2022 Jeep Compass vs 2022 Kia Carnival

The 2022 Kia Carnival presented a unique design across its various trims, each offering distinct elements that set them apart. The LX trim featured a standard black grille and 17-inch aluminum wheels, while the EX trim doubled the available paint colors and added 19-inch machined-finish wheels, simulated wood trim, and SynTex simulated leather. The SX trim introduced a mirrored grid-pattern grille and black wheels, and the SX Prestige focused on interior upgrades with real leather and VIP Lounge Seats. The Carnival's SUV styling cues, such as skid plates and a floating roof design, contributed to its appealing and angular design, making it stand out in the minivan segment. Inside, the Carnival continued the SUV theme with a dashboard and center console resembling a crossover, offering an upscale look even in the base trim.

The 2022 Jeep Compass, despite receiving exterior styling updates and new wheel designs, maintained a familiar look reminiscent of a smaller Grand Cherokee. The High Altitude trim featured 19-inch multi-spoke wheels with a dark sparkly finish, enhancing its upscale appearance. Inside, the Compass High Altitude impressed with a new dashboard design, updated digital instrumentation, and luxury-grade leather seats, elevating its premium SUV status. The lineup offered various trims, starting from the base Sport to the top-tier High Altitude, with prices ranging from $26,020 to $35,085, excluding destination charges. The High Altitude trim came with standard all-wheel drive and comprehensive option packages, resulting in a well-equipped and sophisticated interior.

The 2022 Kia Carnival was equipped with a new 3.5-liter V6 engine, delivering 290 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, driving the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. It lacked all-wheel drive and electrified powertrain options but offered a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds. The V6 engine provided smooth and steady acceleration, with the automatic transmission operating unobtrusively. The Carnival featured Normal, Eco, Sport, and Smart driving modes, with Smart mode being the most used despite some delayed downshift responses. The EPA estimated a combined fuel economy of 22 mpg, and during testing, it averaged 21.7 mpg. The Carnival's front-wheel-drive dynamics felt taut and athletic, with a flat cornering stance, although it occasionally felt stiff over uneven surfaces.

The 2022 Jeep Compass came with a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, producing 177 horsepower and 172 lb-ft of torque. Despite its "Tigershark" name, the engine lacked accelerative power, and a turbocharger would have improved its performance, especially at higher altitudes. The engine was paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission for all-wheel-drive models, while front-wheel-drive versions had a six-speed automatic. The transmission aimed to maximize fuel efficiency but resulted in a busy and unrewarding powertrain character. The Compass featured Jeep Selec-Terrain with Auto, Snow, and Sand/Mud driving modes, and the Active Drive AWD system could send power to the rear wheels when needed. The EPA estimated a combined fuel economy of 25 mpg, but testing showed an average of 23.8 mpg. The Compass offered 8.1 inches of ground clearance, suitable for light off-roading, and the Trailhawk trim provided enhanced off-road capabilities. However, the Compass exhibited bouncy dynamics on uneven surfaces, and its driving dynamics needed improvement.

The 2022 Kia Carnival, being a minivan, offered practicality with its SUV-style design. The LX trim featured second-row captain's chairs with a wide center pass-through, and the LX Seat Package added a middle second-row seat for flexible seating arrangements. The EX and SX trims had an 8-passenger Slide Flex seat configuration, while the SX Prestige offered power-adjustable VIP Lounge Seats with Ottoman-style leg rests. The Carnival's third-row seat provided comfort for adults and ample cargo space behind it. The smart hands-free power-sliding side doors and liftgate had pros and cons, with a deep storage well offering 40.2 cubic feet of volume behind the third-row seat. Folding the third-row seats created 86.9 cubic feet of cargo space, and removing the second-row seats increased it to 145.1 cubic feet.

The 2022 Jeep Compass, positioned as a smaller compact SUV, offered enough space for four adults and their luggage. The High Altitude trim featured eight-way power-adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation, a heated steering wheel, and heated rear seats. The Elite Interior Group option package added premium leather upholstery and a dual-pane panoramic sunroof. The redesigned dashboard housed the Uconnect 5 infotainment system, and the new center console provided increased storage. The Compass offered 27.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seat and 59.8 cubic feet with the rear seat folded down, exceeding the cargo capacity of the more expensive Cherokee model.

The 2022 Kia Carnival's LX trim included traditional analog gauges, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, wireless Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The EX trim upgraded to a 12.3-inch widescreen infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, HD Radio, SiriusXM, and voice recognition. It also featured navigation, wireless smartphone charging, and eight speakers. The SX trim added a dual-screen rear entertainment system with touchscreen control and device mirroring capability. The SX Prestige trim included a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation display and a 12-speaker Bose Centerpoint surround-sound audio system. Kia provided a quick reference guide for the technology, which was intuitive to use.

The 2022 Jeep Compass featured the new Uconnect 5 infotainment system, which was five times faster than the previous version. It came with an 8.4-inch touchscreen display, with a 10.1-inch touchscreen available as an upgrade. Uconnect 5 supported wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa, along with satellite radio and voice text-to-reply capability. The system offered over-the-air updates, a navigation system, connected services, a WiFi hotspot, and a wireless device charging pad. The Compass could be upgraded to a nine-speaker Alpine premium sound system. The voice recognition system was fast and accurate, although it had some limitations in filtering search results.

The 2022 Kia Carnival came with a comprehensive list of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS), including forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert. The EX trim added front parking sensors, cyclist detection, and navigation-based adaptive cruise control with Highway Driving Assist (HDA). The HDA technology paired adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assistance, although it was found to be more of an adversary than a partner. The Carnival also featured an ultrasonic rear occupant alert system and Safe Exit Assist. Starting with the SX trim, the Carnival included a surround-view camera system, and the SX Prestige had a Blind View Monitor. Crash-test results were unavailable at the time of review.

The 2022 Jeep Compass improved its safety features, offering forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, and blind-spot monitoring as standard. Highway Assist, pairing adaptive cruise control with lane-centering assistance, was to be added later in the model year. The Compass also offered a parallel and perpendicular parking assistance system and a 360-degree surround-view camera system. The adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping systems worked as advertised, although the lane-keep assist was too insistent at lower speeds. The forward-collision warning system occasionally gave false positives. Safety ratings from the IIHS and NHTSA were not available at the time of review, but the previous rollover resistance rating was three stars.