Next-generation Kia Carnival launched: Looks like an SUV, seats 11

Kia Motors has officially launched the all-new Carnival that features an SUV-like exterior design that’s integrated with advanced technology. The Korean automaker says the all-new Carnival is designed to “appeal to progressive young families through its leading combination of innovation, space, flexibility, and style.”

Stylish? Yes, we concur

As we’ve said, the new Kia Carnival now sports a new SUV-inspired design. It features a shorter front overhang while sporting a longer hood, and its wheelbase has grown in length to provide more space in the cabin.

You can also see that the new tiger-nose grille is now wider and more confident looking as compared to the outgoing Kia Carnival. The rear also features a full-width light bar that enhances the all-new Carnival’s confident stance. The rear also features a metallic lower skid plate. 

Look at that taillights

Completing the Carnival’s new look are the nifty looking aluminum alloy wheels, which come in either 17-, 18-, or 19-inch depending on the variant.

Inside, the fourth-gen Carnival is more modern looking and comes with a more spacious cabin. Of note, Kia is offering the Kia Carnival in either a seven-seater or an eleven-seater version. As for cargo, the Carnival can fit in a whopping 2,905 liters with all the seats folded down. Apart from its very spacious interior, the Carnival also features new high-tech gadgets like the shift-by-wire dial, the power sliding doors, power trunk door, and the 12.3-inch digital driver cluster.

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The new Carnival looks edgier and more angular than its previous version

The crown jewel of the new Carnival’s interior is the 12.3-inch dual display touchscreen with haptic controls. It has wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, voice recognition, which can be used even by the second-row occupants. It also has a Bluetooth function that allows two smartphones to connect at the same time. Moreover, the new Kia Carnival features a “rear passenger view and talk feature” that allows the driver to hear and talk to rear passengers without taking its eyes off the road. 

The interior of the new Carnival is definitely more premium than the outgoing version

The Carnival also has loads of passive and active safety features. For passive safety, it comes equipped with seven airbags, new reinforced pillars made out of high-strength steel with more torsional rigidity reducing vibrations, as well as enhancing occupant safety. 

On the more active side, the Carnival comes with stability management and stability control, anti-lock braking with electronic brake distribution, rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist, smart cruise, or navigation-based cruise control, lane keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, automatic headlamps, blind-spot collision avoidance assist, among many others.

That's a lot of space for kids, your barkada, your relatives, your co-workers, what have you...

The most high-tech driver assist feature on the new Carnival is arguably the highway driving assist, which is considered as a level 2 autonomous driving technology. It can control the minivan’s speed and acceleration as well as steer itself to stay on a lane. This driving assist tech can also maintain a set distance from other cars in front.

Under the hood, the all-new Kia Carnival has three engine options: a 3.5-liter V6 GDi and MPi, a 3.5-liter V6 with MPi only, and a 2.2-liter diesel engine.

The 3.5-liter V6 GDi MPi is the most powerful among the three engines. It produces 291 horsepower and 355 Nm of torque. The V6 without GDi makes less at 269 horsepower and 332 Nm of torque, while the 2.2-liter diesel engine makes 197 horsepower and 440 Nm. All three engines of the new Carnival are paired with a seven-speed automatic transmission.

>>> Related: 2021 Kia Carnival’s interior is practically a high-class family lounge

Look at all that cargo space

For now, all we know about the fourth-generation Kia Carnival are its specs, and that Kia will start selling it in Korea by the third quarter of 2020. Do take in mind though that all iterations of the Carnival, from its first-generation KV-II all the way to the latest one, has always been available in the Philippine market. 

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