Kia Carnival vs Ford Transit

What's the difference?

Kia has dubbed the Carnival a Grand Utility Vehicle and I think that’s an apt description. The space will excite families and all occupants will be fairly comfortable. Sibling squabbles may not be as bad in the back seats due to the sheer number of amenities! I love how practical the boot space is and the driving experience is really good. I wasn’t perturbed by the size of this at all because it didn’t handle like a beast. 

Bonus, the turbo-diesel engine is very efficient given the size of the body it’s moving around. I give this a 9.5/10.

My kid loved this car. He loved touching every button he could and wanted me to fit his child seat in every position, so he could really ‘test the car mummy’. I’ve definitely gone to pro-level with child seat installation now and he gives this a 10/10.

The E-Transit is quiet, comfortable, rides well, can handle heavy payloads, has zero emissions and would be well-suited to urban daily commercial use for which it’s been designed for. However, $104K-plus would be out of reach for many private owners and small businesses. That’s why Ford is aiming it primarily at fleet buyers, who will quickly determine the commercial success or failure of the E-Transit in Australia. Watch this space.

With the dimensions to suit transporting a developing nation, the Carnival ain't small. It’s not too high, being only 1775mm tall, but the 1995mm width and 5155mm length is what will make you question whether it will fit inside your garage.

Don’t fret, it has a superb 11.7m turning circle, so navigating your local Westfield car park is more than possible.

You will fill a car space but you’ll still fit (just). The 172mm ground clearance makes it easy to get in and out (even for kids, hurrah).

With dimensions like those, it would be easy for it to look like a brick-on-wheels, but it doesn’t. In fact, I’d even call it stylish.

The size has been nicely tapered at the front and sports a handsome mix of chrome and black accents to break up the wide body panelling.

The interior is downright plush and a true delight to be in. There’s a beautiful mix of synthetic leather trims, synthetic wood/chrome/piano black panelling and soft touchpoints throughout that create a real sense of refinement. 

Apart from the distinctive blue grille bars and rear-door badge, you’d struggle to pick the E-Transit from the closely-related 350L. However, underneath its work-focused exterior there are considerable differences.

Although it shares the same MacPherson strut front suspension and four-wheel disc brakes, the E-Transit’s 14.3-metre turning circle is 1.0-metre larger than the 350L.

And its electric motor and single-speed transmission are mounted under the floor between the rear wheels, which required design of a unique coil-spring independent rear suspension.

The long, wide and slim lithium-ion battery is tucked up neatly beneath the load floor, to ensure that the cargo volume matches the 350L. This also ensures that many load-area conversions will carry over to the E-Transit with minimal modifications.

The big battery brings a considerable increase in kerb weight, given the E-Transit weighs 231kg more than its 350L equivalent. So, although the E-Transit is the most powerful of the Transit fleet, it’s also the heaviest.

However, in terms of power-to-weight and torque-to-weight ratios based on kerb weights, it compares favourably.

For example, the diesel 350L has 19.3kg/kW compared to the E-Transit’s superior 13.3kg/kW, while the 350L’s 6.1kg/Nm is lineball with the E-Transit’s 6.2 figure.

The driver’s instrument display shows when the battery is being topped-up by regenerative braking and how much engine power is being used, ranging from 0 to 100 per cent.

It also displays average energy consumption (kWh/100km), remaining battery charge, projected driving range and other BEV-specific functions.

The cabin offers ample headroom, but those seated in the centre must have their feet in a split-level position with their right foot on the (now defunct) transmission hump and their left foot on the floor.

The interior is what makes people movers so practical as a family car, and the Carnival is no different. In this case, it's packaged beautifully, too.

The interior invokes a sense of limo-like space with ample head- and legroom for even taller occupants in the front and middle rows. Even the third row is adequate for my 168cm height (5'6").

Amenities throughout are great and each row benefits from a healthy features list. There are a minimum of two USB-A ports in each row, as well as, two 12-volt ports in the car.

The middle row was a favourite for my six-year old because of the directional air vents, climate control and retractable sunblinds. Third row passengers get the same, minus the climate control.

A special mention to the designers for putting the controls for the electric sliding rear doors and boot lid on the RHS of the steering wheel and key fob. As a parent, I salute you for these very useful placements!

Individual storage is good with a glove box, large middle console, phone tray, device holder (passenger side), two cupholders and drink bottle holders in the first row.

The second row gets map pockets, cupholders, a phone holder plus two extra cupholders and ‘table’ when you fold down the middle seat.  

Third row occupants get a couple of cupholders each plus a small snack tray.

The boot, how I love thee. It’s ginormous. With all three rows in action, you still get 627L of capacity because the floor is deep.

It’s deep because the third row folds down into the well to create a level loading space when not in use and that pumps up the capacity to 2785L! It’s also easy to gain access to because of the powered boot lid.

Basically, you’ll have the room necessary to ferry the crew and their gear around.

The technology throughout feels modern and user-friendly (a winning combo) with a large 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system that has Bluetooth connectivity, satellite navigation as well as wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

With its hefty 2639kg kerb weight and 4250kg GVM, our test vehicle has a 1611kg payload rating compared to the 350L’s smaller 1142kg. However, the E-Transit is not rated for towing.

The cargo bay, which in Mid Roof form offers 11-cubic metres of load volume, has internal walls that are lined to roof height. It’s accessed from the kerbside through a sliding door with a generous 1300mm opening width.

Rear access is through a pair of barn-doors which open to 270 degrees to optimise forklift access. Large magnets protrude from each side of the body to firmly secure these doors when fully opened which is a welcome safety feature.

A button located inside the right-hand barn-door switches on a bright external LED overhead light to illuminate rear-loading in poor light conditions.

The load floor, which is protected by a composite liner, is 3533mm long and 1784mm wide with 1392mm between the wheel housings.

That means it can carry three 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or four 1200 x 800mm Euro pallets, secured by up to 10 load-anchorage points. The  1786mm internal height allows tall people to stand with minimal stooping.

There’s ample cabin storage including a large-bottle holder and bin in each door, plus angled large-bottle holders/bins on each side of the lower dash and small-bottle/cupholders on each side of the upper dash.

There are also three open bins across the top of the dash-pad, a slender vertical bin and pop-out cupholder in the lower centre dash, plus a full-width overhead shelf with numerous compartments.

Both base cushions on the passenger seat can be tipped forward to access a large hidden storage compartment below.

The centre passenger seat backrest also folds down to a horizontal position to reveal a handy work desk with pen holder, two-cupholders and an elastic strap for securing paperwork.

Our test vehicle is officially known as the 420L BEV Mid Roof, with 420 denoting its 4.2-tonne GVM (it’s actually 4.25-tonne), L denoting its long wheelbase and Mid Roof being one of two roof heights available, with the other being the optional High Roof variant.

Like its taller stablemate, our test vehicle comes with a 68kWh lithium-ion battery pack, electric motor and single-speed automatic transmission for a list price of $104,990 plus on-road costs.

For that money you could almost buy two diesel Transit 350L Auto equivalents. Even so, the E-Transit brings zero emissions, reduced noise and claimed lower operating and maintenance costs for business operators. With 198kW and 430Nm, it also has the most power and torque of any model in the Transit line-up.

It comes equipped with 16-inch steel wheels and 235/65R16C tyres plus a full-size spare, along with dark grey bumpers and side-mouldings in areas where scrapes and dents usually occur in hard-working vans. Factory options include dual side-sliding doors and more.

A steel bulkhead/cargo barrier separates the cargo bay from the cabin, which comes standard with a single driver’s seat and twin-passenger bench seat that are all heated.

The 10-way adjustable driver’s seat includes a fold-down inboard armrest, adjustable lumbar support and base-cushion rake.

Plus there’s a two-way adjustable steering wheel, power-folding and heated door mirrors, daytime running lights, three 12-volt accessory outlets, two USB ports, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors.

Its large 12-inch touchscreen is the gateway to numerous 'Sync 4'-connected services including the 'Ford Pass' app, which includes 'Power My Trip'.

By entering a destination, this app can consider the vehicle’s current state of charge in addition to real-time traffic conditions, to help identify charging stops when a customer will need them.

The Carnival Platinum has two engines available, a 3.5-litre V6 petrol version, and our model, which has a 2.2-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with a maximum output of 148kW and 440Nm of torque.

That makes hauling the big body plus your gear a breeze. It also has a braked towing capacity of 2000kg, if you need to add a trailer for weekend pursuits.

The eight-speed auto transmission combined with the grunty engine makes for a very pleasant driving experience.

Its rear-mounted electric motor produces an unmatched 198kW and 430Nm. The lithium-ion battery’s energy supply can be boosted by using the ‘Low’ setting on the rotary dial e-shifter to optimise regenerative braking.

There are three switchable drive modes including default 'Normal', energy-saving 'Eco' and 'Slippery' to improve traction in low-grip conditions.

The battery charge socket is located behind a spring-loaded flap in the grille and the E-Transit comes equipped with a Mode 3, 32-amp charge cable which is stored in the compartment under the passenger seats.

E-Transit can AC charge overnight, using a professionally-installed wall unit, in approximately eight hours at 11.3kW, or quick DC charge (15 to 80 per cent) at 115kW in approximately 34 minutes.

However, Ford does not supply a cable to allow overnight charging at home using a domestic wall socket. That’s because its targeting large fleet buyers, so the cable it supplies is only for ‘at depot’ charging or when using public-charging facilities.

It’s powerful but is it efficient? Deliciously, so. The official combined fuel figure is 6.5L/100km and after driving around 850km, my trip computer was reading an average of 6.7L. That’s better than some hybrids on the market but I expect it to be higher in the city.

The Carnival has a 72L fuel tank with an approximate range of 1100km.

Ford claims an official WLTP driving range of 230-307km from a single charge. When we collected the E-Transit it was fully charged but the projected driving range displayed on the instrument panel was only 179km, so there are variables in these figures.

However, we did end up inadvertently testing the single-charge driving range because we could not charge the E-Transit. That was due to our local public-charging facilities being located inside multi-storey carparks which could not be accessed due to height restrictions.

So, during the week we drove a total of 190km, with about 19km of range remaining. Therefore, it is capable of at least 200km on a single charge but 300km seems optimistic, which is nothing new given the equally optimistic L/100km figures automakers claim for combustion-engine vehicles.

We used the Low drive mode most of the time to optimise battery top-ups through regenerative braking and our testing included a mix of city and suburban roads, both unladen and when hauling a big payload.

Average consumption was 28kWh/100km, so we would suggest a 'real world' driving range of around 200-230km from a single charge.

It’s an incredibly smooth ride and the power makes it responsive in most conditions.

Because of its length, I was a bit choosy with when I ‘zipped’ across traffic, but overall, it handles urban and open-road driving very well. 

The suspension absorbs the bumps in the road and the cabin is quiet but you occasionally get some wind noise at higher speeds.

If the back passengers are struggling to hear you, there is a handy ‘talk’ function that will transmit the drivers voice to the back rows, if you need to communicate without raising your voice.

It's easy enough to park with the clear 360-degree view camera but I found myself reversing into spots because the visibility was so much better out of the front windows.

I didn’t much like the idea of reversing out of a car space in a high traffic zone but the rear cross-traffic alert plus the front and rear parking sensors do help ease any anxiety. 

It offers a comfortable and commanding driving position, thanks to the multi-adjustable seat, two-way steering wheel adjustment and clear eye-lines to the big truck-style door mirrors with lower sections offering wide-angle views.

You don’t need to warm-up the engine to generate cabin heating - it’s instant. And when you get underway it feels more like you're riding in a tram than a van, with its muted electric hum the closest we’ve come to driving a silent commercial vehicle.

With the big battery under the floor it feels firmly planted on the road when unladen, with a low centre of gravity providing good stability when cornering.

The battery weight, combined with E-Transit’s unique four-coil suspension, iron out the bumps and provide a supple ride quality.

Acceleration from standing starts is brisk and smooth in Normal mode, even though you can sense its 2.6-tonne kerb weight's slight reluctance to get moving even with 430Nm of instant torque. At 100km/h, there’s only tyre noise and a little wind-buffeting around the door mirrors.

We drove the first 100km in Normal mode, during which average consumption was 27kWh/100km. We then switched to Eco mode, which resulted in a drop in performance without a corresponding decrease in consumption. Perhaps you need to drive it longer in Eco to harvest the benefits.

We then switched back to Normal mode for our GVM test. We forklifted 1300kg into the cargo bay which with driver equalled a total payload of 1400kg, which was still more than 200kg under its GVM limit. The rear suspension compressed 50mm with ample travel remaining, while the nose rose 35mm in response.

The compressed suspension felt firmer, as you’d expect, but the electric motor hardly noticed this load around town, with acceleration and general response remaining strong if slightly subdued. Energy consumption increased to 28kWh/100km during our load run.

In strictly city driving, which the E-Transit is aimed at, it proved to be a capable workhorse. It can do the job quite economically, too, given that during most of our testing in Normal mode it was operating in the 0-50 per cent ‘power usage’ zone which provides ample performance.

ANCAP is not applicable to heavy commercial vehicles but the E-Transit shares the same six airbags and active safety and driver assistance as other Transits.

Highlights include AEB with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist, traffic sign recognition, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors and more.

The ongoing costs for the Carnival are pretty good with it coming with Kia’s better-than-average for the market, seven year/unlimited km warranty.

This also comes with a capped-priced servicing plan for up to seven years or 105,000km (whichever comes first).

Services average $545, which is competitive for the market and servicing intervals are easy at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

The E-Transit is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty plus a separate warranty for the lithium-ion battery and high-voltage electrical components of eight years/160,000km, whichever occurs first.

Capped-price service intervals are 12 months/30,000km, with a total cost for the first five scheduled services of $925 or just $185 per service. Such low maintenance costs are in stark contrast to the purchase price!