2024 Kia Carnival review: Business-class experience at business-class-like price

The Carnival marks its India return via the SKD or semi-knocked-down route. This means the country’s taxation structure has a big say in its launch price. Even then, the price tag itself means that this Kia will be far out of budget for most mass-market buyers. But for those with big pockets and very specific requirements, the Carnival is positioned as a solid option minus any real and direct rival.

We landed in Bengaluru recently for a day out with the latest MPV. Here is our first-drive review of the 2024 Kia Carnival:

What is Kia Carnival like on the outside?

The short answer – huge! At 5,155 mm in length, the fourth-generation Carnival is absolutely massive. In fact, it has grown in dimensions – length, width, height and wheelbase – over the previous Carnival that was in our country. But despite its absolutely epic proportions, it does not look ungainly from any side or angle.

The face has a generous dose of machismo that comes primarily from that imposing Tiger Nose grille smack in the middle. Flanking it on either side are very edgy LED DRLs and LED projector headlamp units. The LED fog lamps are placed lower down where the skid plate has also been updated.

It is, however, from the side, that one truly begins to grasp the size of the Carnival. At 3,090 mm, the wheelbase of this Kia is even longer than that of the Toyota Vellfire that is priced at nearly double of this. And the nearly half-priced Innova Crysta appears puny in comparison with a wheelbase of 2,750 mm. And styling a massive vehicle is a challenge that Kia has managed remarkably well – 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, C-Pillar garnish, side-sill garnish with matte chrome inserts or even the mammoth windows and functional roof rails, all combine for pleasing visual aesthetics.

At the back, things are comparatively simpler with the LED connected tail lamps being the flashiest of elements here. The rear wiper is tucked under the spoiler and the MPV also comes with LED fog lamps here as well as matte chrome-plated skid plate. The trunk door can obviously be electronically operated.

Overall, the Kia Carnival Limousine does justice to its name even though finding space for a vehicle this large in typically congested Indian city conditions can be a time-consuming exercise.

What is Kia Carnival like in the cabin?

We hardly recommend the third-row seats in any car available in India. Often a compromise and best only for kids or pets, final-row seats are more for an added bullet point in a car’s resume than serving a practically comfortable purpose. Scratch all of that for the Carnival.

The latest Carnival has a 2+2+3 seat layout with the middle seats serving as the actual command center. But the seats at the back are fairly spacious and decent for even adults. Under-thigh support is lacking but one can still find enough leg and feet space here for a complaint-free highway ride.

Getting in and out though is tricky because Kia missed adding the tumble-down function on the middle two seats. This is a big miss considering the significantly less-priced Carens from the same family has this. Instead, one will have to slide the Captain seats in the Carnival forward and outward to open up space for entry and exit from the middle. Thankfully, the low height, sliding doors, side step and grab handles make getting in and out easy. But it is making way into those last-row seats that may not be to everyone’s comfort.

The two seats in the middle, however, will where you – the owner – would always want to be in. These Captain seats now offer better cushioning than before and can be operated electronically for both recline as well as for the footrest operation. And while not a flatbed, it can be match any la-z-boy recliner for comfort. Space once again is the biggest strength and even when leaving a fairly adequate space for people at the very back, the passengers in the middle have very generous space to literally put their feet up.

The large windows come with manual shades and the three-zone climate control function as well as the dual sunroof set up lends the cabin a significantly upmarket appeal. The position of the front passenger seat can be adjusted by the person at the back and there are plenty of Type C charging ports and one 12v charging socket for devices. Shockingly though, there is no foldout tray – again, even the Carens has it – for you to plonk your laptop on. And storage space is quite limited with even the bottle holders on all doors big enough only for 500 ml bottles.

The front section of the Carnival is all about the tech on offer and the two screens – each measuring 12.3 inches – inside a curved casing befits the stature that the MPV is seeking to portray. The display and response to touch is fantastic and the feed from the 360-degree camera – essential to manage a vehicle this big – is crisp as well. The main infotainment screen packs a mile-long list of features and apps, and will take some learning although all the information put out on the driver display is easy to understand. Of course, there is a large HUD or Head-up Display as well.

The dashboard layout isn’t spectacular but in its rather simple form, is premium enough with soft-touch materials used all over. There aren’t many physical buttons but the touch interface once again doubles up to provide controls for both infotainment functions that are linked to a 12-speaker Bose system as well as air-conditioning.

In all, the cabin of the Kia Carnival is fairly opulent and extremely spacious. Anything less would have been a disservice to the target audience that will most likely be chauffeur driven.

How is the Kia Carival on the move?

Powering a vehicle this big is not an easy job and Kia has tasked a 2.2-litre diesel motor for this purpose. The unit is paired to an eight-speed automatic gearbox and puts out 197 bhp and 440 Nm of torque.

From the word go, the Carnival has a very car-like drive trait with a light steering that makes manoeuvring the vehicle relatively easy. Add to that the rather peppy character of the engine and the spirited gearbox, and the MPV can be uncharacteristically enjoyable on the move. It is when the Carnival is being pushed that the engine groan finally reveals that you probably should just take it easy. There may be four drive modes – Eco, Normal, Sport and Smart – but the Carnival is at its best for calm drives instead of adrenaline-seeking expeditions.

The suspension setup also appears to be on the softer side and the Carnival did manage to negotiate almost every road obstacle with ease. This is especially remarkable considering that the ground clearance isn’t quite high. And yet, even when we drove the vehicle through rain-water-filled potholes, there was no scraping of the underbody. Of course, there were only two people with two suitcases in the car at the time.

The level of refinement also deserves a special mention because the control over NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) levels is great. There is very little in terms of outside noise seeping into the cabin and it is the diesel motor, when pushed, that makes its displeasure known. The middle-seat passengers remain well cocooned but the side bolstering on the individual seats could have been better to keep passengers in place when lying down.

The Carnival then does what it promises to, and then some more. It is essentially a people-mover but one that can be excitable to an extent as well. The ARAI-certified mileage of just under 15 kmpl is good on paper but in the real world, expect it to be somewhere around 10 kmpl at best. But who has ever talked mileage when it comes to Carnival anyway?

Should you buy the new Kia Carnival?

Your priorities should be sorted if you are considering the latest Kia Carnival. If you are on a budget, have a small family, want an SUV body type or a vehicle that drives extremely sporty, this is clearly not for you.

Instead, the Carnival is meant for someone who is driven around by a chauffeur, needs to work on the move, wants a plush vehicle, does frequent roadtrips with the entire family and has a garage big enough to accommodate it. While obviously pricey, the Kia Carnival Limousine also doesn’t have a direct rival yet and in this sense alone, could find favour among a select base of customers.

First Published Date: 22 Oct 2024, 11:01 AM IST