Kia Carnival – What you need to know

Easily Australia’s most popular people-mover, the eight-seater Kia Carnival is new from the ground up, and larger, for the fourth-generation model range launched here early 2021 – and it’s already setting a new benchmark for the sector.

With a choice of diesel or petrol engines driving the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Kia Carnival range is offered in four trim levels: S, Si, SLi and Platinum, in ascending order.

We’ve gone through the specifications with a fine-tooth comb to help you chose the one you want for the budget you have.

To jump behind the wheel of the entry-level, petrol-engined Kia Carnival S you’ll need to spend $46,880 plus on-road costs (or $50,390 drive-away), and for that you get the following standard features:

• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Cloth trim
• 8.0-inch infotainment screen
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• Drive mode select
• Air-conditioning
• Rear-view monitor with dynamic guidelines

Seven colours are offered on the new Kia Carnival. There’s one standard colour – Ceramic Silver – for no extra cost, and six metallic or mica-metallic hues for $695. These cover Astra Blue, Silky Silver, Deep Chroma Blue, Panthera Metal, Snow White Pearl and Aurora Black Pearl.

All Kia Carnival variants come standard with anti-lock brakes, pedestrian and cyclist detection for the autonomous emergency braking (AEB), traction and stability control systems and seven airbags.

Also standard across the board is speed limit information, which reads roadside speed signs and displays them on the instrument panel. There’s also multi-collision mitigation and automatic braking when turning in front of traffic, if a collision is detected.

Hill start assist, a reversing camera with guidelines, rear parking sensors, dusk-sensing headlights with auto high beam and adaptive cruise control are other safety features fitted as standard across the range.

Driver assist features include blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert, driver attention alert, lane keep and lane change assist, lane follow assist and lane departure warning.

Take a step up to the Carnival Si and you get front parking sensors, while another step up to the Carnival SLi gains you an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, LED fog lights, rear cross traffic avoidance assist, safe exit assist that prevents the sliding doors from opening if it detects pedestrians, cars or cyclists about to pass, plus a 360-degree camera.

While all Carnival variants feature LED headlights, only the flagship variant, the Carnival Platinum, has the brighter projector-style LED headlights. And only the Platinum offers rear occupant alert.

All Carnivals come with five top tether and five ISOFIX child seat restraint anchor points.

Taking centre stage in the centre dash of the Kia Carnival S is an LCD 8.0-inch infotainment touch-screen with wireless and voice-recognisable Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

There is also an AM/FM tuner playing through four speakers and two tweeters. Steering wheel controls include audio volume, phone and music streaming with speed-dependent volume control.

Want a bigger infotainment screen? Head over to the Carnival Si as a minimum for a 12.3-inch LCD touch-screen that brings with it DAB digital radio, eight speakers and satellite navigation with 10 years of mapping updates.

Want more? The range-topping Platinum adds a 12-speaker Bose premium surround-sound system with a subwoofer, a centre speaker and dynamic speed compensation that automatically adjusts the volume to your speed.

In terms of comfort and convenience, the entry-level Kia Carnival S is well stocked with power windows, USB chargers, four bottle and phone holders, 11 cup holders, manual air-conditioning with separate controls in the second row and vents in all three.

The clever seating sees the reversible second-row seats slide and recline for walk-in access to the third row. The 60/40-split second-row seats also fold flat, plus there are fold-down tables for centre-row passengers and vanity mirrors in the sun visors.

But if you want the personal comfort of dual-zone climate control, slip over to the Carnival Si, where the interior ambience is lifted by the upmarket steering wheel and gear shift knob.

Giving the cabin a big aesthetic elevation is the (artificial) leather draped over premium seats, woodgrain look on the dash and privacy glass found in the Carnival SLi.

Does the convenience of one-touch power sliding doors and tailgate with auto close appeal? How about a power-adjustable driver’s seat with lumbar support? Then sign up for the Carnival SLi that brings with it an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and one-touch power windows.

Still want more? Put your name against the one-with-the-lot Carnival Platinum and enjoy the comfort and convenience of a heated steering wheel with paddle shifting for a touch of sportiness, wireless phone charging, 12-way powered driver seat (with memory function) and eight-way powered front passenger seat – both with heating and cooling – plus heated second-row pews. The driver also has access to an intelligent temperature control system.

All rows and the cargo area have LED lighting, while the second and third rows have window blinds and in the cargo area there’s a luggage net.

With the fourth-generation Carnival comes an all-new look, with each variant having roof rails, a rear wiper hidden under a roof spoiler and heated door mirrors. The Carnival Si and SLi grille surround is in satin silver, door handles are body-coloured and window surrounds are finished in black.

LED tail-lights and auto-folding door mirrors come standard on the Carnival Si and above while the Carnival SLi adds aero-blade front wipers and an acoustic film on the windscreen for improved cabin quietness.

How about a sunroof or two? Tick the box for the Carnival Platinum and you get dual sunroofs along with matte chrome around the grille, windows and lower bumpers. Further setting it apart are puddle lamps and chrome inserts in the door handles.

And while the Carnival S has 17-inch alloys and the Carnival Si and SLi roll on 18-inch alloys, only the Carnival Platinum comes with 19-inch black alloy wheels on low-profile tyres.

Whichever Kia Carnival variant you chose you can power it with a 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine producing 148kW/440Nm or the 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine that delivers 216kW/355Nm.

Both engines are tied to an eight-speed automatic and drive through the front wheels.

I love the look of the new Kia Carnival. It’s really cool and eliminates the stodginess associated with people-movers.

Thanks to Kia’s long-held practice of having a team of local engineers finesse the ride and handling to suit our country, spending many hours aboard a Carnival won’t be a chore.

Now for which one?

I usually nominate two, one when buying on a budget and one when there are fewer financial constraints.

However, with the Kia Carnival they are one and the same for me and I’d happily sign up for a petrol-engine SLi that is loaded with enough creature comforts to keep all on board happy and plenty of safety tech for peace of mind, at an excellent price point.

How much does the Kia Carnival cost?
S petrol – $46,880
Si petrol – $52,380
SLi petrol – $56,880
Platinum petrol – $64,680
S diesel – $48,880
Si diesel – $54,380
SLi diesel – $58,880
Platinum diesel – $66,680
* Prices exclude on-road costs