Test Drive Kia Carnival (Sedona) SWB since 2006 Minivan

Squeezing wind

Kia Carnival 2.5
Full-sized seven-eight-grade mini-Ven with three rows of seats debuted in 1998, and in 2002 it was updated.
Equipped with a gasoline engine V6 2.5 liters or a diesel superior four 2.9 liters. Drive front, 5-speed manual gearbox or four-stage automatic.
In some countries, this model with a 3.5 liter engine and an automatic transmission is known as a sedon.
In Russia, carnavals are sold, assembled in Kaliningrad by Avtotor. Price range from $ 22,50 to 26,200, cost of a test car $ 22 250.

Windjammer (Windjammer) literally squeezing wind. Thus called Tea Clippers Runny vessels with a huge square of sails who have committed record quick transitions from the Indian Ocean to Europe around Africa with a perishable freight of the tea leaf.

Take everything!
... Mountain bags, backpacks, curvatures, some packages are piled up almost to the chandelier. The composition was crowned with Tanya doll with a player and stuck teddy bear, sizes close to the prototype. Yes, perhaps, I got excited, after challenging in the morning: the car is big, you can take with you everything you want. The family perceived my words literally. Well, even though the furniture was left.
However, the car is really big. Kia Carnival with a length of non-small five meters belongs to the so-called full-size mini Wenam: in the cabin with an area with a small room there are three rows of full-fledged seats for seven adult passengers. The idea is dismantled with an extra row (there are only four of us, and the chairs of the two rear rows can be literally in a literally one movement) The youngest daughter stopped in the root: I will sleep here!.
Unexpectedly, all the equipment plotted on the car than the lot in it a lot of boxes, shelves and secluded places. For the tool, first-aid kit, cable and other necessary things there was a great place under the driver's seat: there are about 30 liters of free space. In the trunk, perhaps, it would not be prevented by the grid, so that when opening the fifth door, a wall of bags did not crumble. Long cargo on the floor Do not make interfere with massive bases of seats, because the case with mountain skiing is located on the roof, there are reliefs with two moving crossings.
Overall the carnival in the ordinary garage, taking it almost without a residue. It was necessary to turn around on a tight patch in several techniques, because a considerable wheelbase of 2.9 m causes a large rotation radius of 6.5 m. However, a great overview, a huge area of \u200b\u200bglazing and large outer mirrors helps to feel well.
 
Space machine
Early in the morning started by quite deserted at this time of the year the M4 Don highway. Weather frustrating snow with rain. But somewhere there, one and a half thousand kilometers to the south, we are waiting for the sea, palm trees and the sun. Let not so hot as in the summer.
The first tens of kilometers survived driving, getting used to the car. She is very fast, but unusually quiet and comfortable, not heard either a motor, nor a whistle of the wind, nor noise wheels. The speed is completely not felt, so first time you have to constantly control yourself on the speedometer. If the device for moving time is called a time of time, then the Kia carnival can be called a space of space. It is still modestly said: this express literally devours kilometers is easy, as if playing.
Mounted transverse V-shaped gear with a power of 150 liters. from. Only with a dynamic start gives itself a muffled roar. To improve traction at low revs, its maximum power has been reduced, it was 165 liters to restyling. from. It is the ability of the engine to a complete return without visible stress makes a simple torn urban ride on a heavy two-ton Wen. But still his true purpose is a silent flight on a highway.
High landing (and the head of the driver is at an altitude of 1.6 meters from the roadbed) allows you to look at the roofs of passenger cars, it is better to predict the situation on the road and expect overtaking in advance. The latter is important: the carnival car is heavy and inert, and V transmission here is long, it hits easily and quickly, but reluctantly accelerates. Broken someone in the feed for the jerk will have to switch down. Better on the third she shoots the car like a gun. Then the fifth immediately and again silent flight. It seems that the normal cruising speed for the carnival of 130150 km / h is perfectly on the road, absolutely does not respond to the ruts sold in the asphalt and easily takes off on the raises. If the speed fell to hundreds, here without IV transmission can not do.

More gas is less than a hole!
Closer to Voronezh the price of the 92nd fell to 9 rubles. 40 kopecks And the light bulb on the gas station. The first refueling: 482 km left 69.9 liters. Total 14.5 liters per hundred. Much, I used to more modest passenger appetites. But if you consider the size, weight and speed of the machine, then everything converges.
The carnival management is very light, and the long gear ratio of the mechanism (3.5 turns from the stop until the stop) also speaks about the stein character of the car, it does not strain the need to make accurate millimeter movements. The reverse side of maneuvering the Branca is intercepting more often than usual. However, the high, carnish carnival on a soft suspension was not to be screwed into turns, they need to go smoothly, without losing advantages.
It was about this suspension that there is more gas less than the holes: if it works fine on small and medium speeds, then as the road seems to be smoothed, blows and shocks from numerous after the winter are chosen without a trace. Meanwhile, the design is traditional: in front of McFoodson on the subframe, behind the continuous beam on five levers, like the VAZ classics, only with passive (outer) bridge.

TO STAND! AFRAID!
Rostov Region, Krasnodar Territory: on the roads many plywood silhouettes of patrol machines, at DPS posts a mandatory stop sign. Before him, you need to make Ku-U-Uu with squats, traffic cops are watchingly. And very surprised when you find out that such an installation of the sign is incorrect and illegal. Dear inspectors, learn traffic rules!
Passengers managed to do: everyone has a comfortable velor chair with a pair of adjustments, armrests and soft head restraints, an individual block of lighting and ventilation, illumination at the bottom of the doors.
I, too, completely mastered driving by the way, the adjustable steering column is tilted quite strongly, almost like in a regular car. Parking brake turns on American pedal. A short gearbox lever right at hand, on the protrusion of the central console, just above the climate control unit is complicated, but exhaustively multifunctional. For example, besides simply climate control, there is automatic control of air purity next to some kind of kamaz itself turns on to recycling mode. The rain sensor, if necessary, will give the command to the windshield wipers, and the outer temperature pointer will prompt that warmer. By the way, it is worth all this magnificence $ 22,250 another full-size car, even in the fiscal configuration itself, just not to find.
But it really happened, the snow outside the windows has long been no. Late in the evening, we pass a low ridge pass and roll to the sea here is already spring. Slightly walking from the road, I can not believe that the distance I was before driving in two days, flew on the carnival per day!
Then there were Sochi palm trees, flowering mimosa in Adler here real Spring, plus twenty two! Lapel in the mountains, cut down along the turbulent Mzimta road in the rocks, where the carnival seemed hardly fit into steep bends, and, finally, a short rest in Krasnaya Polyana. And on the way back, the snow poured, the flowering trees clappers. Two distillations with overnight in terrible traps in Kamensk and we are at home again. Total, for four runs 3522 km with an average fuel consumption of 13.9 / 100 km.

KRASNAYA POLYANA
In the distant past, the Valley of the Mzimt river was the shortest path from the North Caucasus to the Black Sea. There were decomposures of more than twenty ancient fortresses. 40 km from the coast of one and a half century ago, Circassian Aul Kbaja was located, who after conquering a white king came to launch. In the fall of 1878, 36 Greek families appeared here from the Stavropol province. Ajacked by the beauty of red-brown fern, scarlet and golden maples, cherries, they called this place with a red meadow. A little later, Estonian settlers settled downstream in the course of the flow, calling their village Esto-Sadok Estonian garden.
Today is the Red Polyana. Beautiful nature reserve and resort. The services of staying hotels of any level, rafting alloy on mzymte mzymte, horse riding, paragliding flights, tourist routes. Gourmets can catch the trout on their own, which they will serve them in a quarter to the table. But the most important thing here is built by one of the largest ski centers in the Caucasus. The lower station of the partial lifts is located at an altitude of 540 m, the fourth line rises to 2228 m, above the forest level. You can ride here from November to April-May. Imagine snow and skiing in the morning, and in the evening you can go down to the sea!

Kia Carnival acquires new bleits! The company AvtoTotor has prepared for production two modifications of the well-known car mini-Ven in high comfort and taxis.
Suite for businessmen inherited the best qualities of the usual seven-bed mini-Wen: high smoothness, low inner noise level, air conditioning with uniform distribution of air flow. The spacious salon at the corresponding seating reconnection (now five of them) and the installation of a small elegant table creates if not chic, then a decent setting for VIPs. The comfort and confidentiality of communication provides the soundproof partition between passengers and the driver. Additional equipment in the form of a bar, refrigerator, audioosystems, satellite communications and other things depends on the desire, fantasy and thickness of the customer's wallet.
In the taxi, the carnival has undergone more significant changes. The gasoline engine has changed more tracked and economical turbodiesel volume of 2.9 liters. Taking into account the specifics of the car operation, the layout and equipment of the cabin are changed. The surface of the floor is aligned and covered with a special non-slip plastic. The rear row of seats is shifted as much as possible to increase the volume of the luggage compartment. Instead of the dismantled middle seats, one folded is installed, and the front is deployed against the stroke. It provides a convenient landing and disembarking of passengers through side sliding doors and allows you to place an additional luggage in front of the cabin.
In the capital, the carnavaly-taxis will be operated by the enterprise Metro Cab. It will also be equipped with a special equipment supplied by a car: a partition for the driver, a cash register and additional seats. At the first stage, it is planned to start the operation of 100 taxi in Moscow and the region. In the future, deliveries will be organized in other major cities of Russia.

+ Spacious comfortable salon, many transformation options, excellent noise insulation, high smoothness, full-fledged third seats, attractive price.
- high fuel consumption in the city, a large radius of rotation, large dimensions.
 
 

 
Yuri Nileyov. Photo by the author

A source: Journal "Behind the wheel"