VALUE
The changes to the Grand Carnival also brought a price
jump, with the range now starting at $44,490 and moving up three more
steps to top out at $52,190.
We tested the third-level SLi priced
from $50,190 for the diesel ($4000 more than the 2.5-litre V6 petrol).
At this spec level you get all the stuff you'd expect in a reasonably
kitted car, plus powered sliding doors, reversing camera, heated
exterior mirrors, cruise control, Bluetooth, six-speaker audio with
CD-stack and music player jacks, powered pop-out windows for the third
row, front and rear airconditioning, leather upholstery, roof rails and
17-inch alloys.
Hyundai's iMax is close to $8000 cheaper, but with more thirst and
less power and torque, and misses out on extras like the reversing
camera and leather.
If you're worried about the stigma of
people-movers, get Honda's Odyssey at about $4000 cheaper, and pass it
off as a car. It looks and feels like one, but unfortunately when you
load it up you'll find it has the small torque of one, too.
Another
way to avoid the stigma is with the Dodge Journey R/T, also about $4000
less, which looks brutish enough that nobody will dare say anything.
But it doesn't have the muscle to back it up, and the interior quality
is a weak point.
Like the Honda, there's a lack of torque with the Toyota Tarago, and
it's joined by an outdated auto. But while it costs $2300 more than Kia,
the Korean matches its only high point: four-star safety.
The
Chrysler Grand Voyager CRD LX is about $7000 more, and though it's
fairly well kitted-out, it's nowhere near as loaded as you'd expect for
that price. And despite having a larger engine, it doesn't deliver the
goods. You won't have to worry about any "breeder bus" slurs if you buy
the Mercedes-Benz Viano.
You can shrug them off with the knowledge that
you've splashed the maximum cash at this level, $26,000 more than the
Kia. But for that you get five-star safety, effortless torque and a
luxury fit-out. And the three-point badge, for some, will be worth the
price.
TECHNOLOGY
The new 2.2-litre turbo diesel and six-speed
automatic transmission are borrowed from Kia's Sorento SUV. It's 700cc
smaller than the engine it replaces but it's bigger where it counts,
punching out 143kW of power (up 7kW), but more importantly a hefty 96Nm
of extra torque at 429Nm. That's enough to pull a junior footy scrum
over the line.
It might also leave enough in the budget for a
post-game hamburger stop, with the fuel economy improving from
8.5L/100km to 8.1L/100km. Then, if the little know-it-alls start
quizzing you about what you're doing to save the planet, you can tell
them CO2 emissions are down from 224g/km to 213g/km. And to shut up and
eat their burgers.
DESIGN
There's design for style and there's design for
function. Custom has it that the most functional way to carry things is a
box, and that's the Grand Carnival in a word. It's not sleek, it's not
sharp but it's cornered the market on space. Even the third row won't
feel short-changed - although they'll feel a long way from the driver.
The 5130mm length makes for a lot of leg room but a bit of a parking
challenge. Luckily there's a reversing camera, and if you teach the
third row passengers to use the international standards for semaphore
flag signalling, you should be fine.
You can remove the second row of seats and fold the third away to give you room for an impromptu sleepover.
Access
is easy with sliding doors that are huge and, thankfully, powered, with
a light touch persuading them to close. Unfortunately, you don't get
the same on the rear door until the top-spec, but the manual effort will
save you on gym fees. It's got clever features, such as the extra
monitor mirror that lets you keep an eye on any civil wars brewing in
the rear and the centre-front table that folds down to give you
walk-through access if you have to impose martial law.
SAFETY
The
Grand Carnival hasn't been crash-tested here, but the shorter wheelbase
won a four-star ANCAP rating in 2006. Most of its main rivals don't
have ratings, not a good thing when you're carting a large proportion of
your bloodline around. The exceptions are the Toyota Tarago with four
stars, and the Benz Viano with five.
The safety list includes
anti-lock brakes with brakeforce distribution to counter uneven loading
and brake assist to give extra force for panic stops, stability and
traction control, plus dual front, side and curtain airbags. On the
downside, the middle passengers in the back rows get only lap seatbelts
rather than lap-sash.
DRIVING
We expected the Grand
Carnival to lumber around like a tranquilised hippo but it delivers a
surprisingly good drive. You won't get any sports performance, granted,
but it kicks in off the line, and the powerful diesel is strong all the
way through.
Despite the size and shape, it handles more like a
car than a van. Cornering can be approached without fear as long as you
don't get too vigorous, when it will punish you with pronounced
wallowing and a reminder of its two-tonne weight.
It's not fazed
by carrying a heavy load, and actually rides much better when at least
half the seats are filled, which is going to be most of the time for its
target market. The driver sits high and gets to steer smoothly (even if
it looks as if they should be at the horizontal wheel of a city bus).
It's very manoeuvrable but you have to keep an eye on the corners on
parking ramps and in shopping centres. The reversing camera helps with
parking, but sensors at all corners would be welcome too.
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