A few weeks ago, Kia parked the refreshed 2025 Carnival in front of a camera for a photoshoot, showing updated exterior lines that blend cues seen on the refreshed K5 sedan and Kia’s lineup of electric vehicles. Now it’s time for views of the interior, the coming minivan redressed with Kia’s by-now familiar architectural cues. Behind the same steering wheel, the digital gauge cluster screen loses its hood and curves seamlessly into the infotainment screen. Below the info display, the current Carnival’s tallish HVAC cluster moves up the instrument panel, rendered as the wide, slim digital bar likewise seen in the K5, Niro, and Sorento. The slimline design frees up room for a trimmer panel containing device ports slotted above a cubby the present Carnival’s console doesn’t offer. Further down, another big conversion making its way through Kia’s lineup, a rotary shifter replaces the chunky lever. Designers used the liberated space to add buttons around the dial for features we can’t make out yet.
Among the tech and convenience updates, Kia mentions an updated head-up display and ambient lighting, multi-zone voice recognition, UV-C sterilizing light in the console bin, Highway Driving Assist 2 goes further than the original ADAS by adding lane-change assist, and there’s Kia’s Digital Key 2. In the realm of peace-of-mind, seven-seat trims offer seats with a massage function, the front cupholders are slightly larger, a rear seat entertainment system comes with two 14.6-inch monitors, and the second row windows provide more sound insulation. And for better performance, the automaker mentions “improved shock absorbers to ensure a comfortable ride.”
Two-tone cabins look to be the norm again, the Carnival one of the most stylish vans out there when it comes to colors and materials. The combos are based around three colors: Cotton Beige, Navy Grey, or Taupe. Navy Grey introduces a big change, that being a hybrid powertrain based around a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine. Kia’s press release in South Korea mentions a combined output of 245 horsepower, the same hybrid powertrain in our Kia Sportage Hybrid produces a combined 226 horsepower. Assuming the hybrid comes to the U.S., it would sell alongside the 3.5-liter V-6 engine that shifts through an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The LA Auto Show is coming up, it’s possible we’ll see our version of the new Carnival there.
