The MPV market seems to have come to a crawl, with more companies opting to re-envision established people movers as SUVs or crossovers. Even the moderately successful Kia Carnival has felt the pinch, with generational model changes coming more and more frequently. The current model, launched just in 2015, is already due for replacement with images of the exterior already available. Today, we got a look at the new interior, and boy is it impressive.
The beige finishing is a little more sedate than before. Material choices look much better inside, with more textured plastics and intricately shaped pieces.
Here’s a quick reminder of how the old interior looked:
There are more digital screens than before and it’s styled after Mercedes-Benz’s approach of combining the infotainment and instrument cluster screens in one housing mould.
They’ve also integrated the air cond vents across the dashboard with a horizontal design element, just like Audi has done in the A4.
And from Jaguar Land Rover, comes the rotary-type gear selector.
How amazing is that, you’re paying for a mass-market Kia and getting design cues from three different premium brands! Sure, the material feel and brand image is not there, but some customers just won’t care!
Here’s what Kia have to say about their upcoming Carnival’s feature set and interior.
PRESS RELEASE
Kia Motors Corporation has revealed the interior of the new Kia Carnival today in a series of images showing the new vehicle in Korean specification. Based on the interior design concept of ‘Spatial Talents’, the new Carnival – the brand’s fourth-generation flagship minivan and sold in many markets worldwide as the Kia Sedona – provides a spacious, comfortable and futuristic environment for young families. Its unrivalled combination of innovation, flexibility and style are designed to satisfy both driver and passengers.
Like its predecessor, the Carnival boasts significant levels of space for passengers in all rows. Designers have created a greater sense of roominess inside, combined with a renewed sense of modernity and style. The new Carnival provides passengers in all rows with a futuristic, relaxed space in which to spend journeys.
A futuristic, spacious cabin with premium material quality and innovative technology
The interior of the fourth-generation Carnival represents an increase in quality and design over its predecessor, with a futuristic new cabin for the 2020s. The high-tech ambiance is most obvious in its wide, wrap-around dashboard, with a high fascia that is elegant in its simplicity and cutting-edge in the array of features it offers. The dashboard seamlessly integrates dual-screen infotainment technologies with haptic touch controls, placing the driver in command of their very own cockpit.
The dash itself is accented by high-tech two digital displays all under one piece of glass, linking Kia’s latest 12.3-inch digital driver instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment and navigation system. This display provides a wide variety of useful information across its 12.3-inch split screens. Many infotainment functions can be controlled using touch-sensitive buttons around the screen, with a similar panel further down the center console for the climate control system. A shift-by-wire dial for the transmission at the base of the center console further expresses the new Carnival’s sense of technology and modernity.
Utility in abundance: intelligent packaging for three or four rows
The Carnival boasts intelligent interior packaging and cabin storage areas in abundance. The Carnival’s 22-year heritage is one of spaciousness and versatility, and the new model takes this to the max, based on the ‘Spatial Talents’ interior design concept created by Kia’s design teams.
The fourth-generation Carnival benefits from a longer wheelbase, a longer rear overhang, and a wider body. The result is more interior space for passengers in all three or four rows. Depending on market, the Carnival offers owners three- or four-row seating configurations, with space for 7, 9 or 11 occupants in total. In its popular 7-seat configuration, the Carnival boasts Kia’s reclining ‘captain’s chairs’ for second-row occupants, with adjustable backrests, armrests and legrests providing ‘business class’ seating for comfort on long journeys.
The Carnival excels at providing practical storage options for occupants, with a range of new features for stowing, supporting and even charging electronic devices and smaller items. Second-row occupants have access to back-of-seat USB chargers, storage nets for mobile devices, and a new storage drawer in the base of the rear console, with a tray for storing tablets or phones above a larger storage area.
Furthermore, the Carnival’s 30 mm longer wheelbase (up to 3,090 mm) and 10 mm wider body (up to 1,995 mm) further enhances utility for families and professionals. The overall length of the new Carnival grows by 40 mm to 5,155 mm, with a 30 mm longer rear overhang (up to 1,130 mm), creating more space for third-row passengers and best-in-class luggage space with it.
More Carnival details to be revealed soon
The new Kia Carnival is due on-sale in Korea later in the third quarter of 2020, with global sales in many of Kia’s markets to follow thereafter. More product details will be released soon.
