2022 Kia Carnival MPV Earns IIHS Top Safety Pick Award
Photo: Kia
It was only six months ago that the all-new Kia Carnival MPV was introduced to the U.S. as a replacement for the Sedona minivan. Shedding the “minivan” moniker, the Carnival has been touted as a “Multi-Purpose Vehicle” that transcends the ordinary. Now, the new Kia model has received its first official award: a Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS.
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“The all-new Carnival offers a combination of technology, utility, and confidence unrivaled by competitors,” said Sean Yoon, president and CEO of Kia North America. “This latest TOP SAFETY PICK reinforces Kia’s unwavering efforts to deliver products that enable the lives of new and existing customers.”
To earn a Top Safety Pick rating, a vehicle must receive a “Good” rating in the categories of driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraints. An “Advanced” or “Superior” rating is required for the available front crash prevention category while “Acceptable” or “Good” is satisfactory for the headlight category.
Photo: Kia
The 2022 Carnival earned the Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS with “Good” rankings in all of those crash tests when equipped with the full LED projector headlights (standard on the SX Prestige trim). In regards to available crash avoidance safety features, the Carnival has many of them and received stellar ratings in that category. The Kia MPV is one of the few new models from the automaker that comes with a majority of the Kia Drive Wise crash-avoidance systems, including:
- Forward Collision Avoidance-Assist with Pedestrian Detection.
- Driver Attention Warning with Leading Vehicle Departure Alert.
- Lane Departure Warning.
- Lane Keeping Assist.
- Lane Following Assist.
- High Beam Assist.
- Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist.
- Parking Distance Warning, Reverse.
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The Carnival is the eighth Kia vehicle to earn a TSP rating this year, following the 2021 model years of the Forte, Soul, Stinger, Seltos, Sorento, Telluride, and Sportage. The 2022 Stinger and 2021 K5 both received Top Safety Pick Plus ratings, bringing Kia’s total to 10 for IIHS ratings and tying with Subaru for the most in the industry.
Ben never thought he’d be writing about cars for a living, but here he is, knowing more about the Kia Stinger than he’d care to admit. When he’s not devoting his time to researching engine specs and other oh-so-exciting car details, he can be found enjoying time with his wife and dogs. See more articles by Ben.