2025 Kia Carnival Goes Turbo-Hybrid To Prove The Minivan Isn't Dead Yet

The 2025 model year Kia Carnival is finally making its way stateside, and the spacious minivan is getting a significant design and powertrain upgrade this time around. With the latest refresh, Kia is continuing with the familiar 3.5-liter V6 engine and is also adding a hybrid-electric option. Joining that is a redesigned front and rear when compared to the current model and its 2023 model-year counterpart. While maintaining the familiar Carnival stance, the minivan now features a revamped headlamp unit that looks nothing like the one on the older model. Then there is the all-important Kia grille, which was already massive on the outgoing model but has now been made even more substantial.

It's a similar story at the rear, with the 2025 Carnival featuring a redesigned T-shaped taillight and a markedly different rear design. The rear license plate now sits at a lower height, and the design language is "more refined," according to Kia. Other feature additions to the 2025 Kia Carnival include improved ADAS functionalities (including Highway Driving Assist 2) and the Connected Car Rear Cockpit (ccRC) system, making its debut in the minivan.

The most significant change to the 2025 Kia Carnival is the all-new 1.6-liter turbo-hybrid engine mated with a 54 kW electric motor. Completing the marriage is a 6-speed automatic transmission. These components come together to deliver a combined output of 242 horsepower and a significant 271 lb-ft of torque — making it slightly more powerful than the standard variant with the 3.5-liter V6 engine, which offers 287 hp of power and generates 260 lb-ft of torque, all of which is channeled through an 8-speed automatic transmission.

The 2025 Kia Carnival sees several changes on the inside as well, albeit not as significant as the changes outside. Higher variants of the 2025 Carnival get a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster along with a separate 12.3-inch infotainment display. The smaller 8-inch touchscreen display, which was the standard fixture on the lower trim levels of the previous generation, has now been replaced with a larger 12-inch unit— albeit paired with a smaller 4.2-inch TFT instrument display. Also new for 2025 are built-in lights within the seat belt buckle that make it easier for passengers to locate them in the dark.

Kia

While the Hybrid-Electric variant on the 2025 Kia Carnival will be available for purchase in four trim levels— LXS, EX, SX, SX Prestige— you will have five variants to choose from if you decide to go with the traditional V6 engine option: LX, LXS, EX, SX, and SX Prestige. Both these variants are expected to go on sale starting in Summer 2024. Kia is yet to divulge pricing information for the 2025 Kia Carnival.