Kia Carnival Variants Explained: Which One To Buy?

The gap between the Carnival's base and top variant is Rs 9 lakh! Which should you be bringing home?

Kia launched the Carnival, its second offering for India, at Auto Expo 2020. It’s a premium MPV that’s available in three variants and multiple seating configurations. And priced between Rs 24.95 lakh and Rs 33.95 lakh (both ex-showroom India), it can become a little difficult to choose the right spec for you. Therefore, here’s a detailed description of each variant on offer, and which one of those will be the right choice for you.

Before diving into that, take a look at the price of all the variants on offer.

All prices are ex-showroom India.

Also, while the Kia Carnival is available in multiple variants and seating configurations, it’s available with a single powertrain. It is a 2.2-litre BS6-compliant diesel engine that makes 200PS and 440Nm, coupled to an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The colour options for the Kia Carnival are just three: 

• Aurora Black Pearl

• Steel Silver

• Glacier White Pearl

Surprisingly, despite being a premium offering, the Kia Carnival is only offered with dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX points, front seatbelts with pretensioner and load limiter, front seats seatbelt reminder, disc brakes on all four wheels and rear parking sensors as standard safety features.

Having covered the basics, let’s get down to what the individual variants have to offer.

Also Read: Kia Carnival Space And Seating Review: 7, 8, 9-Seater Explained In Pics

Kia Carnival Premium: Novelty features on offer are good but lack of basic safety features for this price band means you should skip this variant.

Exterior: 18-inch alloy wheels, chrome rear garnish and  door handles, LED indicators on ORVMs and rear spoiler lights, auto Halogen projector headlamps, Door step plate, follow me home headlamps, rear defogger, rear wipe and wash.

Interior: Fabric upholstery, three zone climate control, one touch power sliding doors, tilt and telescopic steering adjust, Power windows with one-touch up-down for driver, front armrest with storage, sunglass holder, driver seat height adjuster, push button start/stop, electrically adjustable mirrors, cruise control, auto defogger, 60:40 split in third row, conversation mirror.

Infotainment: 8-inch touchscreen, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, 4 speakers, 2 tweeters, bluetooth connectivity, voice recognition, steering mounted audio controls, rear camera.

Verdict

The base variant of the Carnival is well-loaded, if we were to just look at novelty features, with the biggest thing being that these are all features you will be able to use everyday. However, the one place where Carnival Premium is lacking is the safety features. Just two airbags, no traction control,, no roll-over mitigation and no front parking sensors in a car worth Rs 25 lakh is just not acceptable. In our opinion, skip the base variant.

Also Read: Kia Carnival Limousine: First Drive Review

Kia Carnival Prestige: Best variant of the Carnival. Offers premium features and advanced safety features at a relatively inexpensive price.

Features over the previous variant

Exterior: Grille with chrome inserts, roof rails, LED projector headlamps, LED position lamps, LED tail lamps, LED fog lamps and Powered tailgate 

Interior: Door scuff plates, chrome on inside door handles, premium fabric upholstery (7-seater), leatherette upholstery (9-seater), dual pane electric sunroof, regular 220V (like your household socket), UV cut front door glass and windshield, second and third-row sunshades, 2 way electrical lumbar support for driver (9 seater only), LED interior lamps, second-row standup seats (7-seater), second row sliding seats (9-seater), third-row 60:40 split seats (7-seater), third-row sliding and reclining seats (9-seater), fourth-row pop up sinking seats (9-seater), rear USB charging port.

Safety: Brake assist, electronic stability control (ESC), hill assist, roll-over mitigation, cornering brake control, side and curtain airbags, front parking sensors.

Verdict

The Prestige variant of the Kia, be it in its seven-seater or nine-seater variant, brings a lot more to the table than the base-spec model. It ups the game in terms of premium elements in the cabin, while adding safety features at the same time. The Carnival in this variant feels like the right upgrade for someone looking to move up from a Toyota Innova Crysta. And it is also the only variant of the Carnival that offers up to 9 seating configurations. 

Also See: Kia Carnival: In Pictures

Kia Carnival Limousine: A luxury experience not available anywhere else in the price bracket. Go for it if you have the extra cash lying around.

Features over the previous variant

Exterior: 18” chrome look alloy wheels 

Interior: Leather wrapped steering wheel, leather wrapped gear knob, Wood grain upper garnish, Nappa leather upholstery, powered driver seat (10-way), All power windows auto up-down, auto-dimming IRVM, electronic parking brake, ventilated driver seat, wireless smartphone charger, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), luxury second-row VIP seats, air purifier with infused perfume.

Infotainment: UVO connected car tech, in-built navigation, Harmon-Kardon sound system, 10.1-inch dual touchscreen rear seat entertainment system.

Verdict

In its top-spec avatar, the Carnival is a luxury barge meant to chauffeur high-rollers around. It has a number of party tricks inside and with its chrome wheels, looks the part on the outside as well. In this variant, the Carnival adds features for the driver as well. The Carnival can compete with sedans twice its price when it comes to measuring the luxury quotient. Go for it if you have the cash to spare and would like to roll around in the best that Kia has to offer.

Read More on : Carnival Automatic