Kia has revealed the India-spec new Carnival ahead of its launch on October 3. Now in its fourth generation globally, the Carnival will retain its position as Kia India’s flagship MPV offering, and will go on sale alongside the EV9 next month.
- New Carnival gets a standard 7-seat layout
- Carries over 2.2-litre, diesel engine
- Expected price over Rs 50 lakh
New Kia Carnival exterior, interior design
Facelifted in November last year globally, the fourth-gen Carnival is based on Kia’s latest design language. The MPV is much boxier and sharper than the third-gen model that was sold in India until June 2023. At the front, it gets the signature ‘Tiger Nose’ grille, flanked by vertically-stacked LED headlamps with L-shaped LED DRLs.
The L-shaped theme continues at the rear with the tail-lamps connected via an LED light bar. The C-pillar gets a silver chrome inset that joins the chrome garnish on the bottom of the rear windscreen. Kia is offering the Carnival in India with only two exterior colour options – Glacier White Pearl and Fusion Black. On the inside, the Carnival offers two dual-tone interior theme options to choose from, namely Navy and Misty Gray and Tuscan and Umber.
New Kia Carnival features, safety
On the feature front, the Carnival gets dual 12.3-inch curved displays, a standard 7-seat (2+2+3) seating layout, 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, a 4-spoke steering wheel, dual electric sunroofs, three-zone climate control, a head-up display, 12-speaker Bose sound system, second-row captain seats with heating, ventilation and massage function, adjustable leg support for second row, 12-way powered driver’s seat and much more. It also gets a powered tailgate as well as powered sliding rear doors.
The safety suite consists of 8 airbags, disc brakes on all four wheels, ESC, Hill Assist Control, TPMS, VSM, front, rear and side parking sensors, and an ADAS Level 2 suite that consists of Lane Keep Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Front Collision Warning and Avoidance Assist, High Beam Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, and so on.
New Kia Carnival powertrain
Powering the new Carnival is a sole 2.2-litre, four-cylinder diesel engine that puts out 193hp and 441Nm of peak torque. While the torque is up by 1Nm over the previous-gem Carnival, the engine makes 7hp lesser than before. The engine continues to be mated to an 8-speed torque converter automatic gearbox feeding power to the front wheels only.
New Kia Carnival launch, expected price
Pricing for the new Carnival will be revealed on October 3. It will be available in two variants, namely Limousine and Limousine Plus. The MPV will be brought to India as a CBU initially. Hence, it is expected to be priced over Rs 50 lakh. Do note that local assembly is expected to begin a little later, which will likely bring its price down in the future.
At launch, the Carnival will have no direct rivals given its price point. It will be positioned between the Toyota Innova Hycross (Rs 19.77 lakh-30.98 lakh) and the Vellfire (Rs 1.22 crore-1.32 crore) upon arrival. Once Kia starts local assembly of the MPV, it will then serve as a premium alternative to the higher variants of the Innova Hycross.
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