What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Kia Carnival? What does it compare to?
The 2025 Kia Carnival minivan tries to hide its sliding doors with Kia Sorento-like SUV styling, making it a more alluring option to the Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey, and Toyota Sienna.
Is the 2025 Kia Carnival a good minivan?
The addition of a hybrid option this year keeps it competitive, but it lacks all-wheel drive. Its relative value, flexible interior, intuitive interfaces, and clean design bolster the Carnival’s TCC Rating, and the hybrid’s quiet ride and responsive powertrain would rate even higher than its already high 6.8 out of 10 if rated separately. (Read more about how we rate cars.) It awaits a safety rating.
What’s new for the 2025 Kia Carnival?
A lot. The Carnival’s been refreshed for 2025 with updated styling, new tech, and a hybrid powertrain option rated at 33 mpg combined.
The Carnival hits the big top with a wider grille that wouldn’t be out of place on a large SUV, and its roof rails and shark-fin C-pillars evoke both the larger Kia Telluride and smaller Sorento in the Korean brand’s lineup. Cube-like LED headlights and LED fog lights set within the lower grille, as well as amber running lights tie the front end together. Wheels range in size from 17 to 19 inches and all feature geometric patterns like the electric EV9 crossover SUV.
Inside, most Carnivals feature a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen under a single panel of curved glass. Volume and tuning knobs remain, and metallic toggles for drive modes and seat heating grace certain trims. The mechanical gear selector has been ditched in favor of a silver rotary dial that opens up more console space for larger cupholders.
The new hybrid model pairs a 1.6-liter turbo-4 with a 72-hp electric motor for a combined output of 242 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque. It’s quicker off the line, and quieter while cruising than the gas model. A 6-speed automatic transmission has paddle shifters that can let you hold gears longer in Sport mode, or they can switch to regenerative braking paddles in Eco and Smart modes. The EPA rates the hybrid at 34 mpg city, 31 highway, 33 combined.
The gas-only Carnival carries forward with a standard 3.5-liter V-6 rated at 287 hp and 260 lb-ft. It has an 8-speed automatic transmission sending power to the front wheels only. It gets 18/26/21 mpg.
With either powertrain, the Carnival rides quietly due in part to acoustic laminated glass, and it handles well enough for a van of this size and height.
Carnivals can carry seven or eight people, and no cargo or passenger room is sacrificed with the hybrid due to the battery placement under the second row floor. A standard second-row bench seat splits into three segments, even in the hybrid. The middle segment can slide to create easier access to the third row. The second-row seats can be removed except for the lounge seats in the top SX Prestige, but they can’t fold into the floor like in the Pacifica and the third row roominess trails the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.
Every Carnival features automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, active lane control, and blind-spot monitors. Kia offers its navigation-based adaptive cruise control system that enables limited hands-free driving on the Carnival for the first time this year. It works well for a couple minutes on open highways.
How much does the 2025 Kia Carnival cost?
The 2025 Carnival comes in five trims, LX, LXS, EX, SX, and SX Prestige, and the prices range from $37,895 to $53,395. The hybrid powertrain starts with the LXS at $41,895, which is $2,000 more than a similarly equipped V-6 model. Every Carnival features seven USB-C ports, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, two power outlets, and two 115-volt inverters. A color head-up display and dual 14.6-inch screens for a rear-seat entertainment system are options.
Where is the Kia Carnival made?
In South Korea.
Senior Producer Joel Feder contributed to this review.
