The Kia Carnival was our pick for MPV Of The Year at VOTY 2022.
The MPV market in Malaysia has been positively dominated by one make and model for countless years now. Yet the most popular MPV in Malaysia is one brought in reconditioned by parallel importers and primarily not bought new through authorised dealerships. That has led a lot of players to forget about competing in the space. There’s just no price advantage to be had.
That is why we salute the Dinamikjaya for kicking off their stewardship of the Kia brand with a new Carnival. Not only does this new 11-seater MPV impress in terms of look, feel and drivability, but it also represents very good value as a sub-RM200,000 offering brand new with a 5-year factory warranty.
We’re seeing more and more of these new Kia Carnivals on Malaysian roads nowadays and it’s a sign that there is room for a little bit of diversity in the people mover market. For taking the bold move and bringing the right product in at the right price, we think Kia deserves an award for their latest Carnival.
Check out our drive impressions here or head to the official website.
About DSF.my-Allianz Vehicle Of The Year Awards (VOTY)
VOTY is sponsored by Allianz Malaysia Berhad and is judged by Daniel Sherman Fernandez, Ross Hadi, Amirul Mukminin and Subhash Nair from Drive Safe and Fast (dsf.my) and GohedGostan.com.
Our selection process is simple and clean. All cars launched in Malaysia within 13 months of our cutoff date are eligible for entry. We contact all car brands officially operating in Malaysia and ask for our judges to test out eligible cars. There is no participation fee, no tables/seats to buy, no package deals. No car company may buy their award and that makes unique in Malaysia. It is held annually and the way we determine the winners is by having each of the experienced judges vote on their favourite car in each category.
The categories are kept as consistent as possible from year to year, but we’ve made some revisions to fit the market. Some years there just aren’t any hot hatches launched but tonnes of new hybrids or electric cars. Our title sponsor Allianz recognises the integrity of our team and leaves the decisions to us with regards to categories and winners.
