The 2025 Kia Carnival completes the trio of avant-garde styling that has been the theme in its SUVs. If the Sportage is the dropship, and the Sorento Darth Vader’s personal ride, then the updated Carnival is the troop transport ready to be sent into battle loaded to the gills with heavily armed personnel.

EXTERIOR

You can’t ignore the Carnival’s appearance. Already imposing with its boxy shape, the switch to vertical lights following the Sorento makes it even more so. Day or night, it looks like it fell out of the sky as part of some planetary invasion scheme.

The Aurora Black Pearl paint on Auto’s tester seems to be able to do the impossible — shiny, yet able to absorb the light surrounding it. In the dark, the front and rear lighting signatures ratchet up the visual menace factor of the Carnival. While beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, one thing the design isn’t is boring. And whether the kids find it cool or not, the Kia will always stand out in a parking lot.

INTERIOR

Convenience is key when dealing with a sizeable brood, so the Carnival’s keyless entry assists greatly in that manner. The front doors automatically unlock upon approach. The sliding side doors can be opened remotely, as can the trunk.

Once inside, the reason for the Carnival’s existence is instantly apparent. Its cavernous interior provides a plethora of options to transport a wide combination of human and other cargo. It laughs at the term third row. In the Kia, that’s just the start. The second and third rows are easily accessed to seat four in absolute comfort, or six with ease. Behind them all is another row, a fourth. Folding out of the rear trunk space it adds the ability to haul another three passengers. It does come at the cost of some cargo space, but it’s a trade-off to be able to carry nine if necessary.

In front, driver and passenger are more than fine as the cabin of the Carnival is well-designed and has received the tech upgrades from its smaller siblings. The driver’s seat has convenience entry, sliding back and forth to aid ingress and egress. All digital instrumentation, powered and automatic features work together with an ergonomic layout to make operating the Carnival as easy as possible. From its dual sunroofs to more cup holders and storage solutions than one can count, to the obligatory USB connections, the Kia is primed for peak family life operation.

ON THE ROAD

Kia knows the Carnival is big, but it’s easy to operate. Switching lanes is a breeze as a live video feed of the target lane is displayed inside the driver’s binnacle, supported by blind sport monitoring and large physical side mirrors.

Attempt to park and a suite of parking sensors, with excellent high definition 360° camera views, and those side mirrors make the manoeuvring practically trouble-free.

What hasn’t changed — because it didn’t need to — is the Carnival’s chassis tuning and drivetrain. In urban situations, the suspension is compliant keeping occupants more than cocooned in comfort. However, the Carnival has never been some oversized unyielding soft boat. The suspension somehow manages to contain the mass to give the driver confidence that everything is always within control. It can be hustled quickly if needed.

The Carnival also isn’t slow. Powered by its venerable 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine, beyond its impressive range and fuel economy, the low-end torque from the forced induction is enough to send the traction control into overdrive. Ignore the horsepower, it’s the 325lb/ft of torque that pulls the Kia along with ease, regardless of the passenger load.

For 2025 the Kia Carnival continues to be impressive, gaining the visual look and feel of its smaller SUV siblings.

Those who are really serious about having to shuttle a large family around in ease and comfort, for them nothing comes close to the Carnival.