The Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) has awarded the 2016 Kia Carnival with a five-star rating. The upgraded crash safety rating is applicable to all variants of the Kia Carnival manufactured from 23rd December 2015 onwards.
The people mover had earlier scored a four-star rating last year, which came as a surprise to the Korean carmaker. At the time, the Carnival’s ANCAP report stated that “excessive movement of the park and foot brake pedals and significant footwell deformation” as a reason behind the subpar results.
“After a disappointing four-star result for the Carnival in March last year, Kia has worked to implement a number of safety improvements which have seen the vehicle reach the five-star mark,” ANCAP Chief Executive Officer James Goodwin said.
“A number of design changes to the Carnival have seen the score in the frontal offset test increase substantially and consumers should feel confident the updated vehicle offers significant improvements to safety,” he said.
The safety updates introduced proved to be effective with the frontal offset crash test result increasing from 10.48 to 14.29 points out of 16. This brings the Carnival’s overall score to 34.62 out of 37.
Side impact protection meanwhile scored a perfect 16 out of 16, while whiplash and pedestrian protection received a ‘Good’ and ‘Acceptable’ rating, respectively. The Kia Carnival is also the first model to meet ANCAP’s 2016 requirements and be awarded with a 2016 date-stamped safety rating.
Even with the increased score, Goodwin stated that there were still issues with intrusion into the driver’s foot well area and pedal movement. However, the risk was reduced compared to the previously-tested model.
The third-generation Kia Carnival was sighted in Malaysia recently as a left-hand drive model. As of now, there is no confirmation that the massive MPV will be introduced here. A source told paultan.org that the Carnival’s local introduction is still under consideration.
GALLERY: Kia Sedona (US-market)
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Kia Carnival@ Naza Ria has it up and down in Malaysia and a number of recurring problems especially on gearbox and engine. Also known for it poor fuel consumption. But that was decade ago…Kia is now ready to do battle again against the like of Alphard and Starex.
Thats the old Carnival/Naza Ria….no such prob, the fuel consumption is very good esp for the diesel variant, same 2.2 CRDi diesel as the one in the Santa Fe, very powerful(almost 200hp & 440nm of Torque) & frugal too!!
Please…please….please….import the 2.2 diesel version.
Agreed 100%, bring the diesel variant!