Two vans and a Carnival

As if the ubiquitous Kia Pride taxicab has not shuttled enough of the country’s population about, local Kia maker Columbian Autocar Corporation introduced to the market last week three more vehicles that are capable of ferrying even more folks around. The people-hauling trio are two new upgraded variants of the Pregio van, and the thoroughly restyled Carnival minivan.

But unlike the ironically named Pride, Kia’s latest bets are clearly targeted toward more affluent buyers, boasting of goodies that VCD-loving, fake woodgrain trim-adoring, chrome glitter-struck Pinoy bourgeoisie prefer to have in their vehicles. The Carnival has that to-die for sunroof feature, even.

Besides the sunroof, the Carnival also got a new name. Available in the country for barely a year, the Carnival is now badged as the Sedona. Kia said that behind this new designation are a higher level of technology and more features than the previous model had.

While retaining the same dimensions, the Sedona has been extensively restyled with more defined lines, larger grilles, new headlamp and taillight designs, round foglamps up front, and snazzy two-tone metallic paint job combinations made even more striking with generous touches of chrome.

Since the exterior measurements have remained basically unchanged, the Sedona’s interior is as roomy as in its previous life as the Carnival. Ideally suited for seven passengers, it is now designed to seat 10 in a pinch. Kia is not to be blamed though, as this is only to circumvent the government’s stupid taxation scheme of illogically slapping hefty duties on certain vehicles that cannot seat 10 people.

Ten or not, though, the Sedona’s occupants are pampered with a level of equipment not normally associated with Korean cars. All the power-operated stuff are present, as are the plethora of storage bins that are the norm for high-end minivans and sport-utes these days. The Sedona also boasts of an eight-way adjustable driver’s seat, and an in-dash six-speaker CD player with steering wheel-mounted controls.

Powering Kia’s take on the American minivan genre is a diesel-fed, DOHC 2.9-liter engine that gets a steroids boost from an intercooled turbocharger. The front engine/front wheel-drive Sedona has two transmission options; a five-speed manual or a four-speed electronically controlled automatic. And apparently, Kia is also aware that safety is a major issue among minivan buyers, as the carmaker is quick to say the Sedona has been rated the 5-star highest grade by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in frontal- and side-impact safety tests.

The Pregio vans, meanwhile, has probably seen more makeover changes than Britney Spears. Since its introduction in 1996, it had gone from being a ritzy brother to the company’s plebian Besta van to being a direct competitor to the Besta itself, targeting the same profile of buyers. But now, with the introduction of the GS Festival and the top-model LS Limousine Special, the Pregio is moving up the social ladder once more.

"We’re making it more upscale again," said Columbian’s marketing services manager Hernando Gañac.

The GS Festival, configured to seat 12 with corresponding dozen seatbelts, boasts of that ultimate gadget no Pinoy home–from tony Ayala avenue addresses to low-cost housing projects in Cavite–would be caught without one: A VCD player.

Besides the VCD player and ceiling-mounted TV set between the driver and front passenger, the GS Festival gets new colors and the obligatory redesigned wheel covers.

On the other hand, Kia brags the LS Limousine Special is equipped with four swiveling, reclining, and armrests-fitted captain’s chairs for passengers in the rear. Of course, it also gets the Audiovox VCD player the Festival has, but the Limousine has an LCD TV fold-away TV monitor instead. Now pop in the Kia vehicles videoke advertisement VCD that comes free with the Pregio, and sing along with Huey Lewis’ and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Cruisin’.

Unlike other videoke lounges though, these are propelled by a tweaked 2.7-liter diesel engine that’s mated to either a five-speed manual box or a four-speed automatic.

Best news about these new Kia offerings are the price tags. The stylish Sedona minivan sells for P1.039 million for the manual and P1.089 for the automatic, all the fancy stuff included. The VCD-equipped Pregios costs P730,000 for the GS Festival and only P849,000 for the top-model LS Limousine Special. Perfect for bourgeoisie budgets.