Kia Grand Carnival EXE CRDi
Kia's Australian Open sponsorship has cemented the Grand Carnival eight-seat people-mover as the default choice for shuttling tennis stars around the place.
But with people-mover sales falling faster than Mark Philippoussis' world ranking, the Korean brand has reignited interest in the long-wheelbase Grand Carnival by adding a more frugal four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine.
The only other engine for the 2.0-tonne Grand is a thirsty 3.8-litre petrol V6 averaging 12.8 litres per 100 kilometres.
What do you get?
With the diesel model adding $3000 to the Grand Carnival's price, it may take a while before the reduced fuel usage recoups the price premium.
The diesel line-up and equipment mirrors the petrol. The EXE tested starts at $41,990, the Premium is priced from $47,990 and the Platinum from $53,990.
The EXE comes standard with a long list of equipment but the base model gets 16-inch steel wheels. Premium and Platinum add 17-inch alloy wheels, leather seats and power sliding doors. The Platinum also gets a power tailgate and six-CD audio.
A five-year warranty is standard but so is a space-saver spare tyre.
How safe?
Front-side and curtain airbags as part of an optional safety pack cost an extra $1300. Worse, the safety belts in the middle seats are lap-only.
And despite the Grand Carnival's length and limited rear visibility, a reversing camera and parking sensors are not available at all.
The EXE does come with standard stability control and anti-lock brakes. Its shorter sibling, the Carnival, has a four-star NCAP crash test rating.
Child seat anchors are at the base of second and third-row seats.
What's inside?
Space and flexibility remain the Grand Carnival's forte.
There's space for adults in both rear rows, although in row three it's fairly snug. Each second-row seat can be individually folded, flipped and removed using plenty of pull-straps or levers, while the third row split-folds 60-40 into the floor. It yields a huge amount of cabin space.
It's not that the Grand Carnival lacks space with all seats in place, as behind row three is a pit big enough to swallow a family's weekly shopping.
Access to the rear passenger area is through sliding doors that, like the car's tailgate, are fairly heavy to operate.
The EXE's interior presentation is grey, drab and hard and the front seats are large but unsupportive. The steering wheel adjusts only for tilt and lacks audio controls. There is no left-foot footrest behind the foot-operated parking brake.
However, the high-mounted gearchange falls easily to hand and storage options abound. A fold-down tray between the front seats gives easy access to the rear seats.
Under the bonnet
With less power but the same 343Nm of torque as the V6, the diesel Grand Carnivals might seem very similar in performance to the petrol.
But the diesel's pulling power gives more responsiveness at lower and middling speeds than the V6.
However, pressing the throttle reveals engine noise and some turbo lag as the revs rise from idle and the five-speed auto sometimes gets muddled as the revs and boost ebb and flow. Even with its flaws it's still a better option than the petrol engine.
The other advantage of the diesel is fuel economy, with Kia claiming 12.8L/100km for the petrol model and 8.5L/100km for the diesel model.
Our road test of the V6 last year recorded a pretty horrific fuel-use result of 14.4L/100km. By comparison, the diesel model finished at 10.3L/100km.
On the road
In town, the Grand Carnival is OK to operate. A 12.1-metre turning circle is intimidating but the steering is light and the windows huge, so visibility is adequate in most directions.
At moderate speeds the Grand Carnival is docile enough. A long 3020-millimetre wheelbase helps with the ride. But encounter corners and things soon turn to mush, with savage steering kick-back over bumps and no shortage of tyre-squealing understeer, even at mild speeds.
The cruise control struggled on downhill runs, tending to surge against the brakes and making progress somewhat stuttery.
Verdict
The diesel Grand Carnival is a logical next step for one of the biggest and heaviest people-movers around. However, diesel fuel prices recently have unfortunately at times blown out to almost 40 cents a litre higher than petrol prices.
Buyers will need to decide if the long-term fuel savings make the diesel a more economical choice than the petrol version. Good luck forecasting that.