[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by GTO

If we have come to accept premium sedans & cramped cars like the C-Class being sold for 40 - 45 lakhs, I think we should accept premium vans too.

Not so simple, I am afraid. V Class from Mercedes is more of a failure, you can get at 20-25 Lac Discounts at less than 60 Lac- loaded variant.

I know of many rich dudes who can easily spend 10 - 20 lakhs over the Innova Crysta for a practical 7-seater

Yes, but how many actually need a 7 seater. I have seen most of the guys buying a Z variant travelling alone or occasionally with family.

Seems to be a proper luxury MPV for those who aren't price sensitive.

Absolutely, just that it's a new segment but have we guys matured to spend 40 Lac + on a 9 seater. Don't take me wrong but unless there is a need for full time 7 Seater, this may not get successful. Kia has taken a bold step by bringing something new, so full marks. I never expected prices less than 35 Lac but the media/ dealers had created a hype of 25-30 Lac. Let's see what happens after initial bookings are executed.

[wheelguy]

January 2020 factory dispatches, Kia shipped 450 Carnivals in the month.

Source

[Heart_Revs]

I believe Kia Carnival will not see a lot of success. Carnival is rivalled by Innova in India. Now let's consider following points :
1. Innvoa started at 10Lakhs. It gave a taste to indian consumers of a reliable 7 seater workhorse. There is no shred of doubt that it was lapped up by commercial operators as well as large families .
2. Now the prices went to sky with Crysta. Everyone felt a pinch in thier pockets while gifting 20 big ones to Toyota but there was no other option. Had Toyota tried to sell old Innova side by side to Crysta , I am confident there will be ZERO buyers for Crysta.
3. Not Canival is asking even more for what is something primarily a chauffer driven car (99% of time) , where owner could bother with nary a thing or feature other than comfort ; well that pushing it a bit in my opinion.
4. Besides there is not a single thing that Innova does wrong.
5. Kia should have first murdered Crysta with head on pricing. Right now it may sell 2500 units but anything further will be difficult.

[Octane99]

As said by most of the members of this forum, Kia Carnival is not a competitor to the Toyota Innova, its a premium people carrier, where as Innova is just an everyday MPV.
What helped Toyota Innova to reach this benchmark is that back in 2005 when we had Tata Sumo, Mahindra Armada, etc as people carrier vehicles, 'Comfort' was no where in the conversation. It was just all about a practical vehicle that can carry 5+ people and go anywhere.
In 2005 when Innova was launched it was pricier than all of the MPVs in India (according to current deficit it was 1.5x more than the difference between Innova and Carnival).
It was a new segment where you can get comfort and reliability in a MPV. And it took very little time for people to adapt, understand and build a trust on this vehicle. RESULT - You say Best MPV in India. People will say INNOVA.
I feel 2020 will be another such landmark year when people will understand the difference between 'Premium MPV' and 'Commuter MPV' and hopefully they will adapt and accept this as well.
Initial Owners
5 Star Hotel Pick-up Vehicle
Elite Tourist and sightseeing Taxi services
Staff Vehicle for the rich class/ movie stars
Uber/Ola Premium
VIP cavalcades

After 5 years
70% of the garages where the INNOVA stands today.

2 years from now these will be selling as "used vehicle" and that's the nailing point, where everyone sooner or later will experience the Carnival.
Hope the company have enough revenue to keep this product going for at least 5 years in India.

[vkochar]

Totally wrong pricing.

The Car / MPV / Van whatever you call the Carnival is a great product and the quality is awesome. I sat in one however the sheer size of it makes it impractical for self driving. Only and Only a Chauffeur driven car.

At 34 Ex for top end LIMO it means nearly 38 OTR in N India.

The top end Innova Crysta Z 2.8 AT is 26 - 27 OTR. This puts the KIA a whopping 10 Lacs over. And remember the Toyota brand value is still tops.

I own the top end Innova and it has crossed the 1 Lac Odo mark and still feels the same as I got it home. I send it for service in the morning and it comes back in 3-4 hours. The bill is laughable. Never exceeded 10k in the 3.5 years I have had it. Reliability is massive with Toyota.

I agree Kia is a brand thats really good but it has a long way to go in India.

The pricing makes absolutely no sense at least for the mass market of people shelling this amount as they will probably opt for an Innova and even look at the Fortuner which is 37-38 OTR.

There will be a few who will without a shadow of doubt get this but will be a very tiny percentage. And if that's what Kia wishes to target then they probably are right.

Time will tell.

[Driving80kph]

I like how there is absolutely no middle ground for this car in this thread. People either expect it to destroy the Innova or be ignored like a KUV.

While Seltos had a ready made market, Carnival has to create its market. This seems much more like a statement piece by KIA. Something to convince the premium buyer that they are a brand which should be on their radar. I think that's their game plan with this, sales number are just a cherry on top.

In my personal opinion, taxi market (luxury or otherwise) won't go for this. Its saving grace, in terms of numbers at least, will be the people who have a luxury cars for themselves but need a Crysta/Fortuner for family use.

[gupta_chd]

Originally Posted by SnS_12

Standard safety equipment on the Carnival includes dual airbags, ABS with EBD, Isofix child-seat mounts, rear parking sensors and a rear camera. In terms of creature comforts, the base-spec Premium covers the basics well, with projector headlamps, 18-inch alloy wheels, power-sliding doors, three-zone automatic climate control, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, cruise control, keyless entry/go, tilt and telescopic steering and power-adjustable wing mirrors.
.[/url]:

I somehow have the feeling that it will fail big time. I have seen Kia being stingy with features on lower variants as I own Seltos HTK+. Gear knob head is best suited for a 4 lakh car, not more. Heck even some 4 lakh cars may have better looking gear knob. Carnival base variant should cost more than 28 lakhs and it doesn't have power folding mirrors, just two airbags and no LED lighting as mentioned. Come on. This type of feature variance is best suited to 7-12 lakh segment. The car may be well engineered but such annoyances can make or break a product in my opinion. I didn't buy Harrier for the very reason (Didn't have power folding mirror in variant costing 17 lakhs on road) and know two such other folks as well.

[Sebring]

I think celebs on the first rung of success will pick this up. Do it up nicely and it can make a great vanity van. Other set are the corporate honchos, who will need that occasional lift to the airport, or to the meetings in a group, plus fleet operators etc. Vehicle will see moderate success as I see it.

[jayguar]

The price is right for such a premium vehicle. It may not dethrone Crysta but for sure will reduce Crysta's market share. It would be unfair for Kia to price it in the Crysta's range. The Carnival is as much a chauffeur driven vehicle as the Crysta is. Personally, if I were in the market for an MPV, I would choose the Carnival over the Crysta or the Hexa. No doubt the Carnival is a large MPV but I don't think people should be worried about parking due to its dimensions. The same can be said about Innova, Hexa, Fortuner, Endeavor when compared with smaller MPV/SUV.

[DuHasstMich]

Originally Posted by lapis_lazuli

The E class is 4988. The Carnival is several inches longer.

The new E is 5063! Carnival is 5115.
So the difference is merely 52mm i.e. 5 cms

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by vkochar

The top end Innova Crysta Z 2.8 AT is 26 - 27 OTR. This puts the KIA a whopping 10 Lacs over. And remember the Toyota brand value is still tops.

I own the top end Innova and it has crossed the 1 Lac Odo mark and still feels the same as I got it home. I send it for service in the morning and it comes back in 3-4 hours. The bill is laughable. Never exceeded 10k in the 3.5 years I have had it.

The service bill is low because they already sucked out whatever they set out to make from service over 10 years, upfront, at the time of selling the car to you. Independent of whether KIA's pricing of the carnival is greedy or not ; we all know, that the innova has been the biggest cash cow for toyota in india, they have squeezed enough money out of indians from innova profits alone, to fund facelift projects for etios twins. WHichever way one looks at it, the age-old-reaping-R&D-benefits-from-decades-ago Body on frame platform, and some frills thrown in, make it atleast 50% overpriced. The correct pricing for innova musn't exceed 2/3rd of what its now ; for it to be "priced VFM"

[xcentrk]

I still don't understand why such a big fuss about pricing. It is priced right for what it offers and if people can accept Innova with hefty price tag, they can very well accept Carnival too considering it is very premium offering and comfort and interior is top-notch. Carnival is here to create new market and with such sweet pricing, it does create one and pave way for others too.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by DuHasstMich

While everyone keeps mentioning the "size" of the vehicle and talking about constraints for parking and mall ramps etc, however a quick comparison, the Carnival is very close to the Mercedes E-Class in length. Are any current owners of E-Class facing any such issues?

If you drive into a Mall in an E-class, you will mostly be offered a podium parking or you can definitely demand a place for your car in case the regular parking lot is inaccessible due to the ramp or the size of the vehicle itself. I am not sure if the same will happen when you drive in with an MPV. But to talk more technically, I dont think either cars will have issue with clearing ramps as long as the mall is built to standards. However, there are some buildings where the ramps are too unscientific. I have noticed them in many business complexes where the builder wants to save some space by putting a steep ramp. Here, I believe any car with a long wheelbase or low GC will have issues.

[84.monsoon]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Honda probably didn't bring it here because they didn't have any diesel variant. US is gasoline-only nation. Very few pick-up trucks come in diesels. Even Honda's Ridgeline pick-up truck is gasoline only. So are the Odyssey and Pilot. India, on the other hand, is diesel-only for SUVs/MUVs.

Don't quite buy that argument. Toyota always had multiple large diesel engines that they could have plonked on to the Sienna. Fiat Chrysler does too. They just did not move fast or take calculated risks and investments like Kia did.

[Driving80kph]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckPbnZqVAbs

Latest TVC for the Carnival. KIA is going HAM on the promotion of this one. I saw the ad multiple times since yesterday. Even my parents were asking about this car and that's impressive because they have zero to no interest in automobiles!