The football carnival might be over - but the Carnival that ferried officials to and from the action is now on sale.
During the recent under-20 football World Cup, South Korean manufacturer Kia supplied more than 100 vehicles for official use during the tournament which was played throughout New Zealand. It was easy to spot the Kias, too - they were the vehicles decked out in the Fifa colours.
Among the fleet were 25 examples of the new third-generation Carnival people-mover, which at that stage hadn't been officially launched in NZ. But now it has - and at a media function in Auckland, Kia NZ managing director Todd McDonald said their use during the U-20 World Cup had created a significant amount of interest.
"We expect that to translate into buyer demand now that vehicles are going into the dealerships for sale."
Mind you, with people-movers "demand" is very much a relative word, because the reality is there is little demand for any people-mover in NZ.
Statistics from last year show that by far the biggest-selling people-mover was the Dodge Journey, a very attractively priced vehicle which achieved 562 sales. But all the rest of the MPV sales were at best in their dozens rather than their hundreds - for example 55 Honda Odysseys, 16 Toyota Previas and nine Chrysler Voyagers.
Carnival sold at a rate of about one a week, which was pretty good going for a model that had been on the market since 2006. Now there's the new model, and McDonald is expecting sales to improve - although not by much, because he believes there will always be a limited market for people-movers.
"This new model is a stunning MPV - almost SUV-ish," he told journalists. "It's got attitude, because it goes beyond the established styling of MPVs. It's not just an eight-seat vehicle to transport passengers and their luggage. The new Carnival is seriously good-looking, and we believe it will attract buyers as much for its styling as for its practicality."
McDonald is right, too. Initial impression is that it is clearly the best-looking people-mover on the market, with chunky bodyshell lines set off by a wide and upright "tiger-nose" grille flanked by sharply contoured headlights. The exterior styling was penned by Kia's design centre in Namyang under the direction of the famed Peter Schreyer who is Kia's chief design officer.
It must have been something of a challenge to design a more efficient and better-looking people-mover after Kia's Schreyer-led efforts that had resulted in such attractive product as the Optima sedan and Sorento SUV. But they have done well with this latest interpretation of the traditional MPV. It is shorter and 5.5cm lower than the previous model, but the wheelbase has been increased by 40mm so there is more of what people-movers should be renowned for - interior room.
That interior is impressive, too. Designed at Kia's North American studios in California and selected as one of the 10 Best Interiors of 2015 by the US magazine Ward's Automotive, it is comfortable up front where a wide dashboard is angled slightly towards the driver, and very spacious in the rear.
Second-row seats have armrests similar to aircraft seats, and the entire second row can tumble forward then stand up straight to open up easier access to the third row. And that third row, which is of a 60:40 split/fold design, has much more legroom than the previous Carnival. It's all impressively spacious, even in the cargo area which has grown by 77 litres to a capacious 960 litres with all seats in use, growing to 2220 litres when the third row of seats is folded down, and on to a van-like 4022 litres when all the rear seats are stowed.
All five version of the new Carnival offer seating for eight, with access either side of the vehicle via electrically-operated sliding doors. Entry model is the $49,990 EX which is powered by the well-known 2.2-litre R-Series turbodiesel that already powers several Kia and Hyundai vehicles. The engine also powers $58,990 Limited and $65,990 Premium models. In addition there are two petrol engined versions, a $56,990 Limited and $63,990 Premium, both of which have a 3.3-litre V6 under their bonnet. All models have a six-speed automatic transmission.
Specification levels look good on all models, with the Premium featuring satellite navigation, rear-view camera display, a DVD player, and the safety of lane departure watrning, forward collision alert, radar-operated cruise control, high-beam assist, blind spot detection, lane change assist, and rear cross traffic alert.
Both the diesel and petrol engines have been improved for their use in the Carnival. The diesel has received a modest increase in power and torque, now offering 147 kilowatts of power and 440 newton metres of torque - that's up from the 429 Nm in the previous model. Meanwhile, the petrol V6 is now a direct injected 3.3-litre unit that produces 206 kW at 6000 rpm and 336 Nm at 5300 rpm - it replaces the old 3.5-litre multi-point injected V6 which offered slightly less power but slightly more torque.
A short drive programme during the media conference showed up the new Carnival to be a considerably sharper-handling vehicle than before, largely due to the fact the vehicle's torsional rigidity has been improved by a massive 74 per cent thanks to greater use of high tensile steels. And while the new model carries over the previous Carnival's MacPherson strut front suspension and multi-link setup at the rear, various improvements including first use of high-performance dampers on any Kia vehicle, help improve ride comfort and handling stability.
There's also better soundproofing on all models, although during the drive programme the tyre roar on secondary roads south of Auckland meant it was difficult for people sitting in the third row of seats to converse with those in the front.
But, hey - maybe that's as it should be, because it is usually the kids who are riding shotgun in the rear seats of any MPV, and what adult wants to listen to them arguing?
Initial impression is that this is among the best people-movers yet seen in NZ, and it deserves to do well. Pity then that McDonald has to make do with a prediction that a continuation of around 52 sales a year will suffice. Let's hope it does better - because this new Kia deserves to carry on the carnival of fun that it was party to during that Under-20 World Cup.
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