Report: Refreshed Kia Carnival On the Way Soon
Kia replaced its aging North American minivan with the Carnival in 2022, which brought a stylish family hauler with a plush interior and great tech. The van is getting a refresh for 2025, and recent spy shots show significant changes to its exterior styling.
Spy images popped up on the motorsjason account on Instagram, showing a few angles of the refreshed minivan. The Carnival’s new front-end design is similar to the look given to Kia’s EVs, with large LED running lights and a new upright headlight shape. Those lights frame a reshaped grille, and the lower fascia looks to have been reworked with a new fog light shape.
The rest of the Carnival’s look hasn’t changed much, with the side and rear profiles remaining the familiar shapes we’ve seen for a few years now. Interior updates reportedly include a new display system with dual 12-inch screens and biometrics, with a fingerprint reader system. Kia may also move the van upmarket, offering massaging seats and other features in top trims.
Kia’s lineup is trending electric, and the new EV9 three-row is on the way soon, so we could see some degree of electrification for the Carnival line in the next few years. In the meantime, Kia is expected to leave the van’s V6 alone for 2025.
[Image: Kia]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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These things are interesting, but what bombshell Kia recall is waiting, 5-7 years down the road?
I think The 3rd generation of the Sedona and the Carnival are probably the best looking of the current minivans - No gaping front end like Toyota and not a squished-in-the-middle jelly bean like Honda
@Dukeisduke, I didn't realize every Sienna was a hybrid Sienna (since 2021MY, yes I'm behind) - thanks! This might tend to compensate for the tortured styling (give me another year to adjust).
Sienna has 18 gallon fuel tank? Yum. (Over 600 miles range)
Traction battery is Nickel-Metal Hydride - might actually be affordable to replace someday?
Could it be that Toyota actually has a Plan - sort of... don't jump ahead. 🙂
Most car manufacturers have recalls on their vehicles. I would be afraid to purchase a vehicle if it didn’t. It’s just the fact of life for most vehicles.