SPY PICS: Facelifted 2024 Kia Carnival emerges

The incoming facelifted 2024 Kia Carnival has been spotted undisguised in South Korea ahead of its expected reveal soon.

Images published by Autospy show the new Carnival’s styling has evolved in line with the latest iteration of Kia’s design language, which sees the headlights vertically stacked either side of the grille while bold L-shaped daytime running lights trace up to, and along, the bonnet line.

Similar changes have been made at the rear-end, where we find an all-new tail-light arrangement following the same basic recipe: vertically stacked clusters with supporting elements running across the tailgate.

The other big change is the restyled ‘tiger nose’ grille, which is squarer as per Kia’s SUVs, while the matching alloy wheel design looks as if it’s been pinched off the Kia Seltos.

There’s also a strong chance the aero-looking wheels denote the inclusion of the long-promised hybrid powertrain Kia Australia is eager to secure for our market.

Details of the electrified powertrain are still to be confirmed, but odds are it’ll be the same 1.6-litre turbo-petrol hybrid as seen in the Kia Sorento HEV on sale in Australia and the Sportage Hybrid due in the coming months.

Both versions develop 169kW/350Nm and can be had with all-wheel drive, relying on a six-speed automatic transmission to send power to the relevant axle.

Kia Australia confirmed in August that production of the facelifted Carnival would start in the first quarter of next year and should comfortably arrive in Aussie showrooms by the third quarter, pairing the new exterior design with a refreshed cabin, the hybrid powertrain and a mild technology upgrade.

The familiar 3.5-litre V6 petrol and 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engines are expected to carry over unchanged.

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