When the Kia Carnival, which we had been testing for a year, was returned to us in mid-2023, there were already a few complaints. Everyone on staff agreed that the minivan that looked like an SUV could have used more gas mileage. A hybrid car would have been great. There wasn’t much time to wait, though, because the 2025 Kia Carnival gets a beautiful new look and a hybrid engine that uses less gas. How much do the new Carnival and its combination version cost?
The price of a 2025 gas-powered Carnival varies from $2,030 to $4,330 more than a 2024 gas-powered Carnival, based on the trim level. The least expensive Carnival model, the LX, now costs $37,895 and comes with the same V-6 engine as before. The price has gone up by $3,330 since the Carnival LX for 2024. It’s good that you get more stuff and the same improved look as in previous 2025 Carnivals.
For the regular price, it comes fully furnished
Along with the usual gauges and 12.3-inch touchscreen, Carnivals will start adding a 4.2-inch TFT driver information display as standard in 2025. You can connect two 12-volt power outlets and six standard USB-C ports. You also get standard wifi, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. Voice-activated climate control and window opening are new features that are only found in high-end cars. There are eight seats available, or seven if you choose the VIP Lounge Seat second row choice, which has chairs in the second row that slide out and seats in the third row that fold down into the floor. Side doors that open wide and can be operated with power slides are standard on the 2025 Carnival, making it even easier to get in and out.
It’s a show that moves
As was already said, the Carnival now uses a hybrid method. It is not standard on the Carnival LX, but for an extra $2,000, it can be added to the LXS, EX, SX, and SX Prestige trims. A turbocharged 1.6-liter I-4 with a 54-kW motor and a six-speed automatic takes the place of the regular 3.5-liter V-6 (287 hp, 260 lb-ft of torque) and an eight-speed automatic if you choose the hybrid. The mix has less power than the V-6—only 242 horsepower, down 45 horsepower—but it makes up for it with 272 pound-feet of torque, up 12 pound-feet from the V-6. These hybrids will also have 17-inch wheels from the LSX model, active air flaps in the front bumper, and regenerative braking control that looks like paddles. So, you can pull one of the two buttons behind the wheel to change how much regeneration braking is used.
What the Kia Carnival 2025 Has in Common
The 2024 Toyota Sienna and the 2024 Chrysler Pacifica are two cars that fight with the new Kia Carnival. There won’t be a full comparison, but now is a good time to take a quick look at them. You can get these minivans with either hybrid power (Pacifica) or normal equipment (Sienna). The Honda Odyssey, which is another candidate, can only be bought with a gasoline-powered V-6 engine right now.
The base model is the Chrysler Pacifica Touring, which starts at $40,345 and costs $2,450 more than the regular 2025 Carnival. Remember that this Pacifica is getting old since it has mostly stayed the same since 2016 (though it did get a good update, and all-wheel drive became an option in 2021). Like the Kia, the base motor is a gas V-6. The most expensive Pacifica Pinnacle costs a lot more than $55,000 ($6,130 more than a Carnival SX Prestige), and if you choose the gas-electric engine, the price goes up even more. Still, the Pacifica Hybrid is better than the Kia (and Sienna) because it has a plug-in hybrid engine that gives it an all-electric range of about 30 miles when it is plugged in.
The Carnival costs $5,795 less than the least expensive Pacifica Hybrid, but it doesn’t have an all-electric range or the ability to plug in. The Pinnacle model is still the most expensive, at over $60,000—$3,590 more than the most expensive 2025 Kia Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige. However, none of the Pacifica Hybrids come with all-wheel drive.
When you look at these two cars side by side, remember that the Toyota Sienna has both all-wheel drive (AWD) and a fully hybrid engine. Still, the Carnival is cheaper, has more space for passengers and bags, and has more features than the 2024 Sienna LE, except for the third row of seats. It costs $1,185 more than the Carnival LX ($39,080), but the Sienna LE gets 35 to 36 mpg on average, based on whether it has front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The Hybrid LXS, Carnival’s least expensive hybrid car, is more expensive than the Sienna by $2,815, but it has more options. The only thing that makes the Sienna LE better than the Carnival LX is that it comes with all-wheel drive, which costs an extra $2,000.
So, a more fair comparison would be between the Sienna Platinum FWD and AWD and the Carnival SX Prestige non-hybrid and hybrid. The base price for the top-of-the-line Sienna is $54,540, and it comes with all the features Toyota can think of for a van. Still, the Sienna needs to be better equipped than the Carnival, and it’s not worth the $545 difference between the two high-end Carnival SX Prestige models, let alone the $2,545 difference between them. The Platinum with AWD costs $760 more than the Platinum with FWD, but it’s still only a little more expensive than the Carnival SX Prestige.
Accessible
The 2025 Kia Carnival should still go on sale in the “summer of 2024,” so sellers should be able to see it soon. Soon, the carriers with the new Carnivals will be arriving at Kia dealer lots, along with the price release. The hybrid should get better gas mileage than the V-6 model, which gets 18 mpg in the city, 26 mpg on the highway, and 21 mpg overall. We have yet to see the hybrid’s official numbers.
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