2022 Kia Carnival at Lightning Lap 2023

From the February/March 2023 issue of Car and Driver.

Lap Time: 3:39.1

Class: LL1 | Base: $39,135 | As-Tested: $49,00
Power and Weight: 290 hp • 4850 lb • 16.7 lb/hp
Tires: Goodyear Assurance Finesse; 235/55R-19 101H M+S

Readers often write to us asking that we set lap times in non-performance vehicles. To prove we listen, we lapped our long-term Kia Carnival, making it our first minivan entry. The brakes went squishy, the body leaned, and its 290-hp V-6 sent the van to 112.4 mph on the Front Straight. The 3:39.1 it turned landed it dead last (315 out of 315) among production vehicles, 1.4 seconds behind the 130-hp 2015 Honda Fit. Anticipating a follow-up question, we loaded it with six passengers to see how the extra mass would affect the lap.

Predictably, the time increased, with the Kia returning a 3:54.1 lap. It was slower everywhere than the van with just the driver aboard, and grip in Turn 1 fell from 0.69 g to a lowly 0.49 g with the additional riders. Now you know.

Back to Lightning Lap 2023