The Kia Carnival Facelift Model Is Improved In Every Way

The new Kia Carnival improves upon an already impressive people carrier.

Kia Sales Malaysia started this year with a bang, launching the Carnival facelift model with their new ‘right-pricing’ strategy. While the Carnival entered the market in 11-seater and 7-seater guises, it is also now available as an 8-seater too. This current generation Kia Carnival was actually quite revolutionary when it debuted in Malaysia in early 2022 as it moved the nameplate to the unibody N3 platform. So, if the 2022 model was a revolution, what does this 2026 update do to bring the Carnival forward?

Well, there are cosmetic changes and substantive feature upgrades too. Let’s start with the lighter stuff, like the… lights.

The facelift brings in a new ‘Star Map’ signature for both the front and rear end and it gives the Carnival a more upmarket and premium appearance. Changes to the front grille and bumper give the Carnival a more authoritative look and I’d say it looks more futuristic too without being a divisive design.

There was nothing wrong with the way the outgoing look, it was handsome and ambitious looking. If anything the new look just modernises the Carnival.

The largest changes come in the form of a thoroughly updated interior with the dual 12.3” displays now being curved and integrated into one housing BMW-style. It’s a look that’s coming into vogue and it’s not particularly easy to pull off with many rivals resorting to ‘faking it’ with a softly curved housing making two flat panels.

This one is the real deal. Another substantial change is the operating system that powers the infotainment system – it’s now an updated version called Kia CCNC (Connected Car Navigation Cockpit) and it’s a lot more polished and usable.

Speaking of polished and usable, the Climate Control System has been modernisized thoroughly, with a nice blend of capacitive touch and physical buttons, plus the display can quickly switch between media and climate controls.

ADAS has also been upgraded with enhanced functions like Highway Driving Assist (HDA) and Blind-Spot View Monitor (BVM). Essentially the Carnival now has a better version of Adaptive Cruise Control and a better version of LaneWatch. It improves on LaneWatch in at least 3 ways. Firstly, the cameras are of better quality. Secondly, the image is projected on the digital instrument cluster instead of the infotainment screen, which doesn’t interrupt the Apple CarPlay/Android Auto experience. Thirdly, the cameras are on both sides. I suppose one final way it improves on Honda’s original formula is that it exists alongside Blind-Spot Monitoring, where Honda only gives you one or the other.

With the new Carnival, has an MPV that handles like a car, and gives the power of choice to the customer with regards to seating configuration. If you regularly ferry around older, more important people, then the 7-seater is the obvious choice. If it’s just your family, then the 8-seater makes more sense. If it’s an entire football team, then there’s also an 11-seater, but the feature set is reduced substantially.

Despite the range of impressive changes, the massive elephant in the room is the diesel engine. It’s actually one of the best engines of its kind and thoroughly suited to the long-distance, high-mileage lifestyle. Unlike most other diesel engines found on pick-up trucks, the Smartstream 2.2L idles smoothly and quietly. In the well insulated cabin, it’s barely perceptible unless you purposefully shift down a gear. In regular use, the large sea of torque available at low revs makes it ideal for cruising and moving a fully laden vehicle extremely efficiently.

As an example, last year my extended family and I went on a road trip from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Bahru via Port Dickson and back with a Carnival, a decade-old Honda City and an all-electric Audi Q5. All three vehicles were fully laden. The Audi needed to be charged 4 times. The Honda City refuelled before leaving KL and upon reaching JB. The Carnival completed the entire trip and still had fuel to spare for two more days of travel within the Klang Valley.

Unfortunately, the removal of diesel subsidies in Malaysia has made the diesel engine unappealing and it’s such a shame. What would have been the cheapest and most efficient way to travel has now become burdensome.

Still, if your Kia dealer throws in a sufficient discount and you’re not looking to run this car as your primary vehicle, it MAY still be worth it.

Stay tuned for a more detailed review.