2024 Kia Carnival

The Kia Carnival is arguably the most stylish, most fun-to-drive minivan on the market. We’re as surprised as you are to see “stylish,” “fun,” and “minivan” in the same sentence. Kia calls it an “MPV,” but whatever you want to call it, the Carnival has a spacious 3-row interior, an outstanding warranty, and the latest safety and infotainment tech features, making it a modern family hauler.

The Carnival is up against tough competition in the minivan class, namely the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, and Chrysler Pacifica.

The 2024 Kia Carnival is a carryover with only one small notable change. The EX Power Tailgate Delete Package is no longer available. If, for some reason, you insist on not having a power tailgate, the LX trim is now your only option.

Before buying a Carnival, check the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price to know what you should really pay. Kia Carnival resale value is about average for the segment.

The Kia Carnival is powered by a 290-horsepower V6 engine matched with an 8-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive. Even when full of passengers, we’ve found the Carnival offers ample acceleration. Except for the notably slower hybrids in this class (Toyota Sienna and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid), the Carnival’s merging and passing power is on par with the rest of the minivan segment.

We found the Carnival well suited for family hauling duties. We’ve tested it (full of children) in running errands around town and on longer highway trips and came away impressed with no complaints.

The automatic transmission shifts gears sweetly, the steering is easy yet precise, and the brakes feel confident without being too sharp. Meanwhile, the suspension has a just-right balance of comfort and agility for a family hauler.

We’ve spent hundreds of hours driving and evaluating this generation of minivans, including the Kia Carnival.

Fuel Economy

The Kia Carnival is rated at 22 combined mpg, identical to the Honda Odyssey and the front-wheel-drive, non-hybrid version of the Chrysler Pacifica. The hybrid Toyota Sienna is much more efficient at 36 mpg, and the plug-in hybrid Chrysler Pacifica can travel up to 32 miles on electricity alone and gets 30 mpg once the battery has been drained.

The cabin of the Kia Carnival is roomy and well-appointed. At either end of the Carnival lineup, the LX and SX Prestige models accommodate seven. The EX and SX trims have seating for eight as standard. The Carnival features sliding/removable second-row seats and reclining third-row seats that also fold into the floor.

The SX Prestige comes exclusively with second-row VIP lounge seats that slide and recline while also having leg extensions — all at the push of a button. These seats are comfy but not removable if you need extra cargo space.

We’ve tested the Carnival with child car seats and can confirm that they’re easy to install. It’s also pretty easy for kids to climb into the third row, especially with second-row captain’s chairs. However, we found that the optional rear entertainment system screens — mounted on the backs of the front seats — can create a bit of an obstacle to third-row entry and exit.

Kids and adults alike have plenty of room in the first two rows of seats. Even in the third row, the Carnival boasts 35.6 inches of legroom, which is about average for a minivan, and more than a midsize 3-row SUV like the Kia Telluride with only 31.4 inches of legroom.

The Carnival has 86.9 cubic feet of cargo space if you fold down the third-row seats. Even with all seats in place, this minivan has a whopping 40.2 cubic feet of cargo room. Again, those total numbers are about average for a minivan. However, that’s significantly more cargo space than a similarly priced midsize SUV.

The Kia Carnival has a boxy, SUV-like aesthetic that tries to disguise its minivan status. However you want to classify it, we think it’s a handsome people mover, and the power sliding doors provide a number of advantages compared to an SUV.

Dual Panoramic Displays
The upper trims of the Kia Carnival come with a 12.3-inch infotainment system and a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster with beautiful graphics, an intuitive interface, and connectivity features like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Driver & Passenger Talk
This clever intercom system makes it easy to communicate with your rearmost passengers without losing your voice.

Smart Power Doors
Powered sliding passenger doors on both sides are standard with every new Carnival. And they employ hands-free operation. Just be nearby with the Smart Key to make them open automatically.

Highway Driving Assist
Just keep an attentive hand on the wheel and the Kia Carnival can do much of the steering, braking, and accelerating in a variety of traffic conditions. No minivan does it better.

Kia Drive Wise
The standard Kia Drive Wise safety tech suite in the Carnival bundles driver assistance features like automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, rear parking sensors, and more.

VIP Lounge Seats
The top SX Prestige trim has these luxurious second-row seats. They feature a one-touch “Relaxation Mode” with full reclining and raised power footrests. They’re also heated and ventilated.

Power for the Kia Carnival comes from a 3.5-liter V6 engine, rated at 290 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque. It sends output to the front wheels via an 8-speed automatic transmission. It’s hard to find fault in this powertrain, but it’s worth noting that all-wheel drive is optional on the Chrysler Pacifica and hybrid Toyota Sienna.

This minivan gets a combined fuel economy rating of 22 mpg, which is average for this class. More Carnival fuel economy information is available on the EPA’s website.

5-Year/60,000-Mile Warranty

The Kia Carnival leads the minivan class with a 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

Safety

The Kia Carnival has been the recipient of the IIHS Top Safety Pick award. On top of its excellent crash test ratings, it comes standard with many safety features like automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist, automatic high beams, and more.