2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige – INSIDE JOB

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige

INSIDE JOB

Hang with me here…I’m about to get personal. In the Northern Virginia neighborhood where we’ve lived for a year, our home is surrounded by children of school age. Since I don’t coach T-Ball (and my wife won’t bake cookies) I’m not sure of their exact ages, but will guess the youngest is in kindergarten and the oldest in 4^th grade. And at least two of the four families transport those kids in minivans. Both are Honda Odysseys, while immediately across the street two empty-nesters have Kia’s Carnival – the subject of this review – on one side of their garage, and a new Genesis G70 sport sedan on the other. In short, we’re kinda’ maxed out on the minivan.

Frankly, it couldn’t come at a better time. While the percentage of families looking for a new set of wheels is relatively small, those that are shopping are knocked over – or knocked out! – by new vehicle window stickers, with the average price of a new whatever (car, truck or SUV) now topping $50K. Coincidentally, the window sticker of Kia’s top-of-the-line Carnival SX Prestige minivan is just over $53K – with destination. And given that the base Carnival starts in the high $30s and can be well equipped in the low $40s, if you’re a family of four and still feeding those kids, you could do far worse than taking that fading trade-in to a Kia dealer.

Kia’s Carnival is an evolution of the company’s long-running Sedona, and while minivans aren’t typically on the short list for either ranchers or carnies, ‘Carnival’ would seem to capture the minivan’s family intent better than ‘Sedona’. (Frankly, despite the size of her household I couldn’t imagine Cindy McCain ever driving a minivan.) And in that evolution, today’s Carnival, while maintaining the inborn utility of a minivan, has acquired the stance and profile of an urban-biased crossover; it’s as if the Partridge Family traded the school bus for a troop carrier.

From the curb, the Carnival has an angularity which – at this point – is somewhat unique to Kia. Its direct competition is either more organic like Chrysler’s Pacifica, or embellished with performance-like vents and flares, as seen on both Honda’s Odyssey and Toyota’s Sienna. The Carnival is simply more vertical, and with a windscreen and greenhouse appropriately upright, outward visibility reminds me of back-in-the-day and Greyhound’s SceniCruiser.

Inside, you’re fronted by the predictably wide ‘panoramic’ display with navigation. Kia gives the HVAC control its own subdivision, making those adjustments necessary between a warm fall and cold winter intuitive. The two front buckets are expansive, as is the center console. If you and your significant other are in need of your own space, there’s no need to move to one of the rear seats – you can enjoy your own space right there! 

For those that are using the ‘rear position’ and have kids, the second row includes a center-positioned Child Minding Seat. This middle row, whether equipped with a child seat or simply the child, will slide forward, making it – and that child! – more accessible to the parent occupying the front passenger position. From there you can comfortably reach the child for feeding, better communication or, of course, corporal punishment. If a child isn’t seated there, the backrest can be folded, and that folded backrest offers two cupholders and a flat table-like platform. If the kids aren’t with you, it will house – when parked – an alcoholic beverage!

The third-row seats two, is adequately accessible and – if folded into the floor – can swallow virtually anything you’d want to throw at it. We threw in overnight luggage for two days in Pennsylvania, and had room to spare. And while the Hampton Inn proved comfortable, the two of us could have bedded down on a mattress in the Carnival.

Beginning in 2025, Kia offers two drivetrains. Our test vehicle offered the Kia standby, a 3.5 liter normally aspirated V6 offering 287 horsepower and an EPA estimate of 18 City/26 Hwy and 21 Combined. According to the team at Car and Driver, 60 will arrive in just over 7 seconds, and on the magazine’s 75-mile loop the Carnival delivered 28 miles per gallon. 

The newest choice under the hood driving those same front wheels (AWD is AWOL) is a hybrid gas/electric, with a turbocharged 1.6 liter burning the gas, and battery-propelled motors enhancing the urge (horsepower totals 242) while supplying the efficiency. The EPA estimate is 34 City/31 Hwy and 33 Combined, which is a dramatic bump. But in testing on the magazine’s 75-mile loop, the as-tested mileage was 29, just a tad sweeter than the V6. There’s a price bump for the hybrid, and no Federal incentives. Increasingly, I like the simplicity of a normally aspirated powertrain; less under the hood means there’s less to maintain under the hood. But you pay your money, and you should buy what most appeals to you.

At the end of our 2-day run to Pennsylvania, I was impressed by just how smoothly the Carnival goes down the road, along with its nimble demeanor in stop-and-go traffic. While lacking all-wheel drive, with a good set of winter tires the Carnival could be – to channel playwright Robert Bolt – a Van for All Seasons. You’re welcome.