THE FIRST THING that grabs you about the Kia Carnival is its size. It is almost two metres wide and measures 5.1 metres in length. Despite its size, it looks great as all the Kia design elements are present, namely, the tiger-nose grille, sleek projector headlights, ice cube inspired fog lamps and very fancy shiny alloy wheels. Kia has added dashes of chrome around the grille, fog lamps and a neat chrome strip that runs above the doors to give this vehicle a touch of elegance and class.
Cabin space
The real story with the car is the cabin. Up front you get two very comfortable bucket seats separated by a wide centre console with an armrest. The top of the line Limousine edition gets dollops of Nappa leather and you also get a soft-touch dash that has been sculpted to offer a rather premium look and feel. The second row offers two captain seats as well and they are complete recliners with fold-out support for your legs. The third row can seat three people in reasonable comfort and with that in use, you still get 540 litres of boot space. Kia is offering the Carnival in an 8-seater and 9-seater version as well.
.jpg?w=640&auto=format%2Ccompress)
Feature heavy
It comes packed with goodies. You get twin sunroofs, a touchscreen infotainment system with UVO and a Harman Kardon 8-speaker premium sound system. The driver’s seat is electronically adjustable and is ventilated, and you also get 3-zone climate control. Kia has also kitted out the top-spec version of the Carnival with a smart pure air purifier on board, side curtains for the rear two rows, a wireless phone charger and a 220V outlet for those who wish to charge a laptop while on the go. Now, 2nd-row passengers can enjoy an added bit of entertainment thanks to the large 10.1-inch screens for both seats.
Under the hood
Powering the vehicle is a 2.2-litre BS6 common rail injection diesel engine that delivers 200 PS of power @ 3,800 rpm and offers 440 Nm of torque between 1,500-2,750 rpm. The engine is paired with an 8-speed sportsmatic transmission. Power delivery is smooth and refined and that is what you expect from a vehicle of this class. Kia claims that the car offers 13.9 kilometres to the litre.
Our verdict
While the initial thought was that the Carnival will take on the Innova, the truth is that it actually sits in a segment higher. It is bigger and better in every way and we expect it to be priced a little higher than the Innova as well.
Our guess is that the Carnival will be offered in the INR 30-35 lakh range.