2025 Kia Carnival

When Kia launched the Carnival for the 2022 model year, the company called it a  “multipurpose vehicle,” or MPV, instead of a minivan. Even though the Carnival for all functional purposes is a minivan, Kia wanted to avoid the negative “soccer mom” connotations of the body style. To that same end, Kia gave the Carnival a style-forward “hybrid” look that fused a blockier, more pronounced nose typical of an SUV with the traditional minivan sliding-side-door layout. As part of its substantial refresh for the 2025 model year, the Carnival can be a hybrid on the powertrain front, as well: A newly available turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder hybrid powertrain joins the existing 3.5-liter V-6. We examined the 2025 Kia Carnival up close at the 2024 Chicago Auto Show.

The Carnival gets a styling refresh for 2025 that makes it look even more like an SUV than before, at least to my eyes. The front end is blockier and now wears a wider, bolder grille and amber “Star Map” daytime running lights; the family resemblance to the recently refreshed Sorento SUV is especially strong.

The Carnival’s rear end is similarly refreshed; the full-width taillights also sport the Star Map treatment, with a vertical element that matches the front-end look. The license plate is mounted lower than before, and the bumper treatment is revised, too. Again, the changes add up to a slightly blockier, more SUV-ish look. Both Carnivals we examined on the show floor wore the new Dark Edition Package, which adds black wheels and various dark-finish body trim in place of traditional brightwork.

Enhanced Interior
The Carnival’s outstanding cabin space doesn’t change, but there are several tech upgrades and subtle improvements. We sat in a line-topping SX Prestige variant equipped with the new Connected Car Rear Cockpit Rear Entertainment System. We couldn’t power on the system, but the dual 14.6-inch screens looked impressively large, and they’re mounted low enough on the front seatbacks so as not to interfere with the front-seat occupants’ rearward view. A newly available rearview camera mirror provides more versatility, too.

The previously physical infotainment and climate controls are now housed in a single touch-sensitive control panel that can be toggled between climate and infotainment functions. This is the same basic setup that Kia’s EV6 and Sportage have, and that Cars.com editors aren’t particularly fond of — it’s too easy to make infotainment adjustments when you want to make climate adjustments and vice versa.

V-6-powered Carnivals continue to use a traditional gearshift lever, but hybrid models get a rotary-dial gear selector; we’ve found this dial easy to operate in other Kia hybrid vehicles that have it. The center console is slightly revised; the dual cupholders are upsized to accommodate larger bottles, which means that there is no longer a smartphone storage slot between them. However, the bin forward of the shifter has been enlarged to house bigger phone storage trays, including a wireless charger if so equipped. Two more cupholders for second-row passengers (with a smartphone storage slot) are built into the rear of the front center console. In all, the Carnival’s small-items storage space remains excellent.

Many of my favorite Carnival available features carry over, like the 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen fused into one seamless curved panel; USB-C ports built into the front seatbacks; lighted USB-C ports for third-row passengers; a climate-control panel built into the headliner; and adjustment buttons built into the inboard side of the power front passenger seat, so it can be easily adjusted by second-row passengers.

The Stuff We Can’t Test (Yet)
The Carnival’s new hybrid powertrain is the same basic setup that the Sorento and Sportage hybrids already offer, though the Carnival’s version gets a slight power bump over its SUV siblings, to 242 horsepower and 271 pounds-feet of torque. We’re curious to see how this new powertrain moves the fairly hefty Carnival and test its efficiency in real-world driving; Kia hasn’t yet provided fuel-economy estimates. The Carnival also gets a few electric handling assistance features — including E-Handling (designed to improve cornering response), E-Ride (special shocks meant to improve ride quality) and E-Evasive Handling Assist (for emergency steering maneuvers) — that we’re anxious to try.

We’ll have the chance to test all of these things — and the Carnival’s other new tech features, like the next-generation infotainment system, “Hey Kia!” voice command functions and Digital Key 2.0 smartphone features — closer to the Carnival’s on-sale date, which is scheduled for the summer of 2024.