South Korean automaker Kia has announced that the all new Carnival luxury MPV (also known as Grand Carnival & Sedona in certain markets) has set a record by receiving 20,000 bookings in just two hours in its home market in South Korea.
Related: Fourth Generation Kia Carnival Revealed
The latest generation of Carnival was revealed in June and is set to go on sale in August starting from South Korean domestic market. The new 2021 Kia Carnival boasts a design with highly futuristic details and SUV-inspired design elements, bringing a stronger & more stylish presence to the mid-sized MPV.
The all new 4th gen Carnival is bigger than the current generation we have here. It measures 5,155 mm in length, 1,995 mm in width and 1,740 mm in height, making it 40 mm longer and 10 mm wider than the current generation model but height remains same. The existing 3,060 mm wheelbase has also seen an increase of 30 mm making it 3,090 mm for the new model.
Related: All new Kia Grand Carnival Interior Revealed
Not only that it looks better inside & out, the all new 2021 Kia Carnival boasts a number of technological improvements over its predecessor. These include:
- The world’s first ‘Smart Power Sliding Door’ is the representative new technology of the 4th generation Carnival. If you press & hold the smart key function, the sliding door opens automatically, allowing to easily board in situations where there is a load in both hands or the door is difficult to operate manually.
- In addition, the smart can also open/ close the sliding door and tailgate at the same time.
- There is also a new ‘Smart Power Tailgate Auto Closing Function’ for the first time where the tailgate is automatically closed when it detects if you move away from the vehicle.
- Kia has also applied ‘Spotlight On and Off’ function to illuminate the bottom of the sliding door opening area to enhance convenience.
- The driver’s seat is equipped with an advanced 12.3 inch cluster and a 12.3 inch navigation integrated ‘panorama display’ to enhance visibility and convenience. The center fascia buttons are touch-sensitive, having a stylish design as well as convenient operation.
- Kia has added a ‘Premium Relaxation Seat’ in the second row which provides the most comfortable posture to the occupant. Kia says the Premium relaxation seats make the user feel as if they are floating in a zero-gravity space at the push of a button, alleviating the stress on the hips and waist while reducing fatigue.
- The expandable center console in the second row maximizes space utilization. Plus an additional air conditioning filter is also applied to the rear seat space, allowing passengers to enjoy pleasant air anywhere in the large interior space of the 4th generation Carnival.
- The biggest advantage of the 4th generation Carnival is the advanced mobility technologies that interact with the vehicle. Such as rear seat voice recognition, internal car location sharing, navigation interlocking and KAThome.
- ‘Secondary Voice Recognition’ is introduced for the first time that enables command control such as “air conditioning on/off” and “cool/warm temperature control” with voice commands of passengers in the rear. Passengers in the rear seats can also control navigation directions, Bluetooth audio, and control seats, air conditioning and windows in the rear seats.
- ‘Share my car location’ is a function that transmits the current vehicle location to a family, acquaintance, vehicle, etc. when moving to a destination, and can share information such as time remaining, distance, and driving speed to the destination.
- ‘Kat Home’ is a function that checks the status of the home IoT device in the car and controls its operation from the vehicle. It provides convenience to set the lighting (bedroom, living room, kitchen, etc.), temperature, gas valve, door, etc.
- The 4th generation Kia Carnival has secured the best safety in its class by introducing a variety of advanced driver assistance systems including Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) alerts the driver if there is a risk of collision with a vehicle in front, pedestrians, cyclists, or a vehicle turning left from the other side.
- Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA) detects the rear area of the vehicle and assists in avoiding collision when a danger is detected in the rear area in a lane change situation.
- Highway Driving Assist (HDA) uses the distance from the vehicle in front of the vehicle, lane information, and navigation information to control the speed of the vehicle itself and maintain the distance and the lane when driving on a highway or car.
- The rear side monitor (BVM, Blind-Spot View Monitor) is interlocked with the operation of the direction indicator. When changing lanes while driving, it displays a wider rear-view field in the cluster compared to the existing outside mirrors to help safe driving.
- Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA) detects vehicles approaching from the left and right sides when reversing and automatically brakes when the risk of collision increases, preventing collisions.
- Navigation-based Smart Cruise Control (NSCC) helps users to drive at a safe speed by receiving information such as safety sections and curved roads from a navigation system while driving on highways and automobiles.
- In addition, Lane Following Assist (LFA), Lane Keeping Assist (LKA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Safe Exit Assist (SEA), and rear seat occupant notification ( ROA, Rear Occupant Alert) are applied to increase safety.
As for the engines, the new Kia Carnival powertrain consists on the new R2.2 diesel engine and a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine, which combines an 8-speed automatic transmission. The 3.5-liter engine has a maximum output of 294 horsepower. The new Carnival Diesel is equipped with a SmartStream 2.2D engine. The engine is the same as Kia’s new Sorento Diesel, and it features less weight, improved fuel efficiency and improved noise and vibration by using new injectors and cylinder friction reduction technology.
Related: See the Road Presence of 2021 Kia Carnival
On the other hand, unlike Sorento, which combines a wet 8-speed DCT transmission, the new Carnival has an 8-speed automatic transmission. The highest output is 202 horsepower. The 3.5-liter natural intake engine, which replaces the existing 3.3-liter gasoline engine, combines an 8-speed automatic transmission to achieve a maximum output of 294 horsepower, 14 horsepower higher than the previous one.
The all new Carnival is scheduled to make its debut in South Korea, Kia’s domestic market on the 18th of August, with global sales in many of Kia’s markets to follow thereafter. Stay tuned to CarSpiritPK for more information.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
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