2022 Kia Carnival

2022 Carnival Photos
 Editors' Pick
Autoblog Rating
7.5

This minivan wins big in the style and interior tech department. It's super smooth and comfortable to drive, but the lack of powertrain items is disappointing. No matter, the positives win out, and the Carnival is a winner.

Industry
8.5
The 2022 Kia Carnival is Kia’s brand-new minivan that wants to make you think it isn’t a minivan. And while the sheet metal might make it look more like a Chevrolet Traverse from some angles, there’s no doubt that this big box still rides, drives and feels like a minivan from the inside. Still, the valiant effort from Kia designers to try and bring folks into the minivan segment by way of SUV-like exterior design is a smart one in a crossover-hungry world. Kia also draws you in with a mountain of tech and potential for extremely cool features like the Mercedes-like wall of screens in the dash and VIP Lounge second row (or, alternatively, the unique "Captain Kirk" seat of the eight-passenger Carnival). The interior is slathered with piano black trim, haptic-touch buttons and beautiful patterned plastic, which does good work at imitating metal trim. It’s all far more upscale and luxurious than you’d find in other minivans (especially the Honda Odyssey), and that’s exactly what Kia needed to do to compete against the sumptuously updated Chrysler Pacifica and the classy Toyota Sienna now on the market. All the glitter and glitz fall away with the Carnival’s powertrain, though, as Kia doesn’t offer any green options like its competition. If high fuel economy isn’t a priority, though, the Carnival deserves a place on your shortlist.  Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Features   |   Crash ratings & safety features What’s new for 2022? The Carnival is an all-new model for 2022. It replaces the outgoing Sedona as Kia’s minivan offering. What’s the interior and in-car technology like? The Carnivals pictured on this page represent the nicest you're going to find. Both the SX and SX Prestige (pictured above) are the range-topping models, and with them you get improved materials quality and far more equipment. Keep this in mind before expecting to see multiple big screens and VIP Lounge seats in a $33,000 base van -- you can't even get those on the regular SX, they're Prestige only. Still, there's not as much of a drop-off in terms of quality and ambiance as you'll find in various Toyota Sienna trim levels, and every Carnival has a more upscale look and feel than the appliance-like Honda Odyssey. We should also note that although most of the Carnival's "wow" features are available in other minivans, none offer the same number of them in the same place. The standard infotainment set-up consists of traditional analog gauges and a user-friendly 8-inch touchscreen that does look a bit cheap in a housing clearly intended for something bigger. That would be the 12.3-inch screen that arrives with the EX trim. The gauges get swapped out for the all-digital instrument panel in the SX Prestige only. Both SX trims gain seatback touchscreens (much like the Chrysler Pacifica) that includes Netflix and YouTube apps, plus Kia's Sounds of Nature white noise programs (parents of …
Full Review
The 2022 Kia Carnival is Kia’s brand-new minivan that wants to make you think it isn’t a minivan. And while the sheet metal might make it look more like a Chevrolet Traverse from some angles, there’s no doubt that this big box still rides, drives and feels like a minivan from the inside. Still, the valiant effort from Kia designers to try and bring folks into the minivan segment by way of SUV-like exterior design is a smart one in a crossover-hungry world. Kia also draws you in with a mountain of tech and potential for extremely cool features like the Mercedes-like wall of screens in the dash and VIP Lounge second row (or, alternatively, the unique "Captain Kirk" seat of the eight-passenger Carnival). The interior is slathered with piano black trim, haptic-touch buttons and beautiful patterned plastic, which does good work at imitating metal trim. It’s all far more upscale and luxurious than you’d find in other minivans (especially the Honda Odyssey), and that’s exactly what Kia needed to do to compete against the sumptuously updated Chrysler Pacifica and the classy Toyota Sienna now on the market. All the glitter and glitz fall away with the Carnival’s powertrain, though, as Kia doesn’t offer any green options like its competition. If high fuel economy isn’t a priority, though, the Carnival deserves a place on your shortlist.  Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Features   |   Crash ratings & safety features What’s new for 2022? The Carnival is an all-new model for 2022. It replaces the outgoing Sedona as Kia’s minivan offering. What’s the interior and in-car technology like? The Carnivals pictured on this page represent the nicest you're going to find. Both the SX and SX Prestige (pictured above) are the range-topping models, and with them you get improved materials quality and far more equipment. Keep this in mind before expecting to see multiple big screens and VIP Lounge seats in a $33,000 base van -- you can't even get those on the regular SX, they're Prestige only. Still, there's not as much of a drop-off in terms of quality and ambiance as you'll find in various Toyota Sienna trim levels, and every Carnival has a more upscale look and feel than the appliance-like Honda Odyssey. We should also note that although most of the Carnival's "wow" features are available in other minivans, none offer the same number of them in the same place. The standard infotainment set-up consists of traditional analog gauges and a user-friendly 8-inch touchscreen that does look a bit cheap in a housing clearly intended for something bigger. That would be the 12.3-inch screen that arrives with the EX trim. The gauges get swapped out for the all-digital instrument panel in the SX Prestige only. Both SX trims gain seatback touchscreens (much like the Chrysler Pacifica) that includes Netflix and YouTube apps, plus Kia's Sounds of Nature white noise programs (parents of …
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Retail Price

$32,300 - $46,300 MSRP / Window Sticker Price
Engine 3.5L V-6
MPG Up to 19 city / 26 highway
Seating 7 Passengers
Transmission 8-spd w/OD
Power 290 @ 6400 rpm
Drivetrain front-wheel
Curb Weight 4,376 - 4,727 lbs
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