What is a Carnival? The Carnival is a family sized minivan built in the Gwangmyeong, Korea assembly plant and sold in North America by Kia. The 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige is a luxurious, top of the line minivan that combines the practical benefits of a family hauler, with a mild hybrid powertrain and advanced features. It’s designed to appeal to a wider audience, offering a blend of spaciousness, comfort and fuel economy.
Minivans are a practical choice for families and those needing ample space, offering features like more cargo room than many SUVs, and often better fuel efficiency than larger vehicles. Here’s a breakdown of why you might want to buy a new minivan:
Versatility: Minivans excel at carrying people, pets and cargo, with more interior space than many SUVs; especially in the third row.
Accessibility: Sliding side doors make it easy to load and unload passengers, children and car seats, even in tight parking spaces.
Practicality: Minivans are designed for family needs, with features like multiple USB ports, easy to clean interiors, surround view cameras, and lots of cargo space.
Cost: Minivans are often more affordable than comparable 3 row SUVs.
Fuel efficiency: Minivans can offer better fuel economy than larger SUVs.
Family friendly: Minivans often include features like built in entertainment systems, rear seat surveillance cameras, and integrated vacuum systems.
Comfort: Minivans are designed with extra comfort for long road trips, with great seating, ample headroom, and good ride quality.
Safety: Minivans can be a safe option, with multiple airbags, stability control and blind spot monitoring.
Easy to live with: Minivans are generally easier to drive, get in and out of, load and unload, and maneuver in parking lots; especially in urban environments.
To prove those points this week Kia sent me a 2025 Kia Carnival minivan to test drive and review. The base window sticker price for this Prestige Hybrid SX model is $52,600. The options on the test minivan are: the rear seat entertainment package for $2,500, the ceramic paint for $495 and the carpeted floor mats for $265. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), including the $1,395 destination charge, is: $57,255.
After adding in the state and local sales tax, plus the DMV and dealer fees, the out the door and in your garage total purchase price came to: $64,412. At just $412 over $64 Grand, this 2025 Carnival is Kia’s top tier minivan model and has every option Kia offers. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of what you get for your $64K+ in cash:
Power train: a 1.6 liter turbo gasoline hybrid engine paired with an electric motor, delivering 241 horsepower and 270 lb-ft of torque, bolted to a 6 speed automatic transmission with front wheel drive (FWD).
Comfort: 3 zone automatic climate control, ambient lighting, and high gloss interior trim.
Seating: Seats 6 passengers with leather seating surfaces, heated and ventilated front seats, and power adjustable driver and passenger seats.
Technology: it has a12.3″ color driver information center, a 12.3″ infotainment screen, wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and a Bose premium audio system.
Safety: Forward collision avoidance assist, blind spot collision avoidance assist, rear cross traffic collision avoidance assist and much more.
Features: Dual sunroofs, retractable rear sunshades, a hands free power lift gate and a passenger view rear camera with passenger talk.
Interior: 2nd row VIP lounge seats with power adjustability, heat and ventilation, and a 3rd row split folding 60/40 rear seat with reclining capability and headrests.
Space: Offers 40.2 cubic feet of space behind the third row, 86.9 cubic feet behind the second row, and 145.1 cubic feet behind the first row. Now that’s a lot of cargo space!
The 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid is a great minivan choice due to its impressive fuel efficiency, stylish design, and spacious and comfortable interior. The hybrid power train offers a significant improvement in fuel economy compared to the standard Carnival, as it gets 33 MPG in combined driving, which is a big increase over the regular Carnival’s 21 MPG, while still maintaining the practicality and versatility that minivans are known for. Carnival also features updated styling, inspired by Kia’s new EV9 electric crossover.
So, call, click or visit your local Kia dealer for a test drive, and a Bottom Line price review, on the 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige Minivan. And remember that the base price for a new Carnival starts at only $38,235. Kia – Movement that Inspires.
Be smart, stay safe, and just breathe. Remember, You Are What You Drive, and maybe, just for those reasons alone, you should Drive one, Buy one, Today. Have a great day, drive safely, and enjoy the ride, as the future looks nice and bright – Tony the Car Guy.
This Bottom Line new vehicle review is a Nut & Bolt and Dollars & Sense editorial provided by Tony Leopardo. Tony the Car Guy is an automotive writer, editor and publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question, or comment for Tony, send it to [email protected] and visit AutoWire.Net at www.autowire.net
