Kia Confirms New Carnival’s (KA4) Debut At Auto Expo 2023

It gets even more premium with its new design language and updated feature set

• Fourth-gen Carnival MPV premiered in 2020.

• Kia launched third-gen Carnival in India in early 2020 at the previous Auto Expo.

• New Carnival looks more premium than ever with sleek likes and upmarket styling.

• Based on a new platform and bigger than its predecessor.

• Expected to carry forward the same diesel-automatic powertrain in India.

The Kia Carnival has been one of the most premium MPVs in India, short of entering the luxury segment, since its launch at the Auto Expo 2020. The global product got a generational update later that year. Kia has only just officially confirmed the presence of the fourth-gen Carnival at the Auto Expo 2023, albeit via its internal codename, KA4.

The fourth-gen Carnival is underpinned by a different platform and it is bigger than its previous iteration. It even looks more premium and robust than before thanks to its new design language. The interior was also given a thorough update with the new dashboard equipped with a larger central touchscreen, digital driver’s display, new climate control panel and a rotary drive selector. The India-spec model may even come with ADAS this time around.

Globally, the Carnival continues to get a variety of seating configurations from an opulent four seater to a practical nine seater. However, the most common layout remains the three-row version with a choice of seven or eight seats with the former getting luxurious captain seats in the middle row.

Kia is expected to offer the same 2.2-litre diesel engine on the new Carnival as the current model. It is only available with the eight-speed automatic transmission with the engine rated at 202PS and 440Nm. The global model’s V6 engine option is unlikely to be offered for the India-spec model.

We expect Kia to announce the fourth-gen Carnival’s India launch at the Auto Expo 2023, with the prices to be announced soon after. It has no direct rivals in India and maintains its position above the new Toyota Innova Hycross as a premium MPV.