Ahead of its debut in India, Kia has officially teased the new Carnival MPV – It could get launched later in 2023
Kia India had made its debut at the Auto Expo back in 2018, around time when it was about to set-up its India operations. In a short period, Kia has now become a leading OEM manufacturer. Kia has confirmed its participation in the upcoming 2023 Auto Expo and will be showcasing many new cars.
Carnival’s fourth gen model, KA4 was revealed globally in 2020. Interestingly, when Kia had brought in the facelifted 3rd gen Carnival to India, global launch of 4th gen model was just a few weeks away. And now, when the facelifted version of Kia Carnival has been spied, Kia is getting ready to showcase the existing Carnival.
Kia Carnival India Teaser – Codename KA4
With the update, Kia has tried to design the MPV with a SUV styling. In terms of length, it measures 5,156mm which makes it significantly longer than any other MPV in the market (or 3rd gen Carnival). Seating configurations include a 7-seater, 9-seater and 11 seater variants.
In terms of features, the MPV gets a 12.3 inch touchscreen infotainment unit and a similar sized digital instrument cluster. Top-end trims get features like a 3-zone climate control, wireless charging, powered front seats, multiple airbags, forward collision assist and lane departure warning. In international markets, Carnival is sold with 2 engine options a 2.2 litre turbo diesel and a 3.5 litre petrol motor. Indian market is expected to get only the diesel engine option though.
Apart from Carnival, Kia is also going to showcase many other cars. One of them could be the Sorento SUV. Talking about the Sorento, in simpler terms, it is a Hyundai Santa Fe equivalent from the house of Kia. In terms of positioning, it lands up higher than the Sportage (Tucson equivalent) but lower than the flagship Kia SUV – Telluride (Palisade equivalent).
Kia Sorento 2023 Auto Expo
Interestingly, it isn’t the first time that Sorento will be coming to the Auto Expo. It had made its debut back in 2018 in its third gen avatar. The fourth generation model was launched for International markets in 2020 and it is the same model which will be showcased at the 2023 Auto Expo.
As of now, an imminent launch looks unlikely, but Kia would want to gauge customer interest towards this 3-row SUV. Current competition for the SUV in Indian market is limited to models like Jeep Meridian and Skoda Kodiaq. Globally, Kia offers 4 different powertrain options on the Sorento. These include a 1.6 litre turbo petrol-hybrid combo, a 2.5 litre turbo petrol non-hybrid, a 1.6 litre plug-in hybrid and a 2.2 litre turbo diesel. Transmission options include 6/8-speed auto-boxes and 2WD/4WD options.
In terms of equipment, some of its highlights include a 3-pod LED headlamps, designer LED tail-lamps, a 10.25 inch touchscreen infotainment unit, a 12.3 inch digital instrument cluster, 64-color ambient lighting, 360 degree view, panoramic sunroof, 12-speaker Bose sound system and Kia’s UVO connected car tech. International markets also get models with level two autonomous driving ADAS features.
