Toyota HiAce vs Kia Carnival

What's the difference?

The rear barn-door option brings a significant boost in versatility, ensuring Toyota’s dominant market leader not only maintains its vast customer base but potentially expands it to include forklift-reliant operators who have previously overlooked the HiAce.

Given we had to wait 55 years for this barn-door option, we hope we don’t have to wait another half a century for a fold-down inboard armrest on the driver’s seat, which is now the only item missing from an otherwise formidable workhorse specification. 

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.

It’s a typically robust design comprising MacPherson strut front suspension, a leaf-spring live rear axle that’s excellent for load-carrying, variable-ratio rack and pinion steering and four-wheel disc brakes on all automatic variants, like ours.

The rear-wheel drive chassis has an inherent traction advantage over front-wheel drive vans, particularly on loose or slippery surfaces and with heavy payloads. 

Its 1990mm height allows access to underground and multi-storey car parks and its 3210mm wheelbase boasts an impressively tight 11.0-metre turning circle.

The two-tone dash layout is neat and functional with easy-to-use controls and instrumentation. 

There’s still no fold-down inboard armrest for the driver’s seat to enhance comfort on long hauls, but given we had to wait more than half a century for a barn-door option, we know Toyota won’t be rushed on these decisions.

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. 

With its 2225kg kerb weight and 3300kg GVM, the HiAce has a genuine one-tonne-plus payload rating of 1060kg, and up to 120kg of that can be carried on the roof using Toyota’s genuine accessory triple-bar roof rack set. 

It also has a braked tow rating of up to 1500kg and with a GCM (how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) of 4800kg, it can carry its peak 1060kg payload while towing that weight, which is a versatile set of numbers for a working van.

Cargo bay walls and doors are lined to mid-height, the roof is internally lined and there’s ample internal lighting. 

It’s accessed from either side through sliding doors with 1010mm-wide openings, or from the rear through the barn-doors which are both equipped with demisters/windscreen wipers and can swing open to 180 degrees. 

Each door also has a simple brace which can hold them at 90 degrees opening if required.

The cargo bay offers a sizeable 6.2 cubic metres of load volume, measuring 2530mm long, 1760mm wide and 1340mm high. 

With 1268mm between the rear wheel housings and six floor-mounted load anchorage points, it can carry up to two standard 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or up to three 1200 x 800mm/1200 x 1000mm Euro pallets. 

Its spacious driver’s cabin has numerous storage offerings including a large-bottle holder and bin in the base of each front door, small-bottle/cupholders in the centre and on either side of the dash, plus a single glove box.

The centre console is well designed, comprising an open storage tray at floor level and a large lidded box between the seats. 

This not only has cavernous internal storage but there’s also an external shelf at the front, two large-bottle holders at the rear and another shallow tray set into the lid, which when closed can double as a handy work desk. 

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.

There are four grades for the Carnival with a petrol and diesel variant per grade. Our Platinum diesel model sits right at the top and costs $67,580, before on road costs.

However, that seems fairly priced considering the competition. It’s roughly on par with another 2XL people mover, the Hyundai Staria ($67,000) and a tad more expensive than newcomer LDV Mifa ($63,990). But there’s not a lot on the market that competes with the luxury factor this model offers, nor are they as smartly dressed.

The features list is stellar, with the following items coming as standard: electrically-adjustable, heated and ventilated front seats, heated outboard seats in the middle row, a powered tailgate, three-zone climate control, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity, eight seats (2/3/3 configuration), 19-inch alloy wheels and not one but two sunroofs. Just to name a few.

HiAce’s venerable (1GD-FTV) 2.8 litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel produces 130kW at 3400rpm and in auto models like ours a meaty 450Nm of torque between 1600-2400rpm. 

Maintenance procedures are simplified by its Euro 5 emissions compliance which doesn’t require AdBlue.

A smooth-shifting Aisin (AC60E) six-speed torque converter automatic optimises fuel economy with full converter lock-up on fourth, fifth and sixth gears, along with overdrive on fifth and sixth for relaxed highway driving. It also offers the choice of sequential manual-shifting if required. 

The live rear axle is equipped with an electronically-controlled automatic limited-slip diff, which optimises the inherent traction advantage of rear-wheel drive.

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.

Toyota claims an official combined cycle average of 8.2L/100km. 

After 215km of testing, without a load and with the automatic engine stop-start function switched off, our figure based on trip meter and fuel bowsers readings came in slightly higher at 9.8L/100km. 

This single-digit economy was achieved purely in city and suburban driving, which is thrifty for a large commercial vehicle weighing more than two tonnes. 

So, based on our figures, you could bank on a ‘real world’ driving range of around 700km from its 70-litre tank.

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.

The big front doors swing wide open to provide easy access to the cabin, where it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position given ample seat adjustment that includes lumbar support, plus a height-and-reach-adjustable wheel and big left footrest. 

Responsive steering and strong braking, combined with a reasonably supple ride quality when empty or lightly loaded, makes for a comfortable daily work environment. 

This is enhanced by commendably low internal noise levels for a van without a bulkhead between the cabin and cargo bay. We suspect the full-length roof lining helps here.

Like all panel vans, the solid-walled cargo bay creates a huge blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder which can’t be avoided. And the central join of the barn doors obscures vision through the cabin’s rear-view mirror.

However, the portrait-shaped door mirrors are a decent size and combined with a suite of driver aids like blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, rear parking sensors and reversing camera, a competent driver can easily steer clear of trouble. 

And it has easy manoeuvrability thanks to the tight 11-metre turning circle and lightness of the variable-ratio steering at parking speeds.

 The 2.8-litre turbo-diesel has good flexibility with strong low-rpm response thanks to its ample 450Nm of torque. 

The smooth and snappy shift protocols of the six-speed auto optimise engine response, which is most evident in stop-start city and suburban driving. 

It also delivers relaxed and economical highway travel, particularly with the cruise control activated, with overdrive requiring less than 2000rpm to maintain 110km/h.

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. 

The safety list is extensive with the following being standard features: LED daytime running lights, lane departure alert, lane keeping aid, emergency lane keeping aid, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert (always good to have), 360-degree view reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors.

The ‘check rear occupant’ alert and autonomous emergency braking with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection and junction assist (operational from 5.0-85 km/h), forward collision warning and rear collision warning are always great to have on a family vehicle.

It is missing a feature you tend to see on Kia's top models and it's one I would have liked to have seen on such a large car - the blind-spot camera view that pops up on the instrument panel when you indicate.

The Carnival was recently awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2021 and, surprisingly, only has seven airbags but that does include a drivers’ knee airbag and curtain airbags covering all three rows. It’s missing the newer front centre airbag, though.

There’s a total of five ISOFIX child seat mounts and five top tether anchor points across the middle and third rows (3/2) and with the middle row is wide enough to have three child seats side by side.

There is plenty of room to install a 0-4 rearward facing child seat in the middle row.

The HiAce is covered by a five-year/unlimited km warranty.

Scheduled servicing is set at relatively short six month/10,000km intervals, whichever occurs first. 

Capped-price of $290 per service covers the first six scheduled services over three years or 60,000km.

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.