2022 Kia Carnival Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Every version of the Kia Carnival, which is entirely new for the 2022 model year, has unique design elements that set it apart from the others. With LX and LX+ trim, you get the standard grille, a black, toothy thing that is somewhat off-putting. This version of the new Carnival also has silver-painted 17-inch aluminum wheels.

Choose the EX trim and the number of available paint colours doubles. You also get handsome 19-inch machined-finish aluminum wheels, simulated open-pore wood trim, and Kia’s convincing SynTex simulated leather. The Carnival EX trims and up swap the standard grille for a lovely mirrored grid-pattern design. On the SX, it also installs black wheels, so we hope you’re a fan of that look. It seems most people are nowadays. The SX trim also adds textured metal dashboard trim and real leather, and the Carnival’s piece de resistance feature – VIP Lounge Seats – are standard.

All Carnivals include SUV styling flourishes such as simulated front and rear skid plates; a floating roof design seemingly held aloft by sturdy, textured metal supports aft of the sliding doors; and roof rails on most trims. Black trim rings the Carnival’s lower perimeter, and this Kia has a tall hood that’s visible from the driver’s seat.

Though Kia could not hide the sliding door tracks under the rear window glass, it deftly integrated them with character lines that run the length of the vehicle to connect the headlights and taillights. The only other telltale signs that the Carnival is not a crossover SUV are the handles on the sliding doors.

Overall, the Carnival is appealing, even with its standard grille. Sharply angular where a Chrysler Pacifica tends to be softly rounded, conservatively tasteful where a Honda Odyssey tends to be a bit bizarre, and tautly penned where a Toyota Sienna appears swollen and bloated, the Kia Carnival easily wins the “best design” award in the segment.

Inside, the SUV theme continues for the front-seat occupants. The dashboard, centre console, and seat arrangements are more like a crossover than a minivan. Couple this approach with Kia’s penchant for style, and the Carnival looks upscale even in base trim.

Kia drops a new 3.5-litre V6 engine into the 2022 Carnival. It makes 290 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque and drives the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. Neither all-wheel drive nor an electrified powertrain option is available. Towing capacity measures 1,587.5 kilograms (3,500 pounds).

This V6 is a sweetheart of an engine, supplying smooth, steady, effortless acceleration. The automatic operates unobtrusively, and when you select gears, the shifter feels solid and robust in your hand, imparting a sense of quality every time you drive the Carnival.

Normal, Eco, Sport, and Smart driving modes are available. We used Smart mode most of the time, and it was fine aside from consistent delayed downshift response from the transmission whenever we rounded a corner or a curve and then stepped on the accelerator. The issue was particularly noticeable when heading up a hill. Switching to Sport mode helps to resolve it.

Natural Resources Canada says a Carnival should burn 10.6 litres per 100 kilometres in combined driving, and we averaged 10.8 L/100 km on our testing loop. That figure included plenty of idling during photography, and while going through all of the technology, so your result is likely to improve upon it.

Dynamically, the front-wheel-drive Carnival feels taut and athletic from behind the steering wheel. It boasts a remarkably flat cornering stance, and the tires don’t howl if you drive with some enthusiasm.

Occasionally though, depending on the road surface and with only a driver aboard, the Carnival can feel a little too stiff over broken pavement, too bouncy over drainage dips and speed humps, and too wobbly over uneven undulations. Perhaps when loaded down with people and cargo, it would settle down a bit.

Naturally, given the type of vehicle it is (minivan – shhh!), the Carnival is all kinds of practical. However, the SUV-style design approach for the dashboard and centre console limits storage space and utility compared to some of its direct competitors.

On most trims sold in Canada, eight-passenger seating means the second row is a bench seat with three positions. The middle seat slides forward to place a baby or toddler closer to Mom and Dad or slides far back to add shoulder room for staggered, three-across seating. Alternatively, the middle seatback folds flat to provide a table between the outboard seats, or you can remove it to have a pass-through to the third-row seat.

Upgrade to the SX, and the Carnival has standard power-adjustable, heated and ventilated, fully reclining VIP Lounge Seats wrapped in leather. They even feature an Ottoman-style leg rest. For any family, these rear seats are genuine showstoppers. Plus, they live under a power rear sunroof that opens separately from the front sunroof, and manual side window shades in the second- and third-row seats add privacy.

There are a couple of compromises with the VIP Lounge Seats. First, occupants sit high in them, and we found headroom to be an issue unless we reclined them a bit. Second, you can’t remove them or fold them flat, and that limits maximum cargo volume. But damn, they are cool.

Third-row seat comfort is suitable for adults, which means the space is roomy for kids. Better yet, because the Carnival’s rearmost cargo area is so large, there is plenty of collision crush space behind the third-row seat, unlike in a typical crossover SUV.

Kia’s “smart” hands-free power-sliding side doors and liftgate have their pros and cons. With the liftgate, on the plus side of the ledger, you don’t need to hop around on one foot while waving the other one under the bumper. Just stand there, and after a few seconds, it will open. On the minus side of the ledger, it can also open when you don’t want it to, such as when you pause to talk with someone at the soccer field or you’re cleaning the back window at the gas station. Fortunately, you can turn this on or off within the driver information centre.

When the tailgate raises, the Carnival supplies a deep storage well and 1,139 litres of volume behind the third-row seat. That’s enough to stand four full-size suitcases on end behind the seat, and it can easily handle even a large stroller.

For more space, you can fold the third-row seats into the well using just one hand. This action creates 2,460 litres of cargo space and allows the centre section of the Slide Flex seats to move all of the way back in its track. For comparison, a Carnival can carry five people plus as much as you can stuff into a Kia Telluride when the SUV has all of its seats folded down.

If you need more room than that and have LX or EX trim or either of its plus-variants, you can remove the second-row seats to create more cargo volume (4,110 litres) than you’ll find in a Chevy Suburban.

The seats are not light, and re-installing them takes care and patience. Hint: make sure the white slots for the seat base’s front latches are lined up before attempting this. And whatever you do, don’t get one side latched in and then slide that half of the seat in the track. Otherwise, you’ll teach your children some choice new words trying to get the other side latched in.

With LX trim, the Carnival has traditional analog gauges separated by a digital driver information centre, plus an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with stereo knobs and main menu shortcut buttons. Highlights include Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, and six speakers.

Starting with EX+ trim, the Carnival boasts a 12.3-inch widescreen infotainment system. This setup includes HD Radio, SiriusXM satellite radio, voice recognition, and an embedded modem to power UVO Link connected services. It also installs navigation, wireless smartphone charging (also offered on LX+ and EX in Canada), and eight speakers. A Passenger View camera uses a camera to show the driver and front passenger what’s happening in the second- and third-row seats.

Choose EX+ or SX trim, and the Carnival comes with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. On SX, a 12-speaker Bose surround-sound audio system is included. The former lends the Carnival significant technological sophistication, while the latter seems to be a step down from the Harman Kardon components Kia has offered in the past, lacking some of the depth and clarity common to HK systems.

Kia provides a so-called quick reference guide to all of this technology, and it’s the size of a novel. For the most part, the tech is intuitive to use, but you’ll do yourself a huge favour if, after buying a loaded Carnival SX, you block a couple of hours to go through all of the technology, get everything set up the way you want it, and learn how it all works.

Similarly, the Carnival’s list of safety features and advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) is a long one.

Standard equipment includes forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure and keeping assistance, and rear parking sensors. A driver monitoring system is also standard, along with a reversing camera with dynamic parking guidance lines.

To this menu, EX trim adds front parking sensors, active blind-spot and rear cross-traffic warning with collision avoidance, active rear cross-traffic warning, and adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability (navigation-based from EX+, which can automatically slow the Carnival down for freeway transitions and changes in posted speed limits).

Every Carnival has an ultrasonic rear occupant alert system. Park, lock, and leave the vehicle, and for 24 hours after that, ultrasonic sensors will monitor the cabin for movement. If you’ve accidentally left a child or a pet sleeping inside, when they wake, the sensors will activate the horn and lights and will send the Carnival’s owner a smartphone alert.

Safe Exit Assist is also included on EX and up. This system uses the blind-spot warning sensors to detect whether traffic is approaching from behind and warns occupants if it is not safe to exit the Carnival. Knowing that kids in the second-row seat might ignore the warning, it can also override the sliding door locks to prevent them from hopping out anyway.

Starting with EX+ trim, the Carnival features an outstanding surround-view camera system. The level of clarity is remarkable, and the big 12.3-inch display also helps. A camera-based Blind View Monitor is included on the same trims and shows a live video feed of what’s in the Carnival’s blind spots within the 12.3-inch instrumentation panel.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the 2022 Kia Carnival a Top Safety Pick rating, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had not rated it when this review was published.

Is choosing a 2022 Kia Carnival a cost-effective solution to your people-hauling and cargo-carrying family vehicle needs? Absolutely. Unless you need all-wheel drive, or 5,000 pounds or more of towing capacity, or a more efficient electrified drivetrain, you’ve found your dream vehicle.

Compared to a Kia Telluride, the Carnival offers a whole bunch of extra interior room and superior technology for a lower price. Compared to a full-size SUV, the Carnival comes fully loaded for less than you’ll pay for a basic Tahoe or Expedition without any extras. And compared to other minivans, the Carnival offers a real sense of style, sophistication, and an SUV vibe that’s missing from its competitors.

Trust us. You owe it to yourself, your family, and your retirement fund to at least consider buying a 2022 Kia Carnival.