4th-gen Kia Carnival officially revealed

Kia has unveiled the fourth-generation Carnival MPV.

The Carnival, which is also known as the Sedona is some global markets, is based on a new platform. The MPV is 40 mm longer and 10 mm wider than the outgoing model. Its wheelbase has also been increased by 30 mm to 3,090 mm, while its boot space is 627 litres, which can be increased to 2,905 litres by folding the rear seats.

Kia refers to the new Carnival as a "Grand Utility Vehicle". The car features Kia's tiger nose grille with a diamond-mesh pattern and chrome inserts. It has slim headlamp clusters housing rectangular LEDs and stepped LED daytime running lights. At the rear, the vehicle gets an LED light bar that stretches across the width of the car and slim tail lamp units. It retains the old car's sliding rear doors and has a redesigned C-pillar.

The Carnival is available in 3-row or 4-row seating configurations and can seat up to 11 passengers. The MPV has captain seats in the second row with adjustable headrests, armrests and legrests. There are USB chargers for second row occupants and a tray for storing tablets or phones.

It comes with a dual display that include a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment and a similarly sized digital instrument cluster. The infotainment and climate control functions can be controlled using touch-sensitive buttons placed on the dashboard. Controls for the shift-by-wire transmission are positioned at the base of the centre console.

In the international market, the fourth-generation Carnival will be offered with 3 engine options. These include a 3.5-litre GDi V6 petrol unit producing 290 BHP and 355 Nm, a 3.5-litre MPi V6 petrol with 268 BHP and 332 Nm and a 2.2-litre diesel that makes 199 BHP and 404 Nm. All engines are paired with 8-speed automatic transmissions.

The new Carnival features a new fully independent suspension at the front. The rear setup has also been revised. Kia claims to have improved the vehicle's NVH characteristics by adding sound-deadening materials under the wheel arches, underbody and engine bay. The air intake has also been reshaped to reduce engine noise at higher speeds, while new crossmembers are said to reduce vibrations.

The Carnival comes with a host of safety equipment and driving assists. These include Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) with car, pedestrian and cyclist detection, Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA), Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (ISLA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM), High Beam Assist (HBA), Smart Cruise Control (SCC) or Navigation-based SCC (NSCC), Lane Following Assist (LFA), Highway Driving Assist (HDA), and Surround View Monitor (SVM). It also gets Safe Exit Assist (SEA), which prevents the sliding rear doors from opening if the system detects a vehicle approaching from behind.