Even if I had just come from weekends of driving two SUVs, the size of the new Kia Carnival EX was still remarkable. I checked the specs and found the Carnival measures 5,130mm (length), 1,985mm (width) and 1,760mm (height). Compare that with two best-sellers on the road: The Toyota Fortuner measures 4,695mm (l), 1,840mm (w), and 1,850mm (h); while the Toyota Innova is 4,555mm (l), 1,770mm (w) and 1,755mm (h).

When I slipped in front of the wheel and closed the door, I felt like the Kia Carnival had swallowed me. My shoulders and arms had a distance from the door frame; and the headroom felt like a loft (you know, those new condo units with a mezzanine floor).

I looked at the back and saw wide bucket seats at the second row, with enough legroom to allow a passenger to completely stretch out. The third row, a bench-type seat, was waiting to implement a function: it could sit three more passengers, or it could be folded flat into the floor to become a big cargo area (which we opted to do).

Power sliding doors made entering or alighting from the big cabin quite easy. There were no awkward motions where an adult passenger had to "crawl" in, exposing an unglamorous behind. The flip-and-fold second row seats provide easy access to the third row.

If I am dwelling on the huge space factor of this van too much, understand that space is a major feature of a van. Why do you buy a van, in the first place – to drive out by yourself? In the all-new Kia Carnival, space is extra-large!

The people at Kia Motors Philippines, specifically Chut Velazquez, who took time to talk me into taking the test drive weekend – thought it best to have the Carnival enjoyed as a van, and not an extension to someone’s office. They offered two destinations for the test drivers and their families, one of them at The Lighthouse, a boutique hotel in Subic. (The other was in Tagaytay.)

Subic, 140 kilometers from Metro Manila, is an easy drive. The North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) is beautiful to drive on, it gives you enough space to enjoy your vehicle, especially at the wide turning banks. Although the banks are not at all comparable to the ones at the car companies’ proving centers in Japan and Australia, driving there reminds me of the good old days when fear was not in my heart – because I was younger then!

Back to my long drive story for the week: Let me convince you how much pleasure a weekend with the family can completely bathe you with the feeling of Christmas, any time of the year. Naturally, a van – in this case, the new Kia Carnival – can take a family of seven to that place.

In my case, the huge Kia Carnival so inspired us to go out of town as a complete family – we ended up bringing two vehicles! I had forgotten to count the fiancees of my two daughters, and didn’t consider the sizes of my fully-grown adult children. Inside Subic, we all crowded into the Kia Carnival because that’s how we are. I forgot to mention that my family moves like a herd.

What’s all that space for seven passengers without the power to take them smoothly to their destination? Kia Motors placed a 3-liter, DOHC, 16 valve, turbo intercooler, CRDi engine which pulls with 160 horsepower and 35.0 kg-m of torque.

Driving that machine is easy with a five-speed sportmatic transmission that gave me a lot of choices – switching from manual to automatic. But I am a creature of comfort: why switch when the engine could handle all my requirements fine? At the long straights, I push the gas and it speeds up; I lift my foot and it slows down; I push harder, and keep my foot there longer, and the Carnival overtakes! I touch the brakes lightly when taking the corners at 70, and it behaves. Sometimes, I even thought the automatic transmission was reading my mind!

It’s great to have a transmission like that. I had more time to enjoy my family while I brought them around the Subic that I knew during the racing days. I left the driving to the machine, not to my choices. And that’s significant especially in Subic where the hills present real challenges for a fully-loaded van.

And so I was tour-guide for the weekend to my adult children who pretended not to be impressed with my stories about the rally routes at the naval mag. I told them about the infamous Idess short (5-km) and Idess long (7-km) rally stages where very winding and narrow roads led to tight U-turns – and many canal landings. There was no response from the girls; they preferred to enjoy the music from the Carnival’s expensive entertainment system with 11 speakers!

My son looked impressed, but since he’s an adult now, he just nodded for effect. Cool, he said.

So I drove them through the houses in Binictican, where we used to stay for a weekend just after they opened Subic to tourists and there were no hotels yet. The houses now look old, but are mostly occupied

A few more winding roads, uphills, downhills and a lot of forests all around – and I was beginning to really like the Kia Carnival’s drive. I didn’t want to stop. My daughter recognized the beginning of my mood that they now don’t want to be part of – another long aimless drive. "Let’s have lunch!" – she said.

Okay, I answered. There was still 140 kilometers to drive back to Manila.