Exploring the 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid and GMC Sierra EV: The Ultimate Family and Electric Truck Test Drive

2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid Review

Speaker 1 0:05

uh , thank you . Time now for this hour's car review . Mr mars reviews the kia . I'm calling it the carnival because it has a little more class carnival .

Speaker 3 0:15

Hey , we're going to the carnival .

Speaker 1 0:17

We're gonna go to the carnival , yeah , yeah , that's true , true . So we're talking about the 2025 kia carnival .

Speaker 3 0:23

We like that . And now this is the hybrid SX Prestige . It comes in four trim levels the LXS , the EX SX and the SX Prestige , which we happen to have the hybrid option on . Now it is with a hybrid . It's new for 2025 , but it's basically the same vehicle as the regular gasoline SX Prestige that was available last year . So Kia looks at it like they really don't promote it as a minivan . It's kind of like the un-minivan minivan . It has seven or eight passenger seating . We happen to have the eight .

Speaker 3 0:57

Outside you're going to find a lot of the features you would expect on a family-type vehicle LED lighting with the projector , headlights up front , fog lights , daytime running lights are all LED . Heated side mirrors had dual power sunroofs , had a smart power liftgate . The side doors they will open and close , just like on what you would see on a regular minivan . We were rolling on some 19-inch black alloy wheels , which were the optional wheels , the upgrade but but there's no spare , which I thought was rather strange for a family oriented vehicle . It has a tire mobility kit instead of a spare tire . Wow , pump like a pump , yeah gotcha . Now inside you're going to see that we had the upgraded leather seating we had , uh , and it's much like a minivan . Whether they don't particularly want to market it as a minivan , it is a minivan . It's much like A minivan . Whether they don't Particularly want to Market it as a minivan , it is a minivan . It's got easy in and out , got a lot of space in it For people and things to put Place , the storage Compartments To put little things . The front seats Are heated and ventilated . The second row Is a Kind of a bench Type thing but it's a 40-20-40 , and the centerpiece looks kind of like a console but it's actually a separate seat and that's how you get your eight-passenger seating with that seating arrangement . So it folds down like an armrest , yes , and it'll actually slide forward and backwards , just like the seats do . Actually , it comes out . It took it out one day accidentally .

Speaker 3 2:17

It has a 12.3-inch panoramic display up in the dash and this is where you're going to find your nav , your convenience controls and your rearview camera . Now it also had the interior camera and talk intercom to the rear seat so you can kind of focus in on the passengers in the back and actually have an intercom to make it a little bit easier to talk to them if things are noisy . It has the heads-up display , which is a nice thing to have whenever you've got all this stuff going on . Heads-up display , which is a nice thing to have . Whenever you've got all this stuff going on , rear passenger video and talk that I just mentioned makes it a little bit easier to talk to them because it does have USB ports on all three rows so you've got a lot of wireless stuff going on with Android and Apple . It's got the wireless charger so it could possibly get in there if you've got a family full of kids and stuff in there , so it makes it nice .

Speaker 3 3:03

Second row Windows shades . We had that as an option , which first time when I looked out the window it was kind of like what , what ? I can't see out the window , but I realized there was a shade there , not used to seeing that . And then we also had the 12 speaker bows audio system . That was really nice , sounded really nice in this vehicle .

Speaker 3 3:19

Now , up under the hood we had the 1.6 liter turbo that was combined with the hybrid powertrain . Now this does produce 242 horsepower , 271 pound-feet of torque , front-wheel drive backed up by a six-speed automatic transmission . Now the EPA says you're looking for 34 in the city , highway , 31 combined 33 . I got 29.8 across the 455 miles that I drove this vehicle . We had a lot of uh in town running around to do and again it handles like a minivan with manners . To me it's more like a little station wagon . It's easy to drive , the steering's real responsive . It's got a very nice car like ride to . It got nice acceleration because there's electronic components in it in particular and basically it's time for a road trip . Get in it and go and it's got , I agree , a 10 year 100 000 mile warranty on this battery and the electronic component . So it's really really nice .

Speaker 3 4:12

Now the base model on this price on this vehicle is forty thousand eight hundred dollars . Now the base trim because we were at the upper level , fifty two thousand six hundred to start . Msrp as we had it was fifty 490 . So it's right there in the market because the toyota sienna hybrid starts at 39 , 185 , the honda odyssey hybrid starts at 41 , 9 and the chrysler pacifica hybrid starts a little bit more at 51 . So they're all right there in that range at the starting price and then it just kind of depends on how much you want to add to it . But if you're're looking for a people mover , a family vehicle . Don't worry about it being a minivan , just look at it like it's a station wagon . And this is definitely one you need to look at , and that's my review of the 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige .

Speaker 2 4:59

Very very good . Now , that's the same one that did Don have one recently , I believe . So , yes , he did Very good . That's the same one that did .

Speaker 3 5:03

Don have one recently , I believe . So yes , he did . Now is yours all electric ? That was a no , this is a hybrid . Hybrid , okay , yeah .

Speaker 2 5:08

And it's not a plug-in hybrid .

Speaker 3 5:09

I liked it , so it worked really well as far as driving and getting not having to worry about stopping to charge it .

Speaker 1 5:16

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Speaker 1 6:21

It's time for the 47th Annual Corvette Chevy Expo in Galveston . Saturday and Sunday , march 15th and 16th , at the Galveston Island Convention Center . This premier indoor event features iconic Chevrolets , from classic Camaros to America's sports car Corvette . See over 135 displays , automotive vendors and unique finds . At the expansive swap meet You'll also see the all-handmade Galveston Craft Show featuring over 100 local artisans . Be part of this Chevy celebration march 15th and 16th . For tickets , visit corvette chevy expocom and we appreciate your participation in our show thank you .

Speaker 1 6:59

Thank you , jeff's car .

Speaker 2 7:00

Culture is what what are we doing today ? Hydrogen fuel cells , fuel cells Things to know . Are they the future ? Are they from Mars ? No , the Honda Toyota ? No , I'm not bringing them . Are we doing America ? Is America going to do them ? America ? We'll find out , but there's about 17,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles in the US roads right now . All of them are in California . Meanwhile , the EVs there's millions of them around the country and the world .

Speaker 2 7:28

While electric cars are getting attention , with major manufacturers focusing on them to be dominant by 2030 , hydrogen vehicles remain much in the background . Here's why this year , one new hydrogen vehicle will hit the market . It's the Honda CR-V . It's called the FCEV , which is an adaptation of the popular compact crossover , with not only a hydrogen fuel cell jointly developed by General Motors probably Cadillac or Buick , I might throw that in there but largely a battery that can be plugged in . This provides 29 extra miles of range , adding to the 241 miles of range for the fuel cell . It will only be available in California , it will only be for lease and the volume is projected to be about 300 vehicles a year , so they're just getting started . A hydrogen fuel cell , or the HFCV for short , uses the same kind of electric motor to turn the wheels as a battery electric car does , but it's not powered by a large , heavy battery but by a fuel cell stacked in which pure hydrogen H2 , passes through a membrane to combine the oxygen O2 , from the air , producing the electricity that turns the wheels . Figure that out . We've got a schematic here coming up . What this means is a fuel cell vehicle is technically a series hybrid , which is why they are sometimes classified as a fuel cell hydridelectric vehicle or the FCHEV .

Speaker 2 8:51

These vehicles are safe . They're just as safe as any other vehicle , since the high-pressure tanks are designed to survive even the highest speed crashes without leaking or breaching the fuel . While hydrogen skeptics routinely cite the Hindenburg explosion of 1937 , the hydrogen tanks that their hardware would likely survive . Even if the rest of the car was destroyed , the tanks would probably be intact . No injuries or deaths specific to hydrogen components have been recorded to this date .

Speaker 2 9:22

Fueling a hydrogen car comes naturally over time . But aligning the heavy nozzle and sealing it properly to the car , naturally over time . But aligning the heavy nozzle and sealing it properly to the car , you have to have the communication between the nozzle and the car itself . So today's stations offer only two of five vehicles before they go offline before repressurizing . So it's very important to get there . How many miles can you go ? About 241 , and then with the electric you can add about another 25 more miles to it . So if you're in California and you're interested in zero-emission vehicles powered by electric motor , a hydrogen vehicle is one approach , but creating a brand-new fuel cell network from scratch hence electric has proven to be far , far more problematic , expensive and unreliable , and the fuel is much pricier for drivers than a gasoline or electric uh vehicle . So there you go . Uh , pretty much says it all . You're , you're driving a hybrid when you do that , and uh , you know , to each his own . If you want to do that , I'm out .

Speaker 1 10:18

The future's coming I'm out , I'm good . Okay , time now for this hour's car review . I got to drive the 2025 GMC Sierra EV . Final assembly location Detroit , motown . Sir , available trim levels the Denali , the extended range and the max range . I had the Denali , the max range . This is a full-size half-ton pick-em-up truck . Seats five including the driver . Exterior changes Electrics from GM share few parts with the gasoline version . This is an all-new truck . Exterior features Exclusive front clip with sharp looking new grille and lighting . For this ev gm . Squared off wheel openings still prevail . Uh , smaller version of the c pillar sail panels . That reminds one of the uh no longer produced avalanche pickup truck , which kind of had a mediocre response , but now it seems to be back in vogue . If you can find them , Multi-Pro tailgate is absolutely the best . Thoroughly , and whoever invented that ?

Speaker 3 11:38

they did themselves proud , should have got a raise .

Speaker 1 11:41

What I liked about the exterior . This is an exterior-interior feature and that is the multi-pro mid-gate . It increases the bed length to almost 11 feet and it folds down to open the cab to the bed . That's how it creates that extra footage back there in the bed . Also , the window the back window can come out separately . Oh wow , it's just a really cool . It's like the Swiss Army knife of trucks .

Speaker 1 12:12

Yeah , and it's not hard to do . Now . Interior highlights Huge Tesla-like vertical infotainment screen . Now , this is different than the Chevrolet version . The Chevrolet is horizontal . This is a vertical , big tablet-looking screen that's right there above the center console . Loved it . Big , comfortable leather seating with a great pattern in it . Full-time sunroof without a shade . How's that going to work in August and September ?

Speaker 3 12:48

Well , I was really glad when I had . I was really glad it wasn't August or September .

Speaker 1 12:52

But I will tell you this I would imagine that it doesn't have a shade well , for several reasons , but I guess that they figured that if it's really beaten down on you , I think that they've got some special glass up there . That's very reflective . You'll get the sunlight without the heat . That's my reflective . You'll get the sunlight without the heat . That's my guess . I didn't test it because it was cloudy . Sounds right , but it really was not obtrusive to me . Like most sunroofs are All right , upscale trim throughout . Don't forget the frunk . I forgot about the frunk . Did you open the frunk ? Yes , I did . Did you ? What did you do up there ? Tried to figure out how to close the frunk . That was an interesting expression of frustration and guilt . I felt dumb . You could open it with the button , but it doesn't close with the button .

Speaker 3 13:47

Kept looking for a button all down the sides .

Speaker 1 13:50

So you kind of got to pull it down and once you get it down there then it goes . Yeah , I don't know what the deal is with that . What I liked about it functionality throughout the control services on the interior .

2025 GMC Sierra EV Review

Speaker 1 14:12

Get the salesperson to demonstrate the mid-gate to you , because unless you look at something of how it works , it can be a little puzzling to get it down .

Speaker 3 14:15

Yeah , it could be a little concern kind of put this back together exactly yeah um engine .

Speaker 1 14:21

Well , elect , it has two electric motors that drive all four wheels , so it's a full-time all-wheel drive truck . Horsepower rated up to 760 , with 785 pound-feet of torque . Substantial Direct drive , clearly , so it doesn't have a transmission . Tow rating 10,000 pounds , haul rating 1,500 pounds . What I got as far as mileage is concerned and you'll have to do the math because I don't know 2.0 miles per kilowatt hour . I drove it 497.2 miles . What I liked about it ?

Speaker 3 14:59

Instant power and plenty of it , absolutely Even that big heavy vehicle .

Speaker 1 15:05

Did you burn the tires up on that ? It looked like somebody had done that . I didn't do it , I did it . It looked like somebody had done that . I didn't do it , I did it . All right , jeff did it , I did it . Stole it and did it . I did it . Ride and handling nice balance between capability and comfort . What could use improvement ? I would have liked to have seen an air ride option . Ooh , base trim price 98.4 . Prices tested $101,590 without tax . Base model price 89.9 . Competitors Chevy Silverado EV 73.1 . Ford F-150 Lightning 47.780 , which was surprisingly . Tesla Cybertruck 60,000 . And the Rivian R1T starts at $69,900 . There's your review of the 2025 GMC Sierra EV High marks all around . I liked it .

Speaker 3 15:58

I really liked that you could it had . It was fairly accurate on the range . I thought , yeah , it was A lot of them . It's like you can only do 78 , 75% the way I draw , but this one I was impressed .