Where each one leads
Ford Windstar
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Kia Carnival
- Against cars of the same year, the Kia Carnival comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 2% less often than average) than the Ford Windstar (fails 33% more often than average).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Kia Carnival uses 11.3 l/100 km, the 2003 Ford Windstar 12.9.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Ford Windstar | Kia Carnival | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1985–2005 | 1998–2026 |
| New cars registered in Europe | — | 2,339 (2010–2021) |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 135 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Ford Windstar | Kia Carnival | |
|---|---|---|
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.6% | 0.5% |
| … against cars of the same year | +33% | −2% |
| US owner complaints | 14,158 | 417 |
| Most complaints about | Engine and engine cooling | Electrical system |
| Model year with most complaints | 1995 (3,326) | 2022 (136) |
| US recall campaigns | 33 | 7 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,693 | 152 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 81 | 1 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Ford Windstar | Kia Carnival | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Ford Windstar | Kia Carnival | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 12.9 l/100 km (2003) | 11.3 l/100 km (2026) |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | — | 306 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | — | 192 kW (257 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | — | 2,194 kg |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 261,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).