Say goodbye to the Sedona and hello to the Carnival.
Last year, Kia lifted the wraps off the all-new Carnival minivan for the South Korean market. In the US, the Carnival has been sold as the Sedona for several years, but this nameplate is being retired for the next-generation model to create consistency across Kia’s global model lineup. Say goodbye to the Sedona and hello to the new 2022 Kia Carnival, which will take on the Chrysler Pacifica, Dodge Grand Caravan, and Honda Odyssey in the US.
Visually, the new Kia Carnival is a more stylish and rugged-looking minivan than its predecessor, with a shaper design that shares cues with Kia’s current SUVs such as the Telluride, Sorento, and Seltos SUVs. At the front, Kia’s signature tiger-nose grille stretches across the full width of the front fascia flanked with integrated LED headlights, giving the Carnival a wider-looking face.
A taller and longer hood, a rear skid plate, and more prominent wheel arches also contribute to the Carnival’s SUV-inspired styling. It’s because of this new rugged look that Kia describes the redesigned minivan as a “Grand Utility Vehicle.” A sharp character line runs along the entire width of the profile, while new stylish full-width taillights and a roof-mounted spoiler adorn the rear. As standard, the new Carnival rides on 17-inch with an optional gloss black design, but these can be upgraded to larger 19-inch shoes.
“The Kia Carnival is here to disrupt a staid segment and proves once again what is possible when conventions are shattered,” said Sean Yoon, president & CEO, Kia Motors North America, Kia Motors America. “With its SUV-like character, our new multi-purpose vehicle delivers a combination of premium design, intelligent packaging, and an abundance of innovation in safety and technology. For these reasons, the Carnival is the first vehicle to proudly wear our all-new Kia badge and is a bold signal of things to come.”
Inside, the cabin is more spacious and upscale than the outgoing Sedona, with high-gloss black surfaces and chrome trim applied to the full width of the dashboard. With space for up to eight passengers, the new Carnival offers 168.2 cubic feet of passenger room, which Kia claims is the best in its class. It’s also more practical than its predecessor, offering 145.1 cubic feet of cargo room in LX, EX, SX trims. Eight-seat versions can be configured with a sliding second-row center seat, which can also be converted into a table.
For added luxury, heated and ventilated second-row seats with power controls, headrests, and extended legroom can be equipped in higher-trim seven-seat models. As standard, the new Carnival comes with an eight-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto wireless charging support, while optional tech includes a 12.3-inch navigation display and a 12.3-inch fully digital instrument cluster. A premium Bose sound system is also available with 12 high-performance speakers.
Underpinning the 2022 Carnival is the same “N3” platform as the Sorento and K5 to make the minivan lighter, stronger, and quieter than the outgoing Sedona.
Under the hood is a 3.5-liter V6 generating 290 horsepower and 262 lb-ft torque. This replaces the outgoing Sedona’s 276-hp 3.3-liter V6. Not only is it more powerful than the old unit, but it’s also more efficient with an EPA-estimated 19/26/22 mpg rating.
Paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, the new Carnival offers a towing capacity of up to 3,500 pounds. Standard safety tech includes a forward collision-avoidance assist, blind-spot avoidance assist, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist, parking distance warning-reverse, lane-keeping assist system, high beam assist, and a driver attention warning.
Available in four trim levels (LX, EX, SX, and SX-Prestige), the all-new Carnival will arrive in US dealers in Q2 this year, with pricing to be confirmed at a later date.