[Reinhard]

Lovely typical 5 star review @ChiragM & team! Rated it so already. And the Carnival is such a wonderful car! I don't enjoy MPV profiles but if there is an MPV - I like sliding doors on it. They are the best way to use the MPV's cabin with utmost comfort. I am so glad that the Carnival has sliders!

• The low ground clearance and longish front & rear overhangs are really worrying even to look at. In our road conditions these are sure going to make owners/drivers nervous on road trips. Within urban environments the car sure will be a hoot!
• The space on offer really is the best seen in a long time! Amazing packaging really & very practical in-cabin features for all passengers. They'll surely appreciate it.
• I absolutely hated the shade of beige that KIA has picked. It is very 1st gen Ertiga! It makes the plastic parts look quite cheap IMO. This shade highlights any little irregularities in plastic panels unnecessarily. Look at the horrible edge finish here for example. Beige highlights it the most. (And I'd have expected a better finish at this price also.)
  Poor finish on plastic edges

One question - How come the Tata Hexa doesn't get a mention in this comparison? IMHO that is the only MPV that does justice to a "premium" tag on the features, space & quality of cabin materials, along with a very good diesel AT setup below the Carnival. (of course on price it doesn't appear premium at all in comparison.) I find it better than the Innova (which does get a mention in the table) on all aspects - except perhaps ownership experience in the long run, which I have only heard about. Is it missing because its currently not on sale & will be back only later? Hexa would be the nearest car to compare with a premium MPV otherwise. Others in the comparison are a bit apple to orange - some even ladder-frame 4x4 off road capable cars!

[Simha13]

Excellent review! The tagline "Extravagant by Design" is perfect for this car. A cool luxury alternative for people shopping in 30-40 lac bracket.

[pradyumnakalagi]

As always, a very detailed review. I loved the Carnival the day I saw it. The design is understated yet not boring, the interiors look really plush, space is lavish and so is the equipment and the near 200 bhp diesel + Auto would make mile munching really effortless. Also, I think it is really cool to arrive in a car whose rear doors slide electronically!

Agreed, it is expensive but like we have seen with the Innova Crysta, you give the Indian customers what they want and they will fall for it despite the high sticker price.

The FE figure is dismal and people may have had their hopes high in that department. The big size means it will be a no-no in cities and the fact that it is already 5 years old shows in the dashboard design. But if I were to go on a long road trip with my friends (some of them don't like SUVs) the Carnival would be my pick.

The launch of the Carnival prompts an interesting discussion - Will other brands hop on the band wagon and consider premium MPVs for the Indian market? Like Volkswagen Sharan and Honda Odyssey? Something the brands should think about

[Asish_VK]

Superb review as always.

Looks like KIA is here to stay and I feel like KIA might challenge Hyundai for the second place in the market soon.

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Official Reviews. Thanks for sharing, rating 5 stars!

If we needed to replace a picture, simply walk down and shoot it .

Attachment 2002110

OT: Hi GTO, is Bombay still is not clear of pollution ? The leaves of the tree in the picture is still brown due to the dust.
Here at Bangalore, most of the trees and back to green (Couple of rains and no more dust on roads)

[naveen.raju]

Brilliant review.

Saw one back in 2018 when I was in Bangalore and loved it. Had a small peek on the inside and knew this would be loaded even though the car was locked.





They have kept the design safe when compared to the other MPV's but feels a bit dated when you look at the current trend (not MPV's, but cars in general. Add a bit more funky lights like the Seltos. The facelift carnival gets it I guess). But there's nothing much you can do with the design/silhouette unless it's a Vellfire .

One thing that bothers me is the sliding door mechanism. They should have concealed it like the one on the Vellfire.

[07CR]

Great review as always. However one grouse, just like the Altroz review, this review had the usual throw of the headlight pictures missing. Please include it again in the future reviews.

[karan0009]

Excellent review! Kia has created a new segment all together with this premium MPV.
There will be quite a few folks who will be cross shopping from Fortuner/Endy segment. But there are a few flaws:
1) Ground Clearance - As compared to Fortuner/Endy GC is a major concern.
2) City Cruiser - This giant MPV is strictly not a city cruiser. While Fortuner & Endy are managanle in city traffic as well.
3) Everywhere Vehicle - Carnival is not a vehicle which can be taken anywhere & everywhere specially in rural parts of India.
Rest, this vehicle is a perfect upgrade for Innova owners who do a lot of highway run.

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by Asish_VK

OT: Hi GTO, is Bombay still is not clear of pollution ? The leaves of the tree in the picture is still brown due to the dust.
Here at Bangalore, most of the trees and back to green (Couple of rains and no more dust on roads)

Haha

The pollution levels in Bombay/Mumbai are down and at one of the best ever seen in a long time. But this is dust on the leaves and Mumbai is dusty. Plus it been summer since a while dust becomes part of what you breath here

It will get cleared only when we see the Monsoon in June-end weeks.

[gops2009]

Kudos for the excellent and detailed review !! 5 stars as always. A few thoughts here precipitated by the detailed review
a) How practical is it to have a vehicle of such large dimensions and how many people living in cities can afford the place to park a behemoth like this? It certainly will be an exercise to park this into the basement car park slots in many of the apartment complexes

b) as already mentioned in the review , this would be great as a long distance cruiser , but impractical to drive around in the city , and driving one in city would be assigned to a chauffeur.

c) People looking to own this luxury car , the FE should be least of concerns IMO

The above aspects would have been considered by a Toyota and a Honda and perhaps they do not see justifiable volumes in sales to set up infrastructure to manufacture these domestically , the CBU/ CKD route would make it prices way to high anyway

[spkrnh]

Hi, great review as usual.
I just have a few doubts.
1. Though innova is the sales king, i think for ride comfort and rear seat comfort, atleast on the captain’s seat version hexa is the model to beat. How does carnival compare to the hexa on both these counts?
2. Because of the lockdown maybe you have not been able to take pics but i hope you put up photos of people seated on the second row upright and in full recline with the leg rest fully extended. For height of 5’10” and above does the feet foul with the front passenger seat pushed all the way forward when the rear left passenger is seated in this way?

[momsonlydriver]

In person this car is really huge. It's not practical to take it anywhere. In photos and videos it still manages to look a normal size. Might never buy a car with so many seats but would say that the interior should have had the white and black scheme or full black scheme. The beige and the red lighting makes it alittle dated. Overall a very good car for a large family.

This car is perfect to hire besides an Innova when we go for a trip. Usually we club along and it goes to be around 8 heads which is a difficult squeeze in an Innova or the option of hiring two cars makes it expensive as well as the miss of feel of togetherness.

Winger is another option for hire when it comes to the number of seats but would personally never travel to a five star hotel in a winger (egoistic need). So I see the choice of Carnival more attractive in the traveling/touring business.

[Surya-TJet]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Official Reviews. Thanks for sharing, rating 5 stars!

If we needed to replace a picture, simply walk down and shoot it .

Fantastic review and a full 5-stars as usual to the reviewers and to Team-BHP.

Dear GTO; if the car is still available at your place or at one of the reviewer's place; can you please share the pics of the car's low beam and high beam light output at night?

And please ensure that its added to the list of pictures to be taken for a review.

While you guys had started taking these pics of fog lamp + low beam + high beam since the last couple of years; it gets missed out in some of the car reviews (even the Altroz review doesn't have it).

This could help in informed decision making for many of the readers and also makes for an interesting comparison to a few people like me.


Cheers & Safe Driving.

[OrangeCar]

Haven't driven the car. But have seen the car very closely and have spent some time in it at a showroom.

Likes:
- Incredible fit and finish. Interiors and exteriors.
- Well thought out convenience features - multiple zone AC temp controls, electrically sliding front, mid row seats, electrically sliding doors, all work fantastically. Cool integration of features, to say the least.
- Third row seats (in the three row version) can be put down in the boot cavity to make loads of space for luggage. Immensely practical. Can be a long distance cruiser / camper like no other.

Dislikes -
- Even though the interiors are brilliantly put together, I do not like the shade of brown/beige chosen. It just does not feel premium. It feels too old and just downs the entire cabin feel. It looks good in photographs though. Purely personal taste. Would have preferred a lighter (whitish) / darker (darker brown) beige shade.
- Did not drive, but as I sat in the driver's seat, could feel the length and width of the car. Narrow by lanes, will take patience and skills to maneuver this.
- Angry. Want to slam the door and walk away? I know BHPians would not do that to their enemy's car too! But still, you cannot do that. You will have to angrily press a button to slide the door. I remember using full force, as a kid, in my uncle's Maruti Omni. And it was fun to do that.
- Chrome alloy wheels, feel out of place on this car.
- Although can be long distance cruiser. Difficult to go exploring on bad roads.

[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Some underbody protection is provided. Considering the huge wheelbase, soft suspension and 180 mm unladen ground clearance, I am pretty sure its going to scrape over the Bangalore-size speed breakers (definitely with a full load of passengers)

Yes, I was always skeptical about the GC of Carnival.
A brilliant review as always .Thanks guys.

This is an under body picture of a Carnival in a hydraulic lifter which I clicked when I went to service my Seltos.

[caramit]

Fantastic Review. 5 stars
When I had gone to the Kia showroom one day before Carnival's launch to look at Seltos, the salesperson used all his skill to veer me to the Carnival as soon as he came to know that I currently drive an Innova.
I wasn't too convinced then but I now understand why he did it.

I am amazed at Kia's ability to identify and fill the vacant slots in Indian passenger car lineup!!

Surprise surprise, I saw a brand new Carnival parked next to my basement parking in my apartment complex- my next-door neighbour bought one. We never exchanged notes about cars when we tried to spend the evenings discussing life sharing a drink in the tough Covid lockdown periods 1.0 and 2.0 and suddenly he went and took delivery of the Carnival booked sometime back. I am in for a test driving treat in the next few days. While the dash to Murthal for paranthas is till some time away, we will find plenty of roads in Noida to quench our thirst.

For today, I just got to sit in and relish the plush interiors. and only word to describe - superb.
Will keep posting my incremental experiences.