The carnival marks the return to India through the SKD or semi-knocked-down route. This means that the country's taxation structure has a big impact on its launch price. Still, the price means this Kia will be out of budget for most mass-market buyers. But for people with big pockets and very specific needs, Carnival is positioned as a solid option barring any real and direct rivals.
We recently reached Bengaluru for a day trip with the latest MPV. Here is our first-drive review of the 2024 Kia Carnival:
How is the Kia Carnival from outside?
Short answer – huge! At 5,155 mm in length, the fourth generation Carnival is absolutely huge. In fact, its dimensions – length, width, height and wheelbase – have increased compared to the previous Carnival in our country. But despite its absolutely epic proportions, it doesn't look ugly from any side or angle.
There is a healthy dose of masculinity on the face which mainly comes from the grandeur of the tiger nose grille in the middle. There are very attractive LED DRL and LED projector headlamp units on either side. The LED fog lamps are placed at the bottom where the skid plate has also been updated.
| kia carnival dimensions | carnival limousine | CARNIVAL |
| total length | 5,155 | 5,115 |
| overall width | 1,995 | 1,985 |
| Overall Height (with roof railing) | 1,775 | 1,755 |
| wheelbase | 3,090 | 3,060 |
| (All figures in mm) |
It is from the outside, however, that one truly begins to understand the size of Carnival. At 3,090 mm, this Kia has a longer wheelbase than the Toyota Vellfire, which costs almost twice as much. And the Innova Crysta, priced at almost half the price, looks small in comparison with its wheelbase of 2,750 mm. And styling a massive vehicle is a challenge that Kia has managed remarkably well – the 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, C-pillar garnish, side-sill garnish with matte chrome inserts or here Even the expansive windows and functional roof rails, all add up to pleasing visual aesthetics.
At the rear, things are comparatively simple, with the LED tail lamps being the most attractive element here. The rear wiper is hidden under the spoiler and the MPV also comes with LED fog lamps here as well as a matte chrome-plated skid plate. The trunk door can apparently be operated electronically.
Overall, the Kia Carnival limousine does justice to its name, although finding space for such a large vehicle in typically congested Indian cities can be a time-consuming process.
How is the Kia Carnival in the cabin?
We hardly recommend third row seats in any car available in India. Often a compromise and best only for children or pets, last row seats are practically meant to be an extra bullet point on a car's resume rather than serving a comfort purpose. Scratch that all off for the carnival.
The latest Carnival has a 2+2+3 seat layout with the middle seats acting as the de facto command centre. But the rear seats are quite spacious and good for adults too. There is a lack of under-thigh support, but one can still find enough leg and foot room here for a complaint-free highway ride.
However, getting in and out is difficult as Kia missed out on adding a tumble-down function on the middle two seats. This is a big mistake, considering that Karens from the same family have it available at a much lower price. Instead, the Captain seats in the Carnival will be moved forward and out to open up space for entry and exit in the middle. Thankfully, the low height, sliding doors, side step and grab handle make it easy to get in and out. But it's making way for those last row seats, which may not be comfortable for everyone.
However, the middle two seats will be where you – the owner – will always want to be. These captain seats now offer better cushioning than before and can be electronically operated for both recline as well as footrest operation. And although it's not a flatbed, it can be matched to any La-Z-Boy recliner for comfort. Space is once again the biggest strength and even when quite ample room is left for the rear occupants, the middle passengers actually have very generous room to put their legs.
The large windows come with manual shades and three-zone climate control function and the dual sunroof setup gives the cabin quite an upmarket appeal. The position of the front passenger seat can be adjusted by the pillion and there are plenty of Type C charging ports and a 12v charging socket for devices. However, shockingly, there's no foldout tray – even the Carens has this – so you can flip your laptop. And storage space is quite limited, even the bottle holders on all the doors are only big enough for 500ml bottles.
The front part of the Carnival is all about the technology on offer and the two screens – each measuring 12.3 inches – inside a curved casing suit the stature that the MPV wants to portray. The display and response to touch is superb and the feed from the 360-degree camera – essential to managing such a large vehicle – is crisp too. The main infotainment screen packs a mile-long list of features and apps, and will require some learning, although all the information laid out on the driver display is easy to understand. Of course, there's also a big HUD or heads-up display.
The dashboard layout isn't spectacular, but in its simple form, looks quite premium, using soft-touch materials all over. There aren't a lot of physical buttons, but the touch interface once again doubles up and provides controls for both the infotainment functions that are connected to the 12-speaker Bose system as well as the air conditioning.
Overall, the cabin of the Kia Carnival is quite luxurious and extremely spacious. Anything less would have been a detriment to the target audience who would likely be driven by the driver.
How is the Kia Carival?
Powering such a big vehicle is no easy task and Kia has used a 2.2-litre diesel motor for this purpose. The unit is mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and produces 197 bhp and 440 Nm of torque.
Right off the bat, the Carnival has a car-like drive characteristic with light steering that makes the vehicle relatively easy to drive. Add to this the peppy character of the engine and the peppy gearbox, and the MPV can be unnaturally enjoyable to drive. It's when the Carnival is being pushed that the engine's groan finally reveals that you should probably take it easy. There may be four drive modes – Eco, Normal, Sport and Smart – but the Carnival is best for quiet drives rather than adrenaline-seeking expeditions.
The suspension setup also appears to be soft and the Carnival managed to overcome almost every road obstacle with ease. This is especially notable since the ground clearance is not very high. And yet, even when we drove through rainwater-filled potholes, there was no scratch on the underbody. Of course, there were only two people with two suitcases in the car at that time.
The level of refinement also deserves special mention as the control over NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) levels is very good. There is very little outside noise intruding into the cabin and the diesel motor reveals its displeasure when pushed. Middle seat passengers remain snug, but side bolstering on individual seats could have been better to keep passengers in place when lying down.
Carnival again does what it promises, and then some more. It's basically about motivating people, but can also be provocative to a certain extent. The ARAI-certified mileage of less than 15 kilometers per liter sounds good on paper, but in the real world, expect it to max out around 10 kilometers per litre. But who has ever talked about mileage when it comes to Carnival?
Should you buy the new Kia Carnival?
If you're considering the latest Kia Carnival you need to have your priorities straight. If your budget is low, you have a small family, you want an SUV body type or a vehicle that is extremely sporty, then this is clearly not for you.
Instead, the Carnival is for the person who is chauffeur-driven, needs to get things done on the go, wants a luxurious vehicle, takes frequent road trips with the entire family and has the space to accommodate it. There is a big enough garage. Despite being obviously expensive, the Kia Carnival limousine has no direct rivals yet and only in this sense, it can be liked among select customers.
First publication date: 22 October 2024, 11:01 am IST