KIA Carnival

The cabin of this all-new Kia Carnival is a huge departure from that of the model it has replaced, showcasing modernity in its truest form. There are a lot of comfort and convenience features offered in the immensely spacious cabin of the Carnival, which is available in three upholstery options – Black and grey, Black and Saddle brown and Black and Martian brown. 

The wide and horizontally laid fully digital cockpit, which comprises two 12.3-inch screens for the instrument console and touchscreen infotainment system, add some futurism to the cabin of the Carnival. Thanks to lesser physical buttons and a compact design, the centre console looks less cluttered and premium. The cabin looks further premium and wider with the long partition panel between the upper and lower centre consoles, while the waterfall-like lower centre console is garnished with gloss black and satin chrome inserts. 

The host of premium features offered in the Kia Carnival is a powered front and second row of seats, relaxation mode for the second row of seats, memory, heating and ventilation function for first row seats, wireless charger, power sliding doors and tailgate, walk-in device, dual pane sunroofs, three-zone automatic climate control with individual controls for rear AC vents, manual window curtains for rear passengers and more.

For its amazing road presence, which is a perfect combination of both large dimensions and premium design elements, the Kia Carnival is a stunning vehicle to look at. This new generation version of the Carnival takes forward the benchmarks set up by its predecessor by bringing in a whole lot of modernity and sleekness to the package. 

Like all the Kia offerings, the Carnival is also adorned with a ‘tiger nose’ grille, albeit in a very sharp and angular form. Surrounded with chrome garnish, the grille also gets much more chrome for the inserts within it. The grille here is flanked by all-LED headlamps, which are horizontally stretched outwards making the overall front fascia of the Carnival look even wider. The zig-zag-shaped daytime running LEDs further add more drama to the headlamps. The thin strips of chrome placed below the small LED fog lamps add more premium essence to the front profile. 

When you look at the Kia Carnival from the side, you will be impressed with its sheer size and length, which is further beautified by the subtle use of chrome on the body cladding. More premium essence is introduced by the satin chrome finish for the unique design of the sloping C-pillar. The long doors and wheelbase of the Carnival make it look longer, and like in any other traditional MPV, the Carnival has sliding panels for the rear doors. The dual-tone finish for the 19-inch alloy wheels also looks premium. At the back, Kia has adorned the Carnival with sleek-looking LED combination lamps for the tail light assembly, which further looks more premium with the thin LED light bar connecting the tail lamps.  

With a soft suspension setup on offer, the Kia Carnival gets four drive modes – Normal, Smart, Sport and Eco, all of which offer personalised performance, ride quality and steering feedback, depending on the driving behaviour. While it is supremely comfortable in all three/four rows inside, the large dimensions can prove hard to tame in congested traffic conditions.

There are two powertrain options with which the Kia Carnival is being offered in the UAE. First is the 3.5-litre Atkinson cycle V6 engine shared with the Telluride, which here is paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission and produces 272 PS of power and 331 Nm of torque. The other engine option is a 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, which makes 202 PS of power and 441 Nm of torque, and is also paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission. 

 Kia has retained the combination of the 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine and the 8-speed automatic gearbox, which continues to be the powertrain for the Carnival as standard. This powertrain claims a maximum power output of 202 bhp and a peak torque output of 440 Nm. There are four drive modes on offer – Normal, Sport, Smart and Eco. 

The long list of safety features provided in the Kia Carnival comprises front, side, curtain and driver knee airbags, ABS with EBD, blind spot collision warning, forward collision assist, surround-view monitor, rear-cross traffic collision avoidance assist, vehicle stability management, safe-exit assist, tyre pressure monitoring system, smart cruise control, hill start assist, front and rear parking sensors and lane following assist.

The massive road presence and dimensions of the Kia Carnival might take some time to get accustomed to for driving. However, once you get nervous, the Carnival can blow your minds with its supremely comfortable, spacious and tech-laden cabin.