Kia Carnival

Design

The Kia Carnival's design is about understated elegance. You do get the tiger-nose grille that is common to the Kia family, but it gets a dull finish all around, while the smaller chrome elements on the grille tend to that tend to give an upmarket look to the MPV. The grille is upright with a slightly swooping bonnet and the massive headlamp units come with LED daytime running lights and projector lens units. A nice touch is the blacked-out C-pillar that adds a more SUV-Esque appearance on the MPV. A small rugged element with a faux skid plate at the front and rear bumper that gives it a brawny appearance to what is largely a very urban but a very big MPV. The Carnival gets a boxy profile overall and the flat panels at the side have little room to play around with it, in terms of styling. The massive 18-inch alloy wheels are offered as standard and our test car got the premium chrome units with the sputtering finish reserved for the range-topping variant.

Cabin

Inside, the Kia Carnival is luxurious and that is visible right from the moment you step into the cabin. The driver's seat is electrically adjustable, and you sit at a height with a commanding view of the road. The 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system takes prominence in the centre and provides access to everything from navigation, radio, climate control, vehicle telematics and more. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard as well. The car also comes with steering mounted controls, cruise control, wireless charging and one-touch entry for the rear doors. The MPV is equipped with a Harman Kardon sound system on the top variants. Much like the Seltos, the Carnival also comes with the UVO Connected Tech including the remote engine start feature that can be used via a smartphone or even a smartwatch.

The top-spec Limousine variant gets the seven-seater layout with captain seats. This range-topping variant gets a 2+2+3 seating configuration with captain seats in the second row. The second row also comes with 10-inch entertainment screens as standard on the top trim, while the smart air purifier emits clean air and fragrance in the cabin. The fragrance options are changeable as well. There's a laptop charging point too that a lot of executive buyers will particularly appreciate. The third row offers good legroom and is a lot better than the other MPVs.

Driving Experience

The Kia Carnival is large in proportions and it's hard to ignore the width of the car. But once you're on the driver's seat, all of that just vanishes. The MPV offers about 197 bhp and 440 Nm of peak torque on offer. The speeds build up quick and you get immediate thrust after 1700-1800 rpm and it pulls up to 2700 rpm and it's a quick car. And that's something that has really surprised us given the dimensions and total weight at about 2.2 tonnes. The 2.2-litre diesel engine is compliant with BS6 norms and makes ample power for the open road. The motor is paired only with an 8-speed automatic transmission that is well-calibrated and comes with a manual mode too. Ride-quality is simply excellent, and the model just glides over bad roads. The suspension performs its best when at cruising speeds between 80 and 100 kmph but gets a little unnerving at low speeds.

Having said that the Carnival has a few issues. To begin with, body roll is very evident and that is obvious given the sheer size of the model, but that's not a deal-breaker given its impressive ride quality, but the steering is too light and doesn't weigh up at high speeds. While that's good for the city, when you are on the highway, doing high speeds, you want it to weigh in a little more to impact confidence in the driver. There are no signs of vibrations and that just adds to the overall driving experience.

Safety

The Kia Carnival comes with several safety features as standard including six airbags, front and rear parking sensors, electronic stability control and hill start assist. It also comes with Electronic Parking Brake, all 4-disc brakes, rear parking camera and more.

Price

The Kia Carnival MPV is priced in India between Rs. 24.95 lakh to Rs. 33.95 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), and it's offered in 3 variants - Premium, Prestige and Limousine. At that price point, the Carnival doesn't have a direct rival. While we can consider the Toyota Innova Crysta a close competitor, its top-end trim is priced at Rs. 24.33 lakh, which is still over Rs. 60,000 cheaper than the base variant of the Carnival.