With vast interior space and a massive luggage area, Kia Carnival can be a perfect family car or a VIP vehicle for chauffeur-driven buyers
VIP mobiles have been on the rise lately, catering to discerning 2nd-row occupants seated on the left master seat. While any car can be used to haul people, only a few vehicles can be termed VIP cars. That’s because these vehicles must adhere to a combination of factors. The latest VIP vehicle that has graced our market is the new Kia Carnival.
Unlike Kia India’s past trends, we are getting the latest iteration of Carnival, just like global markets. But there seems to be a price to pay for this newness. Rs 63.9 lakh (Ex-sh), to be precise, which is almost twice the price point of its predecessor. I’m from tax-heavy Karnataka and this is around Rs 80 lakh (OTR) car for us with a few basic accessories ticked. At this price point, Kia Carnival has to punch way above its weight to justify its hefty price tag. Does it do that? Let’s take a look.
New Kia Carnival First Drive Review
What is called a minivan and is preferred by Soccer moms in markets like the USA, is pitted as a VIP mobile in India. We’re talking about the new Kia Carnival and it has been positioned in India as a premium luxury MPV that costs around Rs 80 lakh (OTR, Karnataka). Kia has equipped the new Carnival with a lot of features and creature comforts on top of the oodles of space it has, to justify the price and be India’s de facto VIP mobile.
We drove new Kia Carnival in Bangalore as part of the national media drive event. Kia India provided Rushlane with Carnival Limousine in Glacier White Pearl shade. There is only one trim and only other colour option is Fusion Black. A Grey shade was seen with test mules, which did not make it to final production. This is the facelifted version of 4th Gen Carnival and it successfully shed its minivan roots, opting for a more SUV-ish appearance.
It is boxy and looks imposing on the road. New fascia with vertically arranged quad projector LED headlights, massive LED DRLs, a large tiger nose grill, LED fog lights, muscular bonnet creases, a wrap-around effect for the windshield, large glass area, roof rails, 18-inch alloy wheels, connected LED tail lights, twin sunroofs, the silver finish near C Pillars, powered tailgate and large sliding rear doors are notable elements. If there were body claddings all around, it would pretty much look like an SUV too.
Oodles Of Space!
Carnival’s 18-inch wheels look rather small on a humongous vehicle like this and the 235-section tyres also look skinny. Dimensions-wise, new Kia Carnival measures 5,155 mm in length, 1,995 mm in width, 1,775 mm in height and has a 3,090 mm long wheelbase. These dimensions along with boxy proportions scoop out acres of space on the inside. Considering that there is only one Limousine variant with 3-row seating as standard, occupants in all three rows get ample room. Even with all three rows up, there is ample boot space and last row can be folded flat to liberate cavernous luggage carrying capacity.
Dashboard is logically laid out with dual 12.3-inch crisp displays placed in a curved housing. Infotainment screen supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay wirelessly and instrument cluster shows a plethora of information. There is a large HUD as well, which is very informative as it incorporates a few ADAS functions as well. The 360-degree camera feature and blindspot assistance are very well executed, which is a boon in a big vehicle like this. Even the speed-sensitive volume control and the smart display to cycle between music and climate controls are well executed.
Centre console is large and has various controls including gear selector, electronic parking brake, front seat heating and ventilation, 360-degree parking camera and others. Front seats are large and accommodating with excellent support. Steering wheel is adjustable for height and reach and the front seat is electrically adjustable, allowing driver to set their desired position. Dashboard has soft-touch materials with a stitching effect and front door top element and elbow pads were softer to touch than dashboard’s. Rear seats are even more impressive as they have way more adjustability.
Front seats are electrically adjustable and driver’s seat gets a memory function. Before getting into the impressive 2nd-row features, we should address the rest of the cabin. Because of Carnival’s cabin width, one can easily walk into the third row and there is genuine space for adults here. These occupants are pampered with AC vents, cup holders, charging ports, adjustable headrests, proper seat belts and seat-back recline. Even for an 182 cm tall individual like myself, there is ample space and I wouldn’t mind spending longer time here.
Unmatched 2nd Row Comfort
2nd-row seats are Kia’s “Forte” (pun intended) and offer a unique experience that is not currently offered by any vehicle at Rs 80 lakh (OTR, Karnatala) price point. It all starts with ingress and egress. Powered sliding doors, a robust side step and a grab handle offer a wide aperture and leverage helping occupants to get in and out of these lovely 2nd row captain seats. These seats have more adjustments than the front ones, to unlock more comfort. A dedicated sunroof for 2nd-row of seats brings in a lot of light.
These 2nd-row seats can slide front, back and sideways. Seat-back and seat-base can be adjusted along with extendable leg supports for the ultimate comfort. Just like the front, these 2nd-row seats are heated and ventilated. Flexibility in seat adjustment ensures a lounge-like experience, which is unmatched in this price range. If you somehow need more space, there is Boss Mode to push the front left seat out of the way to liberate even more space. 2nd-row occupants are also pampered with their own climate zone that can be controlled by a dedicated panel accessible by a right occupant behind the driver. Soothing ambient lights and a banging Bose premium audio system further elevate in-cabin experience further.
Suspension setup on New Kia Carnival is a slight mixed bag. In this sense, bump absorption could have been better as it doesn’t feel robust for Indian roads. It gets slightly unsettled with severe bad patches, tossing passengers around slightly more than we would have liked. Suspension is not stiff either, to unlock sporty handling. It has a lot of body roll and it does not mask its weight quite well. New Carnival doesn’t like to be hustled in the city and twisties but is more than happy to hold composure on straight stretches of roads, giving a lot of confidence.
Another aspect of Kia Carnival is its cabin insulation. Despite boxy design, new Carnival doesn’t have a lot of wind whistles around the A-pillars and ORVMs. Road and tyre noises are well-contained too. Engine noise, however, is loud, despite abundant insulation under the hydraulically assisted bonnet and is very audible for 1st-row occupants. Not so much for 2nd row occupants. That said, I am a sucker for big diesel engines and I enjoy big diesel engine noises. I love the intake howl of this engine and turbo spooling sounds. Your mileage may vary.
Powertrain and Performance
Despite this engine being noisy, it is not harsh or prone to vibrations. Kia has done an excellent job of containing the vibrations of this engine, which I liked. This 2.2L 4-cylinder diesel engine churns out 190 bhp of peak power and 440 Nm of peak torque, mated to a sole 8-speed torque converter automatic. This engine feels quite peppy to drive with decent vigour to accelerate. Kia mentions a 0-100 km/h sprint in a little over 10 seconds, which is impressive given the size and weight of this vehicle.
Carnival’s 8-speed gearbox, however, is not quick to respond and takes a lot of time to shift into the right gear. Oftentimes, it also hesitated to shift two cogs at once when I floored it, shifting one cog down at a time to eventually reach the desired gear. There are paddle shifters to take manual control and they do a great job. Also, this engine was slow to decelerate when I lifted my foot off the accelerator. In this sense, this engine would continue to rev for around 2 seconds even after lifting my foot off the accelerator. It doesn’t feel instant and intuitive.
New Kia Carnival has disc brakes at all four ends offering sure-footed stopping power. Initial bite is slightly low, but the progression is good and inspires confidence. There is a considerable amount of nose-dive under hard braking, but nothing out of the ordinary. Kia India is offering a robust Level-2 ADAS suite with new Carnival. While a few ADAS features were turned off during our testing by Kia, we got to test the rest. This system warned us of “Children Ahead” multiple times, even when there were none. Other than that, lane-keep assist, auto emergency braking and other ADAS features worked flawlessly.
Nitpicking and Conclusion
No vehicle is perfect and Kia Carnival is no exception. There are a lot of elements to nitpick in Carnival, which we would have easily forgiven if Kia India had priced it slightly above its predecessor and not at twice the price point. It isn’t, so we couldn’t. Priced at around Rs 80 lakh (OTR, Karnataka), new Carnival gives us some liberty to nitpick the heck out of this vehicle.
1. Kia Carnival doesn’t have a digital key feature for added convenience.
2. A dedicated sunroof for 2nd row passengers could have been a panoramic one.
3. Sticking with soft-touch plastics, the ones on front door top are softer than the ones on dashboard.
4. This vehicle should have come with soft-touch plastics in areas where one’s knees would graze. In this sense, areas like outer edges of front centre console and rear door pads.
5. Sun-visors are not extendable.
6. Vanity lights for front passengers do not turn on automatically when sliding the mirror. The manual switch looks tacky and an afterthought.
7. Also, vanity lights on the front have halogen bulbs, which is a mismatch with other LED lights inside this premium and luxury car.
8. Steering column is not electrically adjustable.
9. 2nd-row seats have to be manually moved front, back and sideways, which is a mismatch to the rest of its electrically adjustable operations.
10. Switches to control 2nd-row adjustability should have been on the door as they are not accessible because of the intruding armrest.
11. 2nd-row seat heating and ventilation switches along with window and power sliding door switches are not accessible when you are in a relaxed position. One has to move the seat forward manually, operate those inaccessible switches and then come back to relax.
12. Given Carnival is a premium and luxury car, the door pockets are not felt lined, something VW Passat used to offer.
13. Speaking of, front door pockets can only take smaller bottles.
14. This vehicle should have come with twin wireless chargers for the front occupants and then two more for 2nd-row passengers. But there is only one for front and none for 2nd-row.
15. The winged headrests for 2nd-row passengers could have been adjustable
We would like to reiterate that the new Kia Carnival is an excellent vehicle and is a great choice to buy even at around Rs 80 lakh (OTR, Karnataka). That is because there are no logical rivals for Carnival with this much space and comfort. Sure, we would have liked it if Kia had priced it more aggressively. However, it is what it is. And what it is, is an aspirational VIP vehicle that is currently unrivalled in the market. We would recommend Carnival to anyone who is looking for a great chauffeur-driven experience. However, our recommendation to Carnival ends when there is a worthy opponent with a reasonable price point. Until then, Kia Carnival is India’s newest aspirational vehicle.
Kia Carnival
