New 2024 Kia Carnival SX Prestige, Release Date, Price – The 2024 Kia Carnival is a minivan previously known as the Sedona. The 2024 Kia Carnival, which seats up to eight people, competes against the Toyota Sienna, Chrysler Pacifica, Honda Odyssey, and three-row crossover SUVs like the Kia Telluride. The 2024 Kia Carnival, which shares a platform with the K5 mid-size sedan and the Kia Sorento, is positioned in the Venn diagram of cars, crossovers, and SUVs at the minivan center.
2024 Kia Carnival Redesign
The latest 2024 Kia Carnival brings a new name, a new emblem, new technology and safety features, and an updated interior and exterior appearance. The squared-off corners read more like the crossover SUVs that line the showroom floor, and it works, with the sliding side doors and telltale back end serving as more apparent indicators of its family hauler credentials. We could do without some of the glossy metallic and black trim on the inside and out; the cabin, like the Telluride’s, is attractively organized and outfitted, but the shiny plastic trim on the doors collects fingerprints too quickly, and the gleaming metal on the dash in the top edge glares at the driver.
The Carnival’s interior is enormous. Seven adults can sit inside, and the four or five in the front benefit from luxurious features like heated and cooled leather seats in the second row and reclining airline-style seats with extended footrests on the SX and Prestige models. The sliding bench seat in the second row is more versatile, but it does not collapse into the floor, making the Carnival as handy as the Odyssey and Sienna; the Pacifica remains the paragon. All Carnivals receive superior crash test scores and include automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and active lane control. The Carnival features a movable middle seat that may be accessed by the front passenger to change a binkie or count some piggies in its most forward position.
Engine
The front-wheel-drive minivan is powered by a 3.5-liter V-6 engine that produces 290 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. The 2024 Carnival, equipped with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, can tow 3,500 pounds, the same as the previous model’s 276-horsepower 3.3-liter V-6. That engine was shared with the Kia Sorento until 2024, when it received a turbo-4 engine and a hybrid option. The Carnival lacks both of those features, as well as the Kia Telluride’s 291-horsepower 3.8-liter V-6.
That is acceptable. Nothing about the Carnival’s driving style is abnormal. It scarcely missed an upshift as it settled into a superbly comfortable highway lop over a hundred miles of motorway and softly banked roads. It’s an interstate champion, with absolutely little steering sensation outside of the artificially weighted Sport setting, yet it maintains a good lane position. The Carnival’s basic strut and multi-link suspension are excellent at dampening out uneven roads. With its largest size of 19-inch all-season tires (basic models receive 17-inchers), it’s somewhat better than the Telluride, which can ride on 20-inch monsters.
2024 Kia Carnival Release Date and Price
Power-sliding doors, an 8.0-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, wireless smartphone charging, and up to nine USB ports are standard on the $33,275 Carnival LX. There is an option for a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen. The $47,275 SX Prestige specification level adds a dual-pane sunroof, airplane seats, leather upholstery, those two 12.3-inch displays, metallic trim, and Bose audio with 12 speakers. Carnival vehicles are covered by a 5-year/60,000-mile guarantee.