New Kia Carnival interior revealed

UPDATED 13/07/2020 4:00pm: The first interior image of the new 2021 Kia Carnival has been released, following the first exterior shots last month.

New new information was provided beyond confirmation of two big Mercedes-style 12.3-inch digital colour screens under a continuous glass panel -- one for infotainment with haptic touch controls, the other doubling as the driver's instrument cluster.

24/06/2020: The fourth-generation Kia Carnival people-mover has broken cover in Korea, revealing a contemporary new design inspired by the ubiquitous SUV.

Kia describes its new eight-seat 'mini-van', as people-movers are called in the US, as a grand utility vehicle (GUV) and claims the all-new behemoth brings a “stronger, more stylish presence” to the people-mover segment.

Coming to Australia around November, the new Kia Carnival is based on the same platform architecture as the upcoming next-gen Kia Sorento, which is due here in August. As such, expect to see much of the cool stuff from the large seven-seat SUV ported over to the new Carnival.

As such, a big 12.3-inch ‘Supervison’ digital instrument cluster and 10.2-inch infotainment touch-screen are expected to feature, along with the Sorento’s new blind-spot camera system that beams vision from both sides of the vehicle to the instrument panel to enhance safety and driver awareness.

Level 2 autonomous driving tech (acceleration, braking and steering) will be offered, along with an auto-parking system that operates without anyone inside the vehicle.

Kia hasn’t confirmed engine types yet, but the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder (147kW/440Nm) and petrol V6 (206kW/336Nm) engines are tipped to return.

However, it’s understood Kia's all-new fuel-sipping 1.6-litre turbo-hybrid powertrain (169kW/350Nm) won’t be available in Australia.

Official details of the new Carnival – which is called the Kia Sedona in some countries – will be revealed in July, including all the tech upgrades, seating configurations and other vital statistics including cargo space.

It’s clear from the official photos that the new design will include sliding doors on both sides, while changes to the front-end design give the Carnival a lot more street presence.

The all-new design includes slim-line LED headlight clusters with flamboyantly-styled LED daytime running lights that zig-zag their way towards the resculpted grille.

Even the rear-end wants people to talk about it, with a huge full-width LED light bar punctuated by the same daytime running light design seen at the front.

Kia is hoping SUV buyers will consider the new Carnival, which gains little metallic skid plates at the lower edges of the front and rear bumpers.

The original Kia Carnival made its debut in 1998 and since then more than two million examples of the people-mover have been sold worldwide.

The Kia Carnival has been Australia’s top-selling people-mover for more than half a decade. It currently commands a 55.8 per cent share of the sales segment (1622 sales to the end of May) and is trailed by the Honda Odyssey with just 456 sales and a 15.7 per cent market share.

Other vehicles that compete in the same segment include the Toyota Tarago, Hyundai iMAX, Toyota Granvia, Volkswagen Multivan and LDV G10.

The existing Kia Carnival is currently priced between $43,190 and $63,490 in Australia, but it's not clear if prices will rise when the new model touches down later in the year.