a rough calculation on my usual "travel trip" from home to son's residence, and at current gas prices, gas cost would be approximately $72 for Carnival versus $54 for Sienna. Not a huge difference, and it's not a real world figure until actually driven. Like I said, I was impressed with the Carnival's build quality, interior, comfort, and handling, and like the cargo capacity, which is the real need here, as compared to my current ride. But thinking long term ownership, higher gas prices could make mpg a REAL concern. And heard comment by our current administration that they may consider a yearly penalty (fee?) on CURRENT gas engine only passenger vehicles based on some formula for miles driven and CO2 generated, another tactic to force us into all electric or at least hybrid vehicles. A lot to consider today when purchasing a new vehicle.

 

[Phantasm22]

One other item to consider is the out the door purchase costs. When we were looking, the comparable Toyota model was several thousands of dollars more than the Carnival which effectively washed any savings with the hybrid.

 

[HudsonHornet49]

One other item to consider is the out the door purchase costs. When we were looking, the comparable Toyota model was several thousands of dollars more than the Carnival which effectively washed any savings with the hybrid.

You are right. So even if gas prices rise, it would probably take a couple of years (?) to make up the cost savings in fuel economy due to the higher price of a Sienna. Longer cruise range, though, with the Sienna, so that's another consideration.

 

[Sasse]

Again, the deciding factor for me was the seats. The 8 passenger version of the Sienna is a joke. That center seat in the 2nd row will fit NO ONE and then when you remove it, you are left with a massive plastic hurdle to climb over to get to the 3rd row. The Carnival has 3 adult sized seats in the second row that independently slide forward-backward and can be removed in any configuration. Sienna looses big time here in my opinion.

 

[HudsonHornet49]

Again, the deciding factor for me was the seats. The 8 passenger version of the Sienna is a joke. That center seat in the 2nd row will fit NO ONE and then when you remove it, you are left with a massive plastic hurdle to climb over to get to the 3rd row. The Carnival has 3 adult sized seats in the second row that independently slide forward-backward and can be removed in any configuration. Sienna looses big time here in my opinion.

For me, I would rarely carry anyone in the third row. My current vehicle gets great gas mileage but is short on second row comfort and cargo capacity. In this "damaged" new car market, very difficult to find what you REALLY want, bc they just aren't on dealers lots. Can only go by reviews and owners forums. I've had several Toyota vehicles over the years, and every one was extremely reliable, but had shortcomings in certain areas. Like I said, I was very impressed with the Carnival. It's like the Telluride of vans. A little twitchy about any first year vehicle........seems like they always find something that needs change/improvement after use in the real world (i.e., see Subaru Ascent.....4th model year, still having issues). Leaning towards putting in order for either Carnival, Sienna, or Odyssey, to get exact color/equipment I want.

 

[kckyle]

In almost 6000 miles driving so far, I’m averaging 22 1/2 per gallon which is probably about 80% highway. Best tank so far is just short of 26 MPG.

 

[HudsonHornet49]

In almost 6000 miles driving so far, I’m averaging 22 1/2 per gallon which is probably about 80% highway. Best tank so far is just short of 26 MPG.

Thanks for the info. That's what I figured real world mpg would be.

 

[2022carnivalprestige]

Hi: I test drove a 2023 Carnival EX this afternoon. After leaving the dealership, and looking again at the Monroney sticker online for the van, I noticed there was no mention of Homelink for opening a garage door. Does the EX have this feature, and it's just not listed? Also, this particular van had a $350 delete for the power lift gate (So it's a manual liftgate). Is that a chip issue thing? Any info on real world mpg? Carnival seems to be a very well built vehicle, and an alternative to a suv. Any help is appreciated.

I have it in my 2022 Kia SXP, they are saying the 2023 ones aren’t coming with all the “fancy” options 🤷🏼‍♀️

 

[royalknight83]

We owned an Odyssey for two year, rented a Pacifica for a week long trip, but wouldn't trade either for our Carnival. The Sienna's mpg numbers are intriguing, but it's severely under-powered which turned me off. In my humble opinion, the Carnival has the best tech, nice ride/power, and good family features for the money.

 

[mrteeth2005]

I've had the Carnival SXP now for a year. We've taken it on two long road trips of over 300 miles. On both occasion, with 4 passengers, we averaged 28mpgs. That's damn impressive for a V6. In town? It's about 19-20ish. We have a smaller Subaru CrossTrek and it does most of our in town mileage. We test drove the Sienna and the Odyssey. I find that in 2021, the infotainment system for both Odyssey and Sienna insulting. It's like they didn't even try. My 2014 Pathfinder has a better back up camera than the both. They both feel dated when it comes to the tech. Ride is the same. Mileage? Well the Siena was impressive. But I'll say this: I'll take a better, quieter engine over gas mileage any day. Try accelerating with the Sienna and prepare to cover you ears. It's loud. It's weak and it's pathetic. So in the end, it's all about sacrifice. What are you willing to give up? I'm not a millionaire, but I can afford $5/gas. What I can't afford is to press on the accelerator and have the car be sluggish.

 

[royalknight83]

I keep seeing posts about homelink and wanted to share that it is an optional upgrade on any trim!! When you "build" your kia on the website, the left hand side has options/upgrades and the homelink mirror is there on any trim level for $350. It comes standard on the SXP.

 

[2022carnivalprestige]

It came standard in my 2022 SXP, but I don’t use it; it won’t pair to my garage