Kia has recently unveiled their new offering in the MPV segment called the Kia Carnival. Launched in South Africa last week, The new luxurious family mover is here to disrupt the MPV market and replace the well-known Kia Grand Sedona, with new a new attractive design, a new diesel engine, and numerous new advanced driver assistance features.
What’s new?
The new Kia Carnival shares it underpins with the new Kia Sorento, both built on Kia’s third-generation N3 platform, setting it 35 mm taller. 40mm longer and 10 mm wider with an overall weight increase of 14Kg than its predecessor the Kia Grand Sedona.
Exterior and Design
The new Kia Carnival has received a make-over from the ground up, with a bold and SUV-like look inspired by other Kia models in the range such as the (Seltos, Sonet, and Sorento). Boasting a wider, blacked-out tiger-nose front grille surrounded by a chrome bezel that smoothly connects to the LED Headlights, the rear boasts seamless LED taillights with a high mounted brake light giving the Carnival a fresher and sleek look. The Kia Carnival rides on either 18-inch or 19-inch alloy wheels.
Interior And Tech
Inside, the new family mover is kitted with a fresher and refined design, boasting a two-tone leather upholstery interior style as standard. Upfront, the dashboard boasts a gloss black finish with chrome trimming inserts giving the cabin a classy look. The Carnival’s interior space offers 3 rows of seating and can be configured for either 7 or 8 passengers. Loadspace capacity is claimed at 1139 litres but can increase up to 4110 litres with the second-row folded down and third-row seats flushed in.
Powertrain
The Carnival line-up makes use of a single-engine and transmission combination. A new 2.2 CRDi smart stream turbodiesel engine developing 148 KW and 440Nm of torque, exclusively paired to an 8-speed torque-converter automatic transmission, sending all the power to the front wheel.
Safety
When it comes to safety, the new Carnival is equipped with a list of standard Advanced Driver Assistance Systems features available on SX Limited and the flagship SXL. which includes:
Blindspot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA), Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Keeping Assist (LKA) with Lane Following Assist (LFA), Segment-exclusive Blindspot View Monitor (BVM), Smart Cruise Control (SCC), Around View Monitor (AVM): 360-degree camera.
Specifications
The all-new Carnival is available in 4 distinctive derivatives. The entry model EX, and comes equipped with the following features
- 8,0” touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Front and rear adjustable air-conditioning
- Auto light control
- Auto-folding side mirrors
- Overhead console lamps
- 4 USB ports
- Drive Mode Select
- Electrically adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar support
- Leather trim
- LED headlamps
- PDC front and rear
- 18” aluminium alloy wheels
- 7 airbags
- ESC plus Hill-start Assist Control
The mid-spec EX+ model feature list comprises of:
- 8 seats (2+3+3 configuration)
- Smart Entry with push-button start
- Powered sliding side doors
- Electric tailgate
- Remote rear door and tailgate opening on key
- Remote start on key
- Electro-chromatic rear-view mirror
- Front and rear adjustable automatic climate control
- Rear sunshade blinds
- Paddle shifters
- 7 USB ports
The second-to-top-tier specification level is SX Limited, which builds on the EX+’s tally posting the following features:
- 19” aluminium alloy wheels
- Heated and ventilated front seats
- Electrically adjustable front seats with lumbar support
- Smart Cruise Control
- LED front fog lights with Dual LED headlamps (high and low beam)
- Dual tilt and slide sunroofs
- Wireless smartphone charging
- 12.3” touchscreen infotainment with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- Rear LED combination lamps
- Skid plates front and rear
- 360º Around View Monitor
- Rear Cross Traffic Alert
- Blindspot Monitor with Collision Avoidance Assist
- Lane Following Assist and Lane Keeping Assist
- Forward Collision Avoidance Assist
The Carnival SX Limited is a limited-edition model and will be bolstered – from March 2022 – with the fully loaded Carnival SXL, which adds:
- 12.3” TFT Supervision instrument cluster
- BOSE surround sound with 12 speakers
Pricing
Carnival 2.2 CRD I EX 7-Seater R799 995
Carnival 2.2 CRD I EX+ 8-Seater R879 995
Carnival 2.2 CRD I SX 7-Seater R999 995
Carnival 2.2 CRD I SXL 8-Seater R1 024 995
All prices include a 5-year/unlimited km warranty (including roadside assistance) and a 6-year/90 000km maintenance plan. The all-new Carnival range is on sale across Kia South Africa’s national dealer network immediately, with SXL models available from March 2022.
