What’s It Like to Live With?

What did we get?

We got a top-of-the-line Kia Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige in Astra Blue. That gets us all the bells and whistles, like cooled front seats, leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, a head-up display and a 12-speaker Bose sound system.

We also sprung for the Seat package, which transforms the second-row captain’s chairs into, as Kia explains, “VIP Lounge seats with integrated footrests.” These seats are also heated and cooled. Who says only kids are allowed to nap in the back of a minivan? The as-tested price of this Carnival, including destination, is a cool $55,285. That’s a pretty penny, though only a couple grand more than the Sienna we tested five whole years ago.

Edmunds often purchases vehicles for our One-Year Road Test fleet, but Kia loaned us this one for a year of evaluation.