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2011 Kia Grand Carnival Update Announced

Kia Australia has this week announced the 2011 Grand Carnival, bringing a modest styling update, new safety features and improved fuel economy.

The Grand Carnival's trim and equipment grades have also been overhauled, dropping the EXE and


Kia Australia has this week announced the 2011 Grand Carnival, bringing a modest styling update, new safety features and improved fuel economy.

The Grand Carnival's trim and equipment grades have also been overhauled, dropping the EXE and Premium lines and replacing them with Kia's newer Si and SLi nomenclature. The Platinum line will continue to be the range-topping equipment grade.

On the safety front, the updated Grand Carnival sees the addition of side and curtain airbags to the standard equipment list, joining the existing ESP, ABS and Electronic Brake Distribution systems.

Other standard features include strengthened steel anti-intrusion beams and ladder-like floor reinforcements.

Boosting safety in SLi and Platinum models is a reversing camera, integrated into the rear-view mirror (first seen in the top-level versions of the Kia Soul).

Click to read TMR's review of the 2009 Kia Grand Carnival EXE CRDi.

The petrol-engined Grand Carnival gets a new heart for the 2011 model year, drawing power from the Euro IV-compliant Hyundai-Kia 3.5 litre DOHC V6 Lambda II engine. Power is listed as 202kW (at 6300rpm), bettering the outgoing 3.8 litre V6 engine's 182kW.

Fuel economy is listed at 10.9 l/100km, down 1.9 l/100km on the outgoing engine, while emissions have also fallen 43g/km to 259g/km.

The new engine is paired with Kia's new six-speed automatic transmission, the same unit offered with the new Kia Sorento, Hyundai ix35 and the updated Hyundai Santa Fe.

On the styling front, little has changed for the updated Grand Carnival, the most obvious change coming in the form of the 'Schreyer line' grille up front. There are also 16-inch steel wheel covers for the S and Si models, and 17-inch alloy wheels for the SLi and Premium grades.

Pricing and Availability

The Grand Carnival continues to be a top seller for Kia, selling around 17,250 units between January 2006 and April this year - about 29 percent of the roughly 59,500 'people movers' sold nationally in that period.

The 2011 model year Grand Carnival is priced from $36,990 for the Carnival S, with the petrol Si Grand Carnival starting at $41,490. The diesel-powered Platinum Grand Carnival comes in at $56,990.

Note: prices are Manufacturer's List Price only and do not include dealer delivery or on-road costs.

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