Kia’s ultimate eight-seat family car tested

VALUE

The Kia Carnival range starts from $46,800 drive-away for the base model V6 petrol and stretches to $68,000 drive-away for a top-of-the-line diesel.

All four model grades are available with either a 3.3-litre V6 petrol or 2.2-litre turbo diesel four-cylinder, both now with eight-speed autos and driving the front wheels.

We sampled a mix of both, but didn't get through every variant in the range.

All come with Apple Car Play and Android Auto, a digital speed display and air-conditioning vents for all three rows. The upholstery changes from cloth to leather the more money you spend, with other bells and whistles.

Growing pains: The Kia Carnival seats up to eight.

Warranty is industry-leading at seven years/unlimited kilometres.

COMFORT

If you need to move a big family this is one of the best options around. It's able to seat eight in comfort, with room for luggage.

That's because the space-saver spare tyre is hidden under the right rear passenger door, rather than occupying valuable space under the boot. This gives the Carnival a massively deep cargo hold.

Access to the third row is made easy via both sliding side doors thanks to a second row that flips and slides forward with one lever.

You don't realise just how handy sliding doors are until you've lived with them for a while. No need to stress about the kids denting doors on adjacent cars. Also easier to load shopping into the back seat.

There's pretty good vision all around when empty, although with a full load on board you'll be relying heavily on the wide-view side mirrors.

SAFETY

All models get a rear camera and rear sensors; only the top two models get front sensors as well - and only the flagship Platinum edition comes with a 360-degree camera.

The curtain airbags go all the way to the third row. Auto emergency braking contributes to a five-star safety rating.

Room to spare: The Carnival can fit a large amount of cargo even with all the seats deployed.

Dearer models also gain lane departure warning (although not lane-keeping assistance), rear cross-traffic alert and blind spot warning.

DRIVING

The V6 petrol is likely the better choice, even though the diesel might be slightly more efficient. The V6 does a better job of shifting this big people mover, it's smoother and not as jerky to drive.

The power delivery of the diesel is an all-or-nothing affair, and the diesel's economy isn't substantially better around town. A diesel only really makes sense for families doing a lot of open road driving, rather than running around at suburban speeds.

The diesel is noisy by industry standards, too. The auto transmission shifts smoothly in both engines.

Easy access: The sliding doors take the stress our of loading kids and shopping.

The front driving wheels can slip in the wet if you floor the accelerator too abruptly on take-off and you need to take it easy through roundabouts. This is a big, heavy and tall vehicle.

ALTERNATIVES

Toyota Tarago

$45,490 to $65,300

Yes, they still make these but they come with a hefty price tag. Worth a look if you're in the pricey end of the market. Downsides: three-year warranty and short, 10,000km/6 month service intervals.

Honda Odyssey

$37,990 to $47,590

The Honda isn't as big as the Carnival or the Tarago but it's nicer to drive and priced more sharply. Has added appeal now that a five-year warranty is standard.

Hyundai iMax

$43,990 to $48,490

This is really a van with seats and windows, rather than a purpose-built people mover. And it lacks curtain airbag coverage for the back two rows. But it's the biggest among those listed here and has a five-year warranty.

VERDICT

If you really need the space it's hard to go past the Kia Carnival. If you don't need something quite as big, the Honda Odyssey is also a great choice.