Kia Carnival

Similar to the exterior, the Carnival is large and opulent on the inside. In the top-spec Limousine trim we are driving here, the cabin gets Napa leather upholstery, soft-touch materials on the dashboard and the door pads as well. Inside the cabin, the sense of spaciousness is instantly felt which is further helped by the large window area because of which, the visibility is phenomenal too. The dashboard is well laid out and there are many usable storage places present all around the cabin as well including the dual glove-box. Meanwhile, the instrument cluster gets two analogue dials flanking a MID screen. On the centre console, you get an eight-inch touchscreen system.

Talking about the seats, this is where the Carnival gets interesting. The front seats are large and offer a good amount of support all around. In the top-spec trim, the driver’s seat is electrically adjustable and it also gets cooled ventilation but the front passenger seat misses out on both these functions. Kia is offering the Carnival in seven-, eight- or even a nine-seat configuration. Lower spec models get something called standup seats which fold upright allowing better ingress, while there’s something called ‘sinking seats’ which have got a clever mechanism allowing them to fold down flat on the floor. Then there are the Limousine’s VIP seats available only in a seven-seater configuration with special reclining and sliding adjustments along with leg extension. Getting inside the Carnival is easy thanks to the sliding doors but the ingress height isn’t very convenient. Similar to the front row, visibility in the second and third row is more than adequate due to the massive windows and light coloured materials used. There’s sufficient head and legroom too as the middle row seats have multiple adjustments while offering ample support and seem to be comfortable enough for cross country drives. The third-row, however, is a tight fit for three with no under-thigh support. But it isn’t a bad place to be in either. And the ‘sinking’ split seats can also be folded down for large and usable boot space.

The Carnival comes loaded with all bells and whistles like dual sunroof, three-zone climate control, smartphone connectivity with Harmon Kardon music system, auto headlamps and wipers, smart air-purifier, front and rear parking with rear-view camera, push-button start-stop, cruise control, electric windows and ORVM, powered tailgate, laptop charger along with rear-seat entertainment screens and Kia’s own UVO connected car features. In terms of safety, there are six airbags, ABS with ESC, hill assist, roll-over mitigation and cornering brake.