Kia Carnival Problems

The crash testing has been done by ANCAP and, even though Kia recently had a safety glitch with its Carnival, I’m expecting a five-star result for the Sportage.

You don't have to look any further than the Sorento's stablemate at Kia, the Carnival. It's a great family machine and even shares much of its basic engineering with the Sorento.

Your car is still under warranty, so take it back to your dealer and have them fix it.

The iMax is reliable and would win in terms of storage space. The early Carnival with the V6 motor was troublesome, but the later one is quite reliable and could be bought with confidence.

Take it to a suspension specialist and have them check the alignment and adjust if needed, and talk to them about what they might be able to do to prevent it happening.

For starters there is no such thing as a 'lemon law' in Australia; our legislators have chosen to leave us without protection when it comes to cars. You really have no comeback on the dealer, except to appeal to their common decency and help you out. You don't say what went wrong with the car, but the Carnival was prone to head gasket problems in the early days, so I'm guessing that could be the problem.

There are so few LDVs out there it’s hard to say how reliable they are, but we know the iMax and Carnival are good. I would go for the Carnival.

You’re correct; it is nothing to do with Australian safety standards. Take it back and ask them to wheel align it.

I would get a second opinion on the Kia's engine before you do anything else. A sludged-up engine suggests a lack of servicing, but if no damage has occurred you might be able to salvage it. I wouldn't recommend either a Multivan or Valente, those you are looking at are too old and potentially too expensive to run and repair. A seven-seat SUV might be a better option.