South Korean giant carmaker Kia Motors marked their Indian debut with the Seltos mid-size SUV in August 2019 and the Indian audience accepted it wholeheartedly. Buoyed by the success of its first offering, Kia Motors expanded its portfolio within six months of its first product launch by launching its second car in India and this time it was the Carnival Premium MPV. The Kia Carnival created a new segment in itself, a segment of premium people-mover, and it is the lone warrior in its segment with no direct rivals.
Also Read: Hyundai Expands Its Service Across India With Click To Buy Sales
Kia Carnival Premium MPV was launched in India at the 15th Edition of Asia's Biggest Motor Show, the 2020 Delhi Auto Expo. The Carnival is a lavish MPV loaded with all the modern-day creature comfort features and it offers its customers a rich cabin experience filled with sumptuousness. Kia has been also setting the sales chart on fire, first with the Seltos SUV and now even with the Carnival MPV. Though Kia caters the Carnival to a niche group of people, it received an overwhelming response from the market with more than 3,000 units already sold within just three months of its launch. That's splendidly awesome for a car of its size and price. So, what makes the Kia Carnival special? In this article, we will be telling you the top five reasons which makes Kia Carnival a handsome proposition in the market!
Looks and Dimensions
The Kia Carnival is an enormous creature. It has a hulking road presence due to its sheer dimensions. This MPV has a length of 5115 mm, a width of 1985 mm, 1755 mm height, and a wheelbase of 3060 mm. The MPV does have humongous proportions but to keep things in its favour it has a beautiful fascia. Upfront, it gets Kia's signature tiger-nose grille with sweptback all-LED projector headlamps and ice-cube shaped LED foglamps. It runs on 18-inch sputtering-design alloy wheels and the rear houses a roof-mounted spoiler, shark-fin antenna and LED tail-lamps. The Carnival also gets a lot of chrome-package with faux-skid plates on both the ends and huge glass areas which won't let you feel claustrophobic at all in the cabin.
Variants and Seating Configurations
Kia Carnival has been launched in India in three trim levels: Premium, Prestige and the range-topping Limousine variant. It is also available with multiple seating configurations which include a seven-, eight-, and a nine-seater layout. The multiple seating layouts configuration of Carnival will appeal to a wide array of buyers ranging from five-star hotels to luxury taxi service providers and even private customers who want to go touring in a luxury van. The base variant of the car is available as a 7/8 seater, the mid-spec model is available as a 7/9 seater while the top model gets only a 7-seater layout with Luxury-VIP seats in the middle row.
Technology and Features
Kia has equipped the Carnival with a bucket load of features. It gets all the modern-day equipment including an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity along with in-built navigation and Kia's UVO Connected Car technology, electric power-sliding doors with a smart power tailgate, dual-pane electric sunroof, 220V laptop charger, Harman-Kardon sound system and more. The top-spec Limousine variant of the Carnival also gets some exquisite features like a 10.1-inch dual touchscreen rear-seat entertainment package, three-zone climate control, ventilated driver seat with 10-way adjustability, smartwatch watch connectivity, etc.
The Carnival also gets a host of safety features including up to 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child seat mounts, all four-wheels disc brakes, front and rear parking sensors, reverse parking camera, Electronic Stability Program with Hill Assist Control, Roll-Over mitigation, Cornering Brake Control, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, etc.
Powertrain Options
The India-spec Kia Carnival is available with a sole diesel engine option. It is a BS6 compliant 2.2-litre oil-burner that produces 200 PS of maximum power at 3800 RPM and 440 Nm of peak torque between 1500-2750 RPM. The engine is coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission. The Carnival is the most powerful MPV currently on sale in India and the 200 PS of power is delivered in a smooth linear-manner with terrific NVH levels inside the cabin. To know more about how it drives, click here to read the full review of Kia Carnival.
Price
Kia Carnival has been launched in India at the 2020 Auto Expo with prices starting at Rs. 24.95 lakhs for the base Premium variant and goes up to Rs. 33.95 lakhs for the range-topping Limousine variant, all prices stick to Ex-showroom Delhi. Here is a variant-wise price break-up of the Carnival:
| Kia Carnival MPV | Prices Ex-showroom |
|---|---|
| Premium 7-seater | Rs 24.95 lakh |
| Premium 8-seater | Rs 25.15 lakh |
| Prestige 7-seater | Rs 28.95 lakh |
| Prestige 9-seater | Rs 29.95 lakh |
| Limousine 7-seater | Rs 33.95 lakh |
Also Read: 10 Cars That We Indians Kept Waiting For: Mahindra XUV 500 Aero To Tata Racemo
At this price point, Kia Carnival comes as a captivating proportion for those who want a luxury people mover or a premium MPV. Earlier people had to stick to the Innova or have to deepen their pockets by looking at options like the Mercedes-Benz V-Class, but Kia has done a great job by bridging this huge price gap and is thus enjoying fair success with so many prospective Carnival buyers.
