The History Of KIA Carnival

The Kia Carnival is a minivan produced by Kia Motors. It is known in the UK and North America as the Kia Sedona. It had a base price starting at around US$20,000, which was lower than most competing minivans. The later, smaller Kia Rondo has continued this tradition. It is available in the United States with a 3.5L DOHC V6 engine producing 195hp (145kW) SAE (145kW), and many other countries with a 2.9L DOHC turbodiesel, with 144PS (142hp SAE/ 106kW). A 2.5L V6 is available in some markets. A 5-speed manual transmission is standard for the smaller engines, with a 4-speed automatic transmission available as an option. A 5-speed automatic is the only transmission in the American market. The Sedona was Kia's top-selling vehicle in the United States when it launched.

In the United States, it is available in a base short-wheel base model, a long-wheelbase mid-level LX model and a top of the line long-wheelbase EX model.

The Sedona/ Carnival is rebadged and sold as the Naza Ria in Malaysia. This allows the van to qualify for National Car incentives within Malaysia.

The Carnival is produced for the Chinese market by the Dongfeng Yueda Kia Automobile Company, a joint venture with Kia.

The Kia Sedona (codename LS) was a new model from Kia to compete with the minivan segment of Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, and the Chrysler minivans. It had a 3.5L V6 engine making 195hp (145kW). It was mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission. The Sedona lacked features that other minivans had such as power sliding doors and power liftgate, a fold flat third row seat, navigation system, rear-view camera, and backup sensors. Early Sedonas were rated at 15.6 L/ 100 km (15.1 mpg) (city) and 10.9 L/ 100 km (21.6 mpg) (highway), but the numbers improved slightly to 14.8 L/ 100 km (15.9 mpg) (city) and 9.6 L/ 100 km (24.5 mpg) (highway) for 2005 models. Nevertheless, the Sedona takes in more gasoline per kilometre than its competitors, some of which also had more power to boot.

In Australia, the Kia Carnival went on sale in 1999, with a standard 5-speed manual and 2.5L V6 producing 177hp (132kW). A 4-speed automatic was optional. In 2001, it managed to outsell the Toyota Tarago, becoming the top-selling minivan in the country. It was sales leader again in 2004 and 2005, when sales peaked at 5,259 units, which in itself was a record for any minivan. Much of its success is due to its low pricing: at A$29,990 it is about $10-$15,000 cheaper than most rivals. This generation is still sold in some countries.

This new model is a rebadged Hyundai Entourage which features Hyundai's LAMBDA engine. In autumn 2005 for the 2006 model year, Kia introduced a redesigned Sedona offering features such as a 60/ 40 fold flat seat, power sliding doors and liftgate, second row power windows, backup sensors, and a navigation system (in Korean models). The new Sedona has a 3.8L V6 making 244hp (182kW).

The new Sedona went on sale in Australia in January 2006 as the Grand Carnival. It continues to be sold alongside the old model. The new model features a 3.8L V6 engine, standard seating for 8, and a 5-speed automatic with manual shift mode. It is priced almost 25% higher than the existing Carnival, which continues with a 2.5L V6. Sedona now boasts more room for seven and added cargo capacity.

The vehicle is offered in two wheelbases. Both short (7-seater) and long wheelbase (7- and 11-seater)[citation needed] models are available worldwide (sales of the SWB model in the US began in October 2006). Australia has yet to see the 11-seater model, and no information is available on when it will be released (June 2007). In South Korea, a high roof model (Carnival Hi-Limousine) manufactured by Proto Motors is also available.

The American configuration earned a five-star safety rating — the highest honor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration bestows — for all seating positions in frontal and side-impact crashes. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also rates the Sedona “Good” — its highest rating — in front, side and rear impacts. The IIHS, in fact, has christened the 2006 Sedona a “Gold Top Safety Pick,” making the Sedona (and the similar Hyundai Entourage) the safest minivan ever tested.

The Kia Sedona (Carnival) has also picked up the 2007 MotorWeek “Best Minivan” award in its 2007 Drivers' Choice Awards, while both the Sorento and Sedona (Carnival), along with six other Kia models, picked up The Car Book 2007’s “Best Bet” distinction. Overall, Kia models improved 22%-in J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Initial Quality Study (IQS), and-improved twice as much as any competitor in the last 3 years.

In the 2007 reliability report published by TÜV, Kia Carnival placed 113th out of 113 in the 2 to 3-year-old cars category, with a defect rate of 25.1%. In the 2008 TÜV report, Kia Carnival placed 116th out of 116 in the same category, with a defect rate of 19.70%, and also placed 111th out of 111 in the 4 to 5-year-old cars category, with a defect rate of 27.60%. Also, Consumer Reports' reliability survey gave the Kia Sedona an average rating at first, but it dropped to below average.