Comments on: 2008 Kia Grand Carnival Review

By: Davey

Davey — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 16:17:08 +0000

Why don’t the Kia Australia execs go in to bat for us Aussies and demand 2nd and 3rd row lap/sash seat belts, the US get them in the very same car.

I hate it everytime we have to buckle up in those dangerous lap only belts…weren’t they from the 1960′s?

By: Rob Nixon

Rob Nixon — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:04:32 +0000

Hi we just love our Kia Carnival.
Yes we have had warranty problems but Kia Motors & Tynan Motors so far have come to the party.
Power yes , comfort & space for all yes,Looks to us like a large Comadore . NOTE we stepped out of a comadore to go for our 2008 Kia.We tow a 2000klg boat , take kids to soccer & use for all our family trips.
Kia :please bring out a 4wd & you will corner the market..

Cheers Rob

By: Kerry

Kerry — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:55:53 +0000

I too am trying to make the decision to give Kia a chance. Particularly like the Premium and keen on the diesel. My biggest issue is the lap belts in 2nd and 3rd row. Does anyone know if this can altered to a lap/sash belt ? I am narrowed down to either the Mitshubishi Grandis or Kia Grand Carnival Premium.

By: Caught by Carnival

Caught by Carnival — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 07:02:04 +0000

Hi Rich

What haappend about the class action? Did it take place and were you involved?

By: Caught by Carnival

Caught by Carnival — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 07:00:38 +0000

Hi Salesman

Can you please tell me which enigine were replaced? which model, year etc? was it done globally or only in Au?

By: Nath746

Nath746 — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 04:30:03 +0000

We have a 2009 Model Grand Carnival Basic Model with no Audio Controls on the Steering Wheel or no Electric Doors. But Kia still decide to have pieces of plastic stuck to the sides of the steering wheel and to the roof to resemble buttons that would cost more to put there. surely they would remove these and just have nothing there (steering wheel) or a sheet of plastic on the roof (for the door and boot controls).
Also, the seats are EXTREMELY flat and hard and uncomfortable on trips more than 150kms and the Fuel Economy is Dreadful. We were towing an 800kg trailer around and it averaged 15.5L per 100km.
Also, our Fuel Tank is not 80 Litres, but only about 68 (as we found out when we ran out of fuel and filled it up completely and only being able to put 68 litres in…)
Positives though are the large boot with all the seats folded up.
Another downside is the sheer size of the thing… it is almost impossible to take it into an underground carpark in the city without scratching it.

By: mmmmm

mmmmm — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:37:32 +0000

WOW 80 000 kms, they must have been the good ones.
Kia are a dishonest company for selling Australian families cars they knew would blow up.
they maybe better now but why would anyone trust kia

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:15:39 +0000

Sorry in that last sentence I meant bucket seats in the second row! I have since seen a picture with the middle seat folded down like an armrest, but that still doesn’t give the ease of access to the third row which I also like about the bucket seats in the middle row.

By: Deb

Deb — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:47:26 +0000

Hi – just wanted to ask about 7 seater vs 8 seater Carnivals. I have four kids and love my 2008 Carnival. I purposely didn’t get a Grande because it didn’t have the 2 bucket seats in the middle. My kids (and every other person who rides in the back of my Carnival) LOVE those bucket seats and all the little things that go with them. It looks like all new Carnivals, Grande or not are now 8 seaters. The website says “3 buckets” in the middle row. Anyone know how that works? If the middle seat were removable, there wouldn’t be any arm rests, would there? My local KIA car salesman said he would look into it, but I haven’t heard anything back. I would buy a Kia Carnival ONLY only for those lovely bucket seats in the third row – am I asking for the impossible?

By: Chris

Chris — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:52:31 +0000

Hi all, just a quick note in regards to the fuel economy of the 2008 Grand Carnival. We bought one in March 2009 and have been running it on normal unleaded for all that time. Took it to the dealer as we were only getting about 420 kms out of a tank which is roughly 18.8l/100km. A long way off the 12.8l/100km they tell you at point of sale. We have just started using premium unleaded as suggseted by the dealer after they found nothing wrong with the car. The fuel consumption has dropped dramatically and we now get about 14l/100km out of a tank. Good improvement even when you do have to pay a little extra for fuel. We are also thinking of travelling around Australia in 2012 with our four children and a camper trailer. Anyone done such a thing in a Grand Carnival? If so how was the ride?