It appears to be that this time KIA has the strongest possibility of getting the success owing to the fact that the KIA-Lucky venture is monetarily the strongest when evaluated with other two ventures KIA had in the past in Pakistan. The global satisfactoriness of South Korean manufacturer KIA has improved radically and their product portfolio is improved than ever, measured up to the likes that were introduced in earlier times.
Last week near Hyderabad, one of the three vehicles that were spotted testing was the KIA Carnival, the 7/8 seater minivan that KIA says as an MPV. The Carnival is sold by a variety of names worldwide counting KIA Grand Carnival as well as KIA Sedona.
The Grand Carnival is said to be as the most luxurious vehicle by KIA and it’s an optimistic indication that new comers are enthusiastic to hit the segments that were not at all really searched by the existing manufacturers in our market previously.
It was designed by Peter Schreyer, ex- Audi designer generally known for his design offerings to the Audi TT & Volkswagen New Beetle. Schreyer now heads the design teams at Hyundai and KIA & has developed a noticeably new, more up to date look that you see in KIA vehicles nowadays.
The KIA Grand Carnival comes equipped with either 3.3 liter Lambda II GDi V6 or a 2.2 liter CRDI VGT R-Line turbodiesel engine and it’s simple to suppose that the 2.2 liter diesel variant will most likely be accessible in Pakistan in view of the fact that it’s available in other Asian markets too counting Malaysia where it was launched earlier this year.
The 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine gives 193PS at 3,800rpm and 440Nm of torque at 1,750 to 2,750rpm mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. The fuel consumption is rated at 7.7 liter per 100km that simply converts into approximately 13km in a liter.
Coming to the equipment list, it comprises of projector halogen headlamps, LED daytime running lights (DRLs), electric-folding side mirrors, power sliding doors, keyless entry with push-start, smart power tailgate, a 3.5-inch Supervision TFT-mono OLED instrument cluster, 4.3-inch TFT color touchscreen entertainment system and a six-speaker audio system with USB and AUX-in connectivity etc.
One of the appealing features is the power sliding rear door that presents entrance to rear seat passengers. The system is so intellectual that if the windows pulled down, the sliding door won’t entirely open all the way (whereas still giving fine access to get in & out) with the intention to avoid any injury to the passengers. Nevertheless it functions normally if the rear windows are entirely clogged.
Safety equipment takes in six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, electronic stability control (ESC), anti-lock braking system (ABS) and hill-start assist control.
The Grand Carnival allocates its eight passengers accordingly across three rows of seats, all with their own set of ceiling-mounted air-conditioning vents. The seating configuration presents a lot of choices as the second-row seats can be creased up in a 40:20:40 split and the middle seat can be detached entirely if you only want seats for two passengers.
Going to the third row is also simple as the second row seats don’t fold as most cars do but as an alternative it straightens upright to provide a wider opening to get to the back. In addition the third row seats can be folded flat in a 50:50 split to house in more cargo.
By now, the Grand Carnival has an inspiring 359 liters of boot space with all the seats up and with the seats folded, presents an enormous 2,718 liters of space which is quite ample. KIA also presents an 11-seat version of the Grand Carnival in specific markets.
As said before, it’s good to see new comers eager to tap the segments that were not at all untouched in our market earlier and the Grand Carnival will be a welcoming addition too. Nevertheless this all is dependent on the price, maintenance and after sales support by the company. If Kia-Lucky is capable to keep that in equilibrium, then we might be capable of seeing some vigorous competition ahead in our market.
Stay tuned to Autodeals.PK for more updates on KIA’s comeback!
