Are you looking to buy a Kia Carnival or any new vehicle? Go to carconfections.com/new-car-quotes to get the BEST price and access to invoice pricing information!
Brah, using that link literally did what would’ve happened if I had just went to my local dealership website and emailed them. I got no pricing at all. They literally just started emailing & texting.
People who buy RWD and FWD crossovers should just swallow their pride and get a minivan like this. Much more practical and less expensive. Sucks they dont come in AWD though or else I’d bet they’d sell a lot more of them in the northern states.
As a minivan and crossover owner, I find the latter to be relatively more nimble and more fuel efficient. And not everyone needs a third row. That said, my minivan is irreplaceable.
Winter tires 100% better than all the crossovers buyers who buy AWD and stick with the stock crappy all seasons. FYI I daily a 400+HP rwd in the Midwest and never ever had any kind of issues. I've also never heard a FWD driver with winter tires complain. Yes AWD with the winters are the best but in America the population who cares to swap tires is 5-10% maybe
Also the Carnival doesn't even look that minivan-y. It's got 6.8 inches of ground clearance and is pretty boxy. Most people wouldn't even realize aside from the sliding doors so no need to swallow your pride... Especially because some minivans like the Odyssey are faster than other 3 row "SUVs"
I love that Kia hasn't given up on the van market. It still looks really good and thankfully they didn't saddle such a large vehicle with an inadequate powertrain like Toyota did with the Sienna. I don't understand why Kia took the liberty to redesign the rear tail lamp area only to saddle lower trims with halogens. The exterior lighting should be all LED in this day and time and considering the costs of vehicles, this isn't a big ask. Its just one of my pet peeves!
I believe the idea battery circulation stability, in other words since the amount of computer functions is reduced the halogen lights use more power in balance
The Toyota powertrain isn't inadequate. Its 0-60 time is similar to V6 minivans from 10 years ago and not that far off V6 vans today. Car and Driver has the Kia Carnival at 7.0 0-60 and 5 second 50-70. They have the Sienna at 7.5 and 5.8. Not worlds of difference considering the Toyota gets 17 more MPG city!
love love love the kia carnival. to me its more of a lowered SUV. kinda like the old ford flex. I don't even have a family and im considering trading in my Telluride on the Carnival. its the extra length and space for camping and trips
We just bought one last week and LOVE it. We went with the 2024 Carnival Ex because they are marked down to make way for the 2025s. We were waffling between the Telluride vs the Carnival but the Carnival literally has more cargo space than a SUBURBAN (well, by 1 cubic foot, but still!) Telluride is 87 cubic feet vs Carnival which is a whopping 145 cubic feet. My favorite feature is the versatile 2nd row, where the seats independently slide very far forward and backwards (which makes for a VERY nice place to hang out!) The second row seats can also be rear facing if you just pop the little clips from the track (lots of RU-vid videos that show you how, takes 5 minutes), or you can remove the 2nd row entirely. No other minivan has a 2nd row like this.. I have test driven them all.
If you look at this as an “SUV” the cargo area and 3rd room is very impressive. But as a mini-van, I think the Chrysler Pacifica with it’s exclusive 2nd row stow-away seats (you don’t have to lug them out) is the best mini-van cargo and versatility you can get.
@@Hockey36a You are correct and that is why when I leased a 2017 Pacifica I did not get the PHEV model. I utilized that feature a little over the time I had it. With all the seats folded I could put in full sheets of plywood or wheel in our bikes. One year we did the “trunk or treat” thing at the school and the entire area begins the fronts seats was decorated. Another year for my daughter’s birthday we put those 2nd row seats down and she had a couple friends in the 3rd row with her and it became a party limousine. I lived that feature as well as the on-board vacuum!
@@Hockey36a BTW: While the mpg around town was about 18 ( same as my 2020 Pilot) on a long highway trip from SoCal to Santa Fe NM I was getting a whopping 38 mpg. That van lived highway cruising!
@@MrUser999999 I guess the comment was not about the distance, but rather about barely visible red turn signals, not visible during the day or sunny weather. Check out on previous gen kia Sportage, the rear turn signal is a joke. Same story with appx 2020-21 Telluride.
The technology in the Odyssey and Sienna just can’t hold a candle to the 2025 Carnival right now. When the Sienna gets a refresh and when the Odyssey gets a redesign it will change things. We will wait and see.
A sienna that has Prius looks will be cool. Having it with the hybrid max, or more gladly the v6 hybrid like in the Lexus TX, would be great for people who want an option for more power. Passing on the highway fully loaded is sluggish with the current hybrid.
Important features for sure though on some usability aspects the others win. For instance both the Honda and Toyota have far better storage spaces in the front which is something that matters too. The Kia console is tiny compared to what you can store with Honda's open area and bin setup or Toyotas bridge console.
@@almassengalestashing your purse on the hook that is located in the back of the front passenger seat is a compromise my family will take every day of the week.
I know they reviewed the V6 but I would like to see a review of the 1.6 T hybrid. If it’s the same 1.6 T that’s in my wife’s 2017 Tucson I would be hesitant. At 83,000 miles the 1.6 started to burn a copious amount of oil. Check engine went on at only 1500 miles after an oil change on the PA Turnpike when my wife was driving. Thank goodness her Dad checked the engine oil and realized it was low. Local mechanic drained it and it burned almost a quart. Hyundai wasn’t bad and replaced the engine after multiple oil consumption tests and after we submitted every receipt for all the oil changes. Save your receipts and log the oil changes. Our issue was our local Hyundai dealer. They were horrendous. Impossible to get an appointment and our so called service advisor was not organized and wasn’t much of an advisor. They also tried to charge my wife 400 bucks for some work that Hyundai USA, in writing, said was covered under warranty. It was shady since she had our two young boys with her and I was at work 30 minutes away. Not sure about anyone else, but our local Hyundai dealer needs a revamp and some training.
You had a first gen Gamma GDI-T engine, so expect problems. this 1.6t Smart Stream have all the kinks straighten out. The only minor issue with this engine is cleaning the injectors which requires 2 people to do the job (one person to spray the can into the motor while the other person hold the throttle at a certain RPM.
I've never understood the theory behind the designs of minivans.. Kia finally did it right and made a minivan look similar to an SUV, which everybody wants! That alone would be a reason for me to get this minivan. People want something that's aesthetically pleasing regardless of how good it is in other areas. Bravo Hyundai!
I hope this model gets a better safety rating for lights and for side impact. It got a poor rating for side impact which is crazy, that's where your kids usually are.
No one’s gonna talk about the battery drain issues that these 2025 Kia Carnivals have 👀? Seems like everyone has heard or experienced them except for the Kia dealerships and Kia themselves.
I don’t know. The cost to replace a tail light assembly or headlight is far more expensive than a little bulb. I am glad they keep those as an option. And if anything, they sell led bulbs that are far brighter and a few dollars more.
They made a mistake in making important controls more complex than they have to be. Going to a haptic touchsetup where you can either have the radio or the climate controls displayed but not both and have to toggle back and forth is a step backwards from a usability perspective and ultimately is more distracting to use than traditional buttons and knobs that can be committed to muscle memory.
I really want this! I want the hybrid ax prestige version though when it comes out!! I currently have a GMC YUKON XLT and love the space for my large family and my two kids in hockey but I’m loving this new vehicle!
Awesome review, as always! The Carnival name on a Kia MPV is a reused name. They had an MPV Carnival 2 decades ago or so. I hope that you will make a video of the top trim (maybe the HEV) and then show how the electric side doors are working, too. Btw I don't hope that you are smoking anything 😂 but I agree with you about the "front teeth" 😊
WARNING: A lot of us 2025 Carnival owners in the USA have experienced a nasty parasitic battery drain, rendering this family hauler useless. It'll literally die overnight, rinse and repeat. The dealership and Kia is clueless, and has not addressed this issue. My BRAND NEW Carnival SX-P has been at the dealership a week with no answers. Going into school season, this is ridiculous and unacceptable. Do not buy this car until Kia fixes this!! 200 miles on my car and I haven't even been able to use it. Well over $50k for a brick. Nice, Kia, nice.
Even with the update, Kia refused to open up storage under the center stack. The Carnival is beautiful, but it's probably the least-practical minivan when it comes to useful storage beyond the main cargo area, which is so disappointing.
I like the looks of the Carnival but would be very hesitant to choose a 1.6L Turbo Hybrid considering the weight of the vehicle and the longevity of small displacement turbo engines. My neighbor bought a new Toyota Tacoma and its' new Turbo Four has failed in less than 2,000 miles with no fix. I like Leatherette upholstery far more than real leather for the wear factor. I dropped down to the Limited version of the 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee because the Overland/Summit version came with a real leather interior. The interior, Leatherette in my Jeep looks equally as good as it does in the Carnival.
The side silver panel between the mid and back windows has always been cheap looking to me, wish Kia could 'fix' that. Leatherette? AKA vinyl, but not at vinyl pricing.
Kia needs to fix the 12V battery drain issue with the new model, trim SX and SXP. This issue is well known internally, but Kia won’t take any action on the recall in this early stage.
Mind boggling that KIA decided to stick 6 different incandescent lights in the rear for brake lights and turn indictators instead of 2 bright LEDs which could do both brake lights and turning lights 😭
Newer minivans are trying to make themselves looking less boring, kind of like SUV, to attract young parents. However, minivan is minivan, the fact that their chassis and clearance are so low for the easy of load/unload, makes them never look sporty and fast as SUV. So... to me, still no minivan I can accept. Carnival is the most boldly designed and sleek minivan, though, I admit.
My boo best just get this car for his kids and babies moms but I ain’t getting in no minivan!!!! I got those phat yams and they deserve to be cradled by the best of the best!!!!!!
@@colear3 first of all I ain’t no man so don’t get it twisted boo boo y’all rude for that and this queen knows her worth and this donk ain’t getting in no cheap minivan. Benz or Bimmer only boo boo!!!
Be mindful of a few things before you buy. There is a known battery drain issue affecting 2025 Kia Carnivals, Kia has yet to admit/address. Kia Carnival side test crash ratings are poor. Carnival - Poor, Sienna - Good, Odyssey - Good, Pacifica - Average. If you buy the package with VIP lounge seats there is no easy way to tilt/collapse them forward for rear 3rd row access, even harder once you have car seats loaded onto the lounge seats, they are also not removable. If you add in the rear entertainment package, the screens stick out so when you try to scoot past them, along with a car seat to get to the 3rd row via middle aisle, it becomes a big PIA. Just a warning.
Simply stating add for the Hybrid you fail to include the following in measuring the value of the Hybrid versus the gas: Hybrid Sunk costs Assumption 5 years (60 months) 15k per year or 75k miles Per KBB Avg period of ownership is 57 months Initial purchase price $2,000 upcharge Sales tax (10% here in WA state) $200 Added license fee due to higher purchase price Added insurance premium due to higher purchase price Added depreciation incurred by extra miles needed to breakeven Added systems maintenance Added weight of the Hybrid system Lost opportunity cost (15Y S&P avg yield 12.4%) $2,200 @12.4%compound for 5 years = $3,947.
I love the exterior redesign for the 2025 Kia carnival. But really that blue color reminds me of a Ford maverick interior but way too much blue. Yes, I had a Ford maverick with the navy pier blue interior and it was just OK but this is way too much. I think most people will definitely have issues with this blue interior plastic trim pieces.
I think its the same navy Hyundai used for the limited Denim trim on the first year Venue. I'm okay with anything that moves us away from the color options "blackest sea" and "grey as an office cubicle"
Everything is a give and take. If it had AWD beyond a hybrid drivetrain using rear electric motors you wouldn't have that cavernous rear cargo area because the drivetrain components would have to go somewhere. If you want AWD look at a 3 row SUV or a hybrid Sienna
The hybrid model is the real disappointment. Tiny underpowered engine, no AWD and no plug-in option with the Federal tax credit. A missed opportunity for Kia to establish itself as the dominant player in the minivan market.
The carnival more commonly has a V6. It's additionally offering a hybrid for the first time in 2025 but the V6 version will still outsell the hybrids this year.
There's widespread battery drain issues with 2025 Kia Carnivals, batteries are experiencing parasitic draw and dying suddenly, I dread my family will be stranded someday if this issue isn't fixed by Kia.
@@Docfly62 now you know haha I'm talking about Sienna prices. I own a Sedona because Siennas of similar year and miles were priced 50% higher. Even now that I want to upgrade this older Sedona, Carnivals are priced more reasonably even though Toyota and Honda may be more reliable. Some just cannot afford what they are asking.
Why is the plastic grill 70% larger than the actual opening? Looks so bad. Have you seen the front of a Ford Explorer in the sun? Same problem - looks so cheap.
If you look at this as an “SUV” the cargo area is very impressive and are the 3rd row room. But if you look at this as a mini-van I would choose the Chrysler Pacifica with its stow-away 2nd row seats.
