2026 Kia Carnival Road Test and Review

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The minivan has a reputation as an all-business family car. Yet over the years, minivan prices have crept up. Every minivan now starts at more than $40,000 – every minivan, that is, except the 2026 Kia Carnival. 

The Carnival starts at $37,390, and not because it feels cheap and basic. This van has a fancy interior, a long list of available premium features, and a choice of a deep-throated V6 engine and a fuel-sipping hybrid. 

For this review, we recently spent a week testing the 2026 Carnival to see how it stacks up against rival minivans. Keep reading to learn more about its pros and cons and whether it’s the best minivan for you. 

Luxury Features, Reasonable Prices

As we mentioned, the Carnival has a base sticker price of $37,390 (before a mandatory $1,545 destination charge). That’s for the base LX model, which already includes most minivan basics – tri-zone automatic climate control, power sliding doors, and a full suite of safety and driver-assistance features.

For $39,390, you get leatherette upholstery instead of cloth; eight-passenger seating instead of seven; a power-adjustable driver’s seat, and heated front seats. The EX adds more luxury at $41,590: eight speakers for the stereo instead of six, bigger wheels, some flashier cabin trim, a power liftgate, a wireless smartphone charger, second-row windowshades, a power-adjustable passenger seat, an intercom system for the driver to speak with rear passengers, and a camera to check on the rear passengers. Next, the SX ($46,490) has ventilated front seats, a surround-view parking camera, a blind-spot camera, and a pair of sunroofs. 

The top SX Prestige ($51,490) like our test vehicle is the only trim level available with genuine leather, a premium 12-speaker stereo, or a heated steering wheel. It also offers “lounge” second-row captain’s chairs with heating, ventilation, and pop-up footrests. But a more functional, less fancy configuration provides three-across second-row seating. 

You can also get a gas-electric hybrid version of all Carnival trim levels except the base LX. It costs $2,000 more than the van with the standard V6. 

Overall, the Carnival offers a lot of value for the money across its trim lineup. You’ll notice that some common items like a sunroof, heated steering wheel, and power liftgate aren’t as widely available as on rival vans. Depending on what features you value and which ones you don’t, the Carnival’s price advantage could wane. But if you either want a fully loaded van or are happy with the features included in a lower trim level, it’s a great deal. 

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Van With the Truck Face

The Carnival debuted in 2022 as a replacement for the long-running Kia Sedona minivan. Kia decided to call the Carnival an “MPV” (multi-purpose vehicle) instead of a minivan. And after a 2025-model restyling, the Carnival did begin to look less like a van – at least from the front. 

That’s because Kia swapped out the Carnival’s sleek front end for a blockier nose borrowed from Kia’s SUVs. It always had a more upright grille than rival minivans. But early Carnivals softened that with slim, horizontally stretched headlights and a small grille. Now, a big and proudly vertical grille is between two vertical headlights. 

The rest of the Carnival’s body is pure van. It has crisply styled details, unlike the gentle curves of its competition. But there’s no mistaking the long, low profile or the pair of sliding doors. To us, that’s fine. But if you can’t stand being seen in a minivan, the Carnival’s disguise is incomplete. 

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

High-End Dashboard

The Carnival has a premium look and feel to its cabin. The dashboard feels like a high-end sedan’s, just stretched into a minivan shape. You get a conventional center console between the front seats with an armrest/bin and gear selector. And the console flows directly into the dash. A pair of 12.3-inch digital screens connect across a single panel, providing a digital gauge cluster and touchscreen infotainment system. The SX models have a heavily customizable gauge cluster, while the other Carnival models have fewer display options. The SX Prestige also adds a head-up display that projects the vehicle’s speed onto the windshield.  

The Carnival’s controls are an occasional source of frustration. The buttons and knobs below the touchscreen double as both audio and climate controls; you have to tap a small button to change their operating mode. The infotainment screen lacks convenient views that show what song is playing on the radio. And you can’t lock the van until the power sliding doors have finished slowly pulling themselves shut – a frustration while your kids are already outside the van in a parking lot. But overall, the Carnival’s cabin looks nice, and its infotainment system generally works well. 

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Seating for Eight

Most Carnivals have seating for eight passengers across three rows of seats. That’s the two front seats, second-row captain’s chairs with a removable bonus seat between them, and a three-passenger bench seat in the third row. 

The Carnival’s seats are comfortable and easy to get in and out of. The third row isn’t quite as generous as a Honda Odyssey’s, but it’s better than in most SUVs – including Kia’s own best-selling Telluride. 

In the second row, the middle seat can adjust fore-aft. You can slide a child closer to the front-seat parents, or the seat can move far backward so people won’t bump elbows while sitting three-abreast. You can also fold down the center seat to create a small second-row center console. 

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Ample Cargo Hold

Like other minivans, the Carnival has more cargo space than you’ll find in most SUVs. It has 40 cubic feet of cargo space behind the third-row seat, which is more than you’ll get behind the second row of many SUVs. You’ll need to stack your stuff vertically to take full advantage – all the way from a deep well in the cargo floor up to the ceiling. But there’s still more floor space than in most three-row SUVs, plus this extra stacking flexibility. 

The third row folds into this cargo well to open up 87 cubic feet of cargo space. That’s as much room as the Kia Telluride has behind its front seats. You can also uninstall the second-row seats to open up a massive 145 cubic feet of space, but it’s a clunky process and you’ll need somewhere to store them. They can’t fold into the floor like in a Chrysler Pacifica. But if you slide the seats as far forward as they go, as shown here, you still have a big cargo hold without all the fuss. 

The Carnival doesn’t tow as much as a big SUV. Still, V6 models are rated to tow 3,500 pounds (similar to rival minivans), and hybrids can tow 2,500 pounds. 

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Smooth and Quiet Ride

The Carnival is a quiet, comfortable car to drive. It glides easily down the road, and it’s quick enough to scoot away from a red light or merge easily into fast-moving traffic. 

Don’t expect any thrills, even by minivan standards. A Honda Odyssey remains the standard for relative driving fun in this segment – its engine sounds eager to zoom if you bury your foot to the floor, and the steering has some life if you take corners a little faster. But when you’re driving the Carnival like you can’t wake a sleeping child or send a loose backpack sliding all over the floor, the Carnival is more comfortable than a Pacifica and quieter than a Sienna. However, unlike the Pacifica and Sienna, you can’t option the Carnival with all-wheel drive for extra traction in slippery conditions. 

We mentioned that the Carnival has a choice of two engines – a gasoline-only V6 and an optional gas-electric hybrid, which pairs a four-cylinder gas engine with two electric motors. Let’s get into the details of this choice. 

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Choose a Rich Engine Note or Excellent Fuel Efficiency

The base Carnival engine is a 3.5-liter V6 with 287 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. It doesn’t deliver wild speed, but many people love the deep, smooth sound of a V6 engine. The Carnival Hybrid starts with a little 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine, which makes 177 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. It’s similar to the engine found in Kia’s K4 economy sedan and Seltos subcompact crossover. But once you pair this engine with two electric motors, the hybrid system’s output is a more reasonable 242 hp and 271 lb-ft of torque. Both powertrains take the van to 60 mph in about 8 seconds. The hybrid makes more of a whir than the V6’s richer note, but it’s quieter than the hybrid system in the Toyota Sienna. 

The bigger difference between the two Carnival versions is gas mileage. The V6 model gets EPA ratings of 18 mpg in the city, 25 mpg on the highway, and 21 mpg combined. Our V6-powered test vehicle has edged out that estimate to average 22 mpg over the past 3,400 miles of driving, and we got 21 mpg during our own week of mixed driving. The hybrid blows that away with 34 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, and 32 mpg combined. 

Especially if you do a lot of stop-and-go driving and wouldn’t frequently floor the accelerator, the hybrid’s $2,000 price premium could easily pay for itself. It’s our most highly recommended Carnival model unless you’ll need the V6’s higher towing capacity. 

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Carnival vs. the Competition

As we mentioned, the Carnival costs thousands of dollars less than its competitors. It’s also a comfortable, functional van with great gas mileage in its hybrid form. Here’s how it stacks up against each rival minivan. 

The Toyota Sienna is sold exclusively as a hybrid. It doesn’t feel as fancy as the Carnival, with a louder engine and a less “solid” feel when it hits a bump. And it costs more than even a comparably equipped Carnival Hybrid, much less a V6 Carnival. On the other hand, the Sienna gets even better gas mileage than the Carnival Hybrid, it does slightly better in crash tests, and it’s available with all-wheel drive. 

The Honda Odyssey is sold exclusively with a gasoline-only V6, with no hybrid option. It’s sportier and more fun to drive than the Carnival, and its rear seating is more comfortable. But it costs more than the Carnival, has a dashboard that’s more functional than elegant, and it has fewer high-end optional features.   

The Chrysler Pacifica is a master of switching between hauling passengers and cargo, thanks to second-row seats that can fold into the floor. And it’s available with AWD. It’s also pleasant all around, though its ride is stiffer than rival vans’, and it gets expensive as you add options. Even a stripped-down base model of the Pacifica, called the Chrysler Voyager, costs more than the Carnival. And a previously available Pacifica Hybrid was recently discontinued. 

Finally, you could shop the Carnival against a three-row crossover SUV. The Carnival is a little bigger and bulkier than most crossovers, and some of them are more economical (than the V6 Carnival) and more fun to drive. It’s easier to fold down the seats in an SUV than remove the Carnival’s second row, and they can tow more. But the Carnival has more room than any crossover, the convenience of sliding doors, and a low price for a roomy three-row vehicle. 

2025 Toyota Sienna Platinum ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Functional, Fancy, Affordable Family Transportation

The 2026 Kia Carnival is a great budget-friendly ride for a large family. Despite its aggressive pricing, the Carnival has plenty of space, a quiet ride, a richly finished interior, and lots of high-end amenities. It keeps your costs down without feeling cheap or squeezing you on functionality. And if you pay a modest premium for the Carnival Hybrid, you can save money on gas, too. Plus, if you like your minivan to look like an SUV, the Carnival’s front end gives a bit of that flavor. 

A few details could be better executed, like locking the power sliding doors. A few features are missing that you’ll find on a few competitors, like AWD or a built-in vacuum cleaner. And a couple of competitors beat it out on specific niches, like maximum gas mileage, the sportiest driving flavor, and the easiest seat-folding. But overall, the Carnival is a solid all-around minivan even before you consider its price tag. 

2026 Kia Carnival SX Prestige ・ Photo by Brady Holt