car&bike Awards 2025: New Kia Carnival Is The Family Car Of The Year

Kia India’s imposing new Carnival is the 2025 car&bike Family Car Of The Year. The large upmarket seven-seat MPV went up against the capable BYD eMax 7 and the Nissan X-Trail SUV with the MPV impressing the judges with its blend of size, space, features, comfort, versatility and dynamics.

Launched in a singular range-topping spec, the new Carnival followed a radically different design compared to its predecessor in India. The MPV looks of the old MPV made way for a more muscular SUV-inspired design with design elements also borrowed from Kia’s flagship EV, the EV9. Inside, the Carnival packs in all the tech and comfort features one could need in a Rs 60 lakh vehicle from powered, heated and ventilated front seats, to dual moon roofs, powered rear doors and tailgate, power-adjustable captain seats in the second row with heating and ventilation, ADAS features and more.

The new Carnival is offered with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine as standard. The unit develops 190 bhp and 441 Nm on peak torque and is paired with an 8-speed automatic gearbox as standard.

The Carnival, despite its notably higher pricing than the model it replaced, has found a fair number of buyers with Kia reporting over 3,000 bookings for the MPV a little over two months after its launch. The company had also revealed that the MPV had a six month waiting period.