Kia’s facelifted Carnival was spotted for the very first time and it looks set to have a design inspired by the upcoming Kia EV9. The current Carnival is already one of the most striking minivans on sale and this new model is shaping up to be even more intriguing. A heavily-disguised prototype was recently snapped by The Korean Car Blog while sitting in a parking lot in South Korea.
Kia has done a good job of disguising the
front end of the new Carnival but we can see that it has headlights somewhat
similar in shape to those of the EV9. Whereas the headlights of the current
Carnival are fairly traditional in shape with complex LED daytime running
lights, the headlights of the new Carnival appear to be positioned vertically,
much like the brand’s forthcoming electric SUV. An LED light bar also appears
to be visible.
Unfortunately, we don’t yet have any spy
shots of the new Kia Carnival from the rear but given how significant the
changes made to the front are shaping up to be, we wouldn’t be surprised to see
similarly comprehensive changes made to the rear. The facelifted Kia Carnival
won’t just bring with it new looks as a hybrid variant is also thought to be in
the works. This new variant of the Carnival will likely share its hybrid system
with those available in the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe.
This system consists of a 1.6-liter
turbocharged four-cylinder producing 177 hp and 265 Nm of
torque working alongside a 59 hp electric motor. All up, the powertrain
is good for 227 hp and 350 Nm and while it is available
with all-wheel drive in the Sorento and Santa Fe, it will apparently only be
offered with front-wheel drive in the Carnival Hybrid.
