2025 Kia Carnival HEV Review: Hybrid Minivan Is Frugal But Still Flawed

If we bought the cars we need, rather than the cars we want, a lot of SUV drivers would probably be at the wheel of a minivan like the 2025 Kia Carnival HEV. Despite being eminently practical — or, perhaps, because of it — the minivan has fallen from favor, even if electrification and gadgets have taken them far from the rattling old vans of before.

Kia's approach to making the modern minivan more palatable is to dress it up as an SUV. Ignore the deep grooves for the sliding rear doors — which are, frankly, far more practical than an actual SUV's doors — and you'd be forgiven for assuming the Carnival HEV was something Telluride adjacent, rather than the successor to the old Sedona. Only the stubbier hood and lower ground clearance (6.8 inches for the minivan, versus 8 inches or more for the Telluride) give the game away.

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It's not as challenging — or as good, to my eyes — a design as Kia used on the three-row EV9, but every time I thumbed the key fob buttons to power-open the rear doors, I wished they were an option on the big EV. A Carnival HEV will hold more people, too. All trims, from the LXS (from $40,800 plus $1,395 destination, so about the same as a base Telluride but $14k less than the EV9) up, seat eight (unlike the non-hybrid, most trims of which have seven seats). The flagship SX Prestige trim has a seven seat option, with a pair of second-row captain's chairs.

The arrival of the Carnival Hybrid addresses one of the two big criticisms of Kia's regular minivan in the U.S. market. The standard 3.5-liter V6 — with its 290 horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque — is smooth and quiet, but its 22 mpg combined cycle rating from the EPA pales in the fuel economy stakes next to electrified models from Toyota and Chrysler.

The 2025 Carnival HEV, in contrast, is rated at 34 mpg in the city, 31 mpg on the highway, and 33 mpg combined. To achieve that, it pairs a 1.6-liter turbocharged inline-four gas engine with an electric motor and a small battery (topped up with differing levels of regenerative braking, adjusted with the steering wheel paddles), routing a total of 242 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque through a six-speed automatic to the front wheels. My own mixed driving came in a little lower than the EPA's estimates, but not by much.

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Economy wasn't the regular Carnival's only shortcoming, mind, and sadly the new Carnival HEV doesn't address the absence of an all-wheel drive option. While you can get Toyota's Sienna in hybrid AWD form, the Carnival HEV is resolutely front-wheel drive only.

Though massaged into different power outputs, Kia's hybrid system is a familiar thing from other vehicles. In the Carnival HEV, it's slightly more potent than the version the Sorento Hybrid employs; indeed, it's actually the most powerful configuration of a non-plug-in hybrid that Kia currently offers.

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The result is adequate, though not really exciting. The electrified minivan pulls away from a standing start with train-like eagerness — that electric motor helps with urgency, whereas peak torque in the V6 version doesn't land until a comparatively sky-high 5,000 rpm — but at times there's a lumpiness to the electric/gas transition that I don't recall from Kia's other hybrids.

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No deal-breaker, certainly, but the diminutive gas engine doesn't sound sweet when stressed, and I found myself missing the much larger 2.5 inline-four from the Sienna. A second electric motor for the rear wheels — granting the Carnival all-wheel drive in the process — feels like it would be a sensible addition.

The minivan's dashboard is familiar from a variety of other recent Kia models, for better and worse. Certainly, the Carnival HEV gets more right than wrong: a 12.3-inch touchscreen is standard on all trims, running Kia's acceptable infotainment system and including wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. LXS and EX trims have a 4.2-inch cluster display; SX and SX Prestige swap that for a fully digital 12.3-inch cluster, and the SX Prestige throws in a head-up display and 12-speaker Bose audio upgrade.

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All trims get seven USB-C ports — spread across all three rows — with optional second row displays on the SX Prestige; these two 14.6-inch screens have built-in streaming apps for services like Netflix and YouTube, though the $2,500 you pay would get you a couple of iPads with change left over. All but the base trim gets a wireless phone charger; SX and SX Prestige have a pair of 115V AC outlets.

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Frustratingly, Kia has used its double-dipping buttons for climate control and media. A strip of touch-sensitive keys and a couple of knobs flip in purpose between the two modes, even though there's dashboard space aplenty for each to get dedicated switchgear. A physical knob for adjusting temperature is appreciated, but you still have to take your eyes off the road to first make sure it's set to control heat, not volume.

It's a clunky decision, at odds with an otherwise well-considered cabin. All trims get heated front seats; ventilation is added on SX and SX Prestige, and a heated steering wheel on the top trim alone. SynTex faux-leather is standard on all trims, aside from SX Prestige, where it's swapped for leather (in a choice of black or a rather lovely navy/gray combo). Dual sunroofs are standard on the SX and SX Prestige.

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By default, the Carnival HEV's second row slides forward and back, and can be removed completely; the no-cost option VIP Lounge Seat Package on the SX Prestige includes two heated ventilated "lounge seats" for the second row, though they only fold and can't be fully removed. That eats into the maximum 145.1 cu-ft of cargo space (usually there's 40.2 cu-ft with all three rows up; the 60/40 split third row folds into the floor) accessed by a power tailgate standard on all but the base LXS trim.

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Third row legroom is roughly on a par with the Chrysler Pacifica, though a couple of inches less than the Sienna offers. There's a decent selection of cubbies and bins, though the useful underfloor storage you get in a Pacifica is absent. Kia does give you an in-cabin camera and intercom system — standard on EX trim and up — to see what mischief is going on in the back seats, and then amplify your scolding accordingly.

Unless you're on the most extreme of new car budgets — the non-hybrid 2025 Carnival LX starts at $38,600 plus destination — the advantages to the hybrid seem to outweigh the price premium. Going electrified demands $2k more spent on each trim, but you get better fuel economy. Nice as this SX Prestige is, though (as it ought to be, at over $57k all-in as configured), were it my money I'd probably aim for the EX (from $43,000 plus destination) which still has a decent list of standard equipment.

That said, the Carnival HEV isn't a clean sweep across the competition. Toyota's Sienna is slightly cheaper, but — and arguably more important — you can have it in AWD form (a $2,000 upgrade). That's a big deal if you want to transport up to eight people in states where tough winters are an annual inevitability. Then there's the Chrysler Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid, starting at $51,055 (plus destination, but before any PHEV incentives) but with 32 miles of electric-only range.

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If that's not enough, and you don't mind standing out, VW's ID. Buzz pairs its retro-inspired looks with three rows of seats and an electric drivetrain. It's not cheap, though — from $60k (plus destination) in single-motor form — and once the 234-mile range is depleted, you'll need to find somewhere to plug it in.

That's not an issue with the gas-powered Carnival HEV, and honestly, it's that familiarity which buoys the minivan's appeal. If you can live without AWD, Kia's combination of fuel economy and creature comforts make for an easy — even if not exciting — way to carry a crowd.