Kia has revealed the India-spec new Carnival ahead of its launch on October 3. Currently in its fourth generation globally, the Carnival will arrive in India via the CBU route this time around and will go on sale alongside the upcoming flagship EV9 next month. Kia has commenced bookings for the new Carnival from today for a token amount of Rs 2 lakh.
- New Carnival gets a standard 7-seater layout
- Carries over 2.2-litre diesel engine
- Expected price is over Rs 50 lakh
New Kia Carnival exterior, interior design
Facelifted globally in November last year, the fourth-gen Carnival is based on Kia’s latest design language. The MPV is much boxier and sharper than the third-gen model sold in India until June 2023. At the front, it features the signature ‘Tiger Nose’ grille, flanked by vertically stacked LED headlamps with L-shaped LED DRLs. For India, the new Carnival comes with 18-inch alloy wheels.
New Kia Carnival features, safety
On the feature front, the Carnival gets dual 12.3-inch curved displays, a standard 7-seater (2+2+3) layout, a 4-spoke steering wheel, dual electric sunroofs, three-zone climate control, a head-up display, a 12-speaker Bose sound system, second-row captain seats with heating and ventilation, adjustable leg support for the second row, a 12-way powered driver’s seat, and much more. It also comes with a powered tailgate and 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 more.
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-gen 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: 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 serve as a premium alternative to the higher variants of the Innova Hycross.
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