Lincoln Corsair vs Kia Carnival

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair was introduced as a refined replacement for the Lincoln MKC, which had been based on the Ford Escape platform since 2014. Despite a facelift in 2019, the MKC's cabin felt dated and lacked the athleticism of its Ford counterpart. The Corsair, however, rode on the new C2 platform, shared with the latest Escape, but Lincoln managed to differentiate it significantly from its Ford sibling. This differentiation was something that General Motors struggled with in their Cadillac XT4 and XT5 models. The Corsair marked a departure from Lincoln's lettered naming convention, offering a refreshing change in the lineup. Its design was elegant, with slab sides, blacked-out rear pillars, and straight belt- and rooflines, giving it a larger presence. Inside, the Corsair shared design elements with the Aviator and Navigator, featuring a flowing dash and a floating center touchscreen. However, it didn't quite match the fit and finish of its more expensive siblings, with more hard-touch materials present.

The 2022 Kia Carnival, on the other hand, offered a unique design for each trim level. The LX trim featured a standard grille and silver-painted 17-inch aluminum wheels, while the EX trim doubled the available paint colors and added 19-inch machined-finish aluminum wheels. The SX trim introduced a mirrored grid-pattern grille and black wheels, while the SX Prestige focused on cabin enhancements with real leather and VIP Lounge Seats. The Carnival's SUV styling included simulated skid plates, a floating roof design, and a robust roof rack on higher trims. Despite the visible sliding door tracks, Kia integrated them with character lines, maintaining the Carnival's crossover SUV appearance. The interior continued the SUV theme, with a dashboard and center console resembling a crossover rather than a minivan. The Carnival's design was angular and conservatively tasteful, standing out in a segment where competitors like the Chrysler Pacifica and Toyota Sienna had softer or more bloated designs.

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair offered a base 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine, delivering 250 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. This engine provided adequate power, but the optional 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder engine was more impressive, producing 295 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque. Both engines were paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, with the 2.0-liter available in FWD or AWD, while the 2.3-liter was exclusively AWD. The Corsair featured unique drive modes like "Conserve" and "Excite," with the latter akin to a Sport mode. The 2.3-liter engine offered brisk acceleration and confident cornering, though there was some body roll in turns. The suspension was designed to absorb potholes at higher speeds, though road noise was noticeable. The Grand Touring trim introduced a plug-in hybrid powertrain, combining a turbocharged 2.5-liter engine with electric motors for a total of 266 hp, offering 28 miles of pure EV driving and 78 MPGe in electric mode.

The 2022 Kia Carnival was equipped with a new 3.5-liter V6 engine, producing 290 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, driving the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Carnival lacked AWD and electrified powertrain options, but it had a towing capacity of 3,500 pounds. The V6 engine provided smooth and effortless acceleration, with the automatic transmission operating unobtrusively. The Carnival offered Normal, Eco, Sport, and Smart driving modes, with Smart mode being the most used, despite some delayed downshift responses. The EPA rated the Carnival at 22 mpg combined, and during testing, it averaged 21.7 mpg. The Carnival felt taut and athletic, with a flat cornering stance, though it could feel stiff over broken pavement and bouncy over speed humps.

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair featured a spacious cabin with comfortable seats and ample storage space. However, the large lip when stepping in or out of the vehicle was a notable downside, as it could cause tripping. The rear seats were reclining and sliding, providing impressive legroom for a compact SUV. The Corsair offered 27.6 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, expanding to 57.6 cubic feet with the seats folded, which was average for its class. A power liftgate was standard, with a hands-free option available.

The 2022 Kia Carnival was highly practical, with an SUV-style dashboard and center console that limited storage space compared to competitors. The LX trim featured individual captain's chairs with a wide center pass-through, while the LX Seat Package added a middle second-row seat for more flexibility. The EX and SX trims offered an 8-passenger Slide Flex seat configuration, and the SX Prestige included VIP Lounge Seats with an Ottoman-style leg rest. The third-row seat was comfortable for adults, and the Carnival's rear cargo area was spacious, 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 in certain trims expanded it to 145.1 cubic feet. The Carnival's smart hands-free power-sliding side doors and liftgate had pros and cons, with the liftgate opening automatically after a few seconds of standing nearby.

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair came standard with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system running SYNC 3, featuring a logical menu layout and standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Reserve trim added wireless device charging, a 14-speaker Revel premium audio system, and a head-up display (HUD) with crisp graphics.

The 2022 Kia Carnival's LX trim included traditional analog gauges, an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and six speakers. The EX trim upgraded to a 12.3-inch widescreen infotainment system with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, HD Radio, SiriusXM, voice recognition, and UVO Link connected services. It also featured navigation, wireless smartphone charging, and eight speakers. The Carnival offered Passenger View and Passenger Talk features, with the SX trim adding a dual-screen rear entertainment system. The SX Prestige included a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation display and a 12-speaker Bose Centerpoint surround-sound audio system.

The 2021 Lincoln Corsair came standard with forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, automatic high beams, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, and rear parking sensors. The Lincoln CoPilot360 Plus suite added features like adaptive LED headlights, surround-view parking cameras, and stop-and-go adaptive cruise control. The Corsair was an IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus when equipped with high-feature headlights.

The 2022 Kia Carnival offered a comprehensive list of advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS), including forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, active blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning, lane-departure, -keeping, and -centering assistance, and rear parking sensors. The EX trim added front parking sensors, cyclist detection, navigation-based adaptive cruise control, and Highway Driving Assist (HDA). The Carnival also featured an ultrasonic rear occupant alert system and Safe Exit Assist. The SX trim included a surround-view camera system, while the SX Prestige had a Blind View Monitor. Crash-test results were unavailable at the time of review.