2001 Kia Carnival SL petrol

Summary:

It is a good all round people mover

Faults:

The engine is apparently damaged due to a common fault in the pre 2002 model. Either the head gasket blows or there is a fault with sleeves in the alloy bore. This results in a lot of oil in the coolant overflow. We have been told the engine needs replacing.

General Comments:

The car handle's very well and is very comfortable.

The CD/Radio player is permanently faulty. best to just leave it off.

A lot of the trim buttons and covers fall off.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 16th September, 2004

2001 Kia Carnival LS 2.5 V6 petrol

Summary:

Good people mover that meets the needs of the family

Faults:

The engine fuel O2 sensor and faulty wire connecting required to be replaced after three attempts to stop the warning light coming on.

Poor fitting door lining, replacement required.

Door speaker had sound fading in and out.

CD player replaced.

Automatic gear selector very clunky to use.

General Comments:

Compared to the Toyota Spacia 1996.

Comfort - excellent.

Handling - very good overall, especially in curves.

Power - very good acceleration.

Noise - overall very quiet, normal road noises for the size of the vehicle.

Turning circle - poor.

Internal Fixtures -

Poor design of front cup holders.

CD compartment incorrect size for CD's.

Plastic rear window clips.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th January, 2003

2001 Kia Carnival LS 2.5 V6

Summary:

Compared to other cars in this class, this is a terrific buy

Faults:

On delivery the handbrake (parking brake) was not properly adjusted - when fully engaged the car could still roll slowly if on a slope. This was easily fixed by the dealer at no cost.

On delivery the right hand passenger door required some force to engage the lock-back mechanism (which holds the door open until the handle is operated again). Again, the dealer was easily able to adjust this to operate normally, at no cost.

The stereo has been an ongoing disappointment. The originally fitted one would overheat after a short time and autonomously deactivate. This was unrelated to the operation of the CD player - it would happen when using only the radio component.

We also noticed that the buttons on the stereo would sometimes operate functions other than those they were supposed to.

We had the stereo replaced, but the new one seems to have a "warming up" period, during which sound reproduction from both CD and radio has a large amount of static. The static gradually fades after about ten minutes.

Annoyingly, the new stereo does not "remember" previous settings, eg you need to turn it on every time you start the car - the previous one would turn on automatically if you left it on last time you switched off the ignition. We have yet to have a satisfactory response from the dealer on this.

Like a lot of recent cars the front of the bonnet is not visible from the driver's position - this can make parking, and moving in tight traffic, a little frightening until you get used to the dimensions.

General Comments:

The gripes are greatly outweighed by the plusses.

If you're buying one of these you don't expect high performance - yet this car handles surprisingly well. We regularly make a trip through a mountain pass, and are able to use the overtaking lanes on climbs to pass smaller cars. It feels very sure on the road, but obviously, for a passenger vehicle, you don't want to corner too hard anyway.

The level of comfort and appointment in the standard-fitted car is excellent - my family and cargo fit into it very nicely for long trips.

The air-conditioning is more than adequate for Australian conditions.

The high seat position is great in traffic, with the exception of not being able to see the front of the bonnet.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th May, 2002