Toyota Hilux vs Kia Carnival [2020-2023]

I'm smitten by pickup trucks and their versatility. So, there's no second guessing what I chose when the Toyota Hilux made it to the line-up of the fourth edition of CarWale's annual off-road day. In fact, it was the only massive pickup amongst SUVs here. To cope with the bulk, it has a 2.8-litre turbo diesel engine producing 200bhp and 500Nm of torque. All this power is routed through a six-speed torque converter automatic to the four-wheel-drive system. The latter gets High (H4) and Low (L4) range paired with electronic 2WD/4WD control. Despite the length, it has good approach (29.22degree) and departure (26.36degree) angles and runs on stock Bridgestone tyres (265/60 R18). Let's see how it performed.

Kia Motors launched the Carnival in India to offer a luxurious yet practical MPV for our market. It's powered by a 2.2-litre diesel engine with power rated at 197bhp and 440Nm of torque. This VGT motor comes mated to an eight-speed ‘sportsmatic’ transmission. Looking at this MPV's mammoth-like proportions, a prospective buyer knows he/she might not be able to duplicate its ARAI figures of 13.9kmpl in the real world. And, it's still quite understandable if one wants a good fuel economy from his/her vehicle with fuel costs rising again and again. For letting you know how much fuel economy the Kia Carnival gives in actual driving conditions, here's our report from its fuel efficiency tests.

To celebrate what we have left, we gather a bunch of true-blue 4x4s every year and give them hell!