Kia teases new Carnival

KIA Motors Corporation (KMC) has given the world its first taster of its new fourth-generation Carnival people mover due to arrive in Australia either late this year or early 2021.

No specification details have been revealed yet with KMC only releasing a single teaser sketch, showing off some the key design elements we can expect from the new minivan.

Starting at the front, the front fascia closely resembles that of the Seltos compact SUV, albeit scaled up more than a few sizes with very a similar headlight and grille arrangement.

In keeping with the current KMC design language, the entire front end is chunky and heavily contoured with the signature ‘tiger-nose’ grille the centrepiece of the arrangement.

Integration looks to be a big part of the new design with the bonnet line kicking off a styling parabolic line which runs the entire length of the body and flows into the rails of the sliding rear doors with the door handles sitting flush with the line’s contour.

Two-tone alloy wheels add an extra touch of class to the design which looks decidedly more SUV-like than MPV with the only real giveaways being the sliding rear door and high roofline adorned with longitudinal roof rails.

According to KMC, the new Carnival “will appeal to progressive young families with its combination of innovation, flexibility, and style”.

“With a stronger, more stylish presence, futuristic new details and an SUV-inspired design, Kia designers have even dubbed the new model a ‘Grand Utility Vehicle’,” the brand said in a statement.

With no official details revealed yet, we can only speculate as to powertrain possibilities however given the new Sorento SUV will be powered the same raft of carried over engines as the previous generation, we expect the new Carnival to do the same and be offered with the 206kW/336Nm 3.3-litre V6 petrol engine and 147kW/440Nm 2.2-litre turbo-diesel four, both paired with the familiar eight-speed automatic transmission.

The current generation Carnival has dominated the sales charts this year ending May, accounting for 55.8 per cent of the sub-$60,000 people mover market with 1622 sales.

Its nearest rival on the sales charts is the Honda Odyssey with 456 sales (15.7 per cent).