Not too long ago, Kia partially revealed the next-generation Kia Carnival and released the pictures of its exteriors. Now the South Korean brand has fully revealed the exteriors, interiors as well as the powertrain details and other technical specifications of the Kia Carnival. The MPV is also marketed as the Kia Sedona in the Korean market and has commenced sales in Korea which followed by global markets in the next year.
Now in its fourth-generation, the new 2021 Kia Carnival is dubbed a ‘Grand Utility Vehicle’ and is based on Kia’s new mid-size platform. The new Carnival offers new SUV-inspired exteriors matched with a new modern interior with four rows of seating, large cargo space, intelligent storage areas throughout the cabin, driver assistant technologies and protection & entertainment of its occupants. Kia’s designers call this ‘Symphonic Architecture’, creating a sense of harmony and structural energy when the detailed design is brought together with its technical features.
On the outside, the Kia Carnival features the brand’s signature Tiger Nose grille which integrate the LED headlamp units and the LED daytime running lights giving it a unique futuristic light signature. The luxury MPV also features sculpted bumpers and a lower air intake that comes with metallic trim and black treatment. Compared to the current-generation Carnival the new Carnival features a shorter front overhang and the A-pillar has been moved backwards to create a longer hood, the new carnival also gets an improved wheelbase, a floating island-like roof, and a chromed fin with a diamond pattern on the C-pillar. The new Carnival also features metallic skid plates on the rear and a full-width light bar.
On the inside, the 2021 Kia Carnival features twin digital display with a 12.3-inch digital driver instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment and navigation system under a single seamless piece of glass. The infotainment system is integrated with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay with voice recognition and offers live telematics information via the in-car touchscreen and on their smartphone.
Depending on the market, the Carnival offers owners three- or four-row seating configurations, with space for seven, eight or 11 occupants in total. In its popular seven-seat configuration, the Carnival boasts Kia’s reclining ‘Premium Relaxation Seat’ for second-row occupants, with adjustable back-, arm- and leg-rests providing ‘business class’ seating. This configuration also offers one-touch ‘Relaxation’ mode that automatically reclines and adjusts the seats for maximum comfort on a long drive.
Powering the Kia Carnival is the 3.5-litre GDi (petrol direct injection) V6 that produces 294 PS of power and 355 Nm torque, another 3.5-litre MPi petrol V6 is also available that produces 272 PS of power and 332 Nm torque and a new 2.2-litre ‘Smartstream’ diesel engine that produces 202 PS of power and 440 Nm torque all matched to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The engine availability will be dependant on the region.
The 2021 Kia Carnival also comes with a plethora of active and passive safety features such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) that includes Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection, Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA), Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM), High Beam Assist (HBA), Smart Cruise Control (SCC) or Navigation-based SCC (NSCC), Lane Following Assist (LFA), Highway Driving Assist (HDA) and Surround View Monitor (SVM).
The new Kia Carnival also comes with ‘Level 2’ autonomous driving technology, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA), parking assistance, Safe Exit Assist (SEA) which prevents the rear doors from opening if it detects a vehicle approaching from behind, Multi-Collision Brake system, Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) and Electronic Stability Control and more.
In the Indian market, Kia launched the Carnival in February 2020 and the brand is not likely to bring the next-generation model anytime before 2022.