Kia Carnival 2025 review: GT-Line Hybrid long-term | Part 1

This might sound really odd to most people, but I’d been counting down the days until this Kia Carnival became available for a long-term test. Yep, as a parent of two small humans who still can’t drink a cup of milk without putting their whole hand in it, the arrival of a new people mover to join our family for three months is exciting news.

See, not only is it possibly the most practical family car on the planet with eight seats and more storage than you’ll probably need, but it’s surprisingly good to drive. The only drawback in the past has been the high fuel consumption from the V6 petrol, but Kia has now solved that by introducing the new four-cylinder hybrid version which is currently sitting in our driveway.

We have the top-of-the-range GT-Line and while I’ve tested many Carnivals, most have only been for no more than a week and they either had the thirsty old petrol engine or the noisy diesel.

So we are now a month into our time with the Carnival GT-Line, we’ve driven 780km and there’s a lot to tell you.

First is the GT-Line the one to get? Well, here’s the thing, if you want the hybrid version then, you’ll have to get the GT-Line because that’s the only grade it’s offered in. The list price of the Carnival GT-Line hybrid is $76,210 plus on-road costs, which makes $5000 more expensive than the V6 petrol GT-Line variant of the Carnival. 

Will you make the money back in all the fuel you’ll save because it’s a hybrid? Yes, but a rough calculation says you’ll have to travel more than 60,000km before you’ll make up the $5000 in fuel savings. So it’ll be years which is fine if you’re going to own it for the next decade, but also fine if this is a company vehicle which does a lot of miles with lots of fill ups.

But this is a family review, so let’s look at all the features that are orientated towards parents and kids, because the Carnival GT-Line hybrid has loads of them.

Coming standard are eight seats, the front seats are power adjustable and have heating and ventilation, while the second row outside seats are heated, there’s proximity unlocking, along with a power tailgate and power sliding doors on both sides. 

There’s a giant 12.3-inch media screen and a twin display for the driver’s instruments. There’s a digital rear view mirror, sat-nav, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless phone charger, USB ports in every row, sun shades for the second row windows, three-zone climate control and remote parking.

My favourite features so far? The heated seats and wireless Apple CarPlay have been good, but the essential items really are the power sliding rear doors, the sun shades for the kids seats, and the digital rearview mirror. 

I think if Kia wanted to make parents a little bit happier, then massaging front seats would help, but now I’m just complaining.

The seats are upholstered in artificial leather which is easy to clean, thankfully, and the materials used throughout are hard-wearing and little scuff marks have been easy to wipe off.

That’s really the appeal of the Carnival - it’s tough and practical, but also comfortable and stylish, oh and nice to drive.

Storage is outrageously good with an enormous centre console bin, big door pockets, cupholders everywhere and a boot which is as deep as a mineshaft, with 627 litres of space behind the third row and 2872 litres with the third row folded.

The three rows of seating also offer much better people room than any SUV on the market, with huge amounts of legroom in the second row and a very decent third row that’ll even fit many adults comfortably.

This hybrid variant only arrived this year with the update to the Carnival and this has been the first time I’ve driven one. The petrol engine is a 1.6-litre four cylinder, which makes 132kW and 265Nm and it’s paired with an electric motor that produces 54kW and 304Nm. Kia doesn’t provide the combined output of the petrol-electric hybrid system but it feels just as strong as the V6 petrol variant which produces 216kW and 355Nm.

There’s not a huge difference in the way the hybrid feels to drive compared to the V6 either. The hybrid is quieter and on start up it’s silent and glides along without making any noise under electric power alone at lower speeds. Like the V6, the hybrid has strong torque which can make the front wheel break traction if you accelerate too hard on a hill.

The regular V6 petrol and diesel Carnivals are great to drive and so is this hybrid variant and that’s such an essential part of being an easy-to-use tool for family duties as well. And by great to drive I mean the ride is comfortable, the power is plentiful and it’s easy to pilot with good visibility and superb steering.

While the Carnival is easy to drive, it's also big - this thing is 5.2m long and trying to find parking spaces big enough on the street to accomodate it has been challenging at times. Still, that wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

It feels like we’ve spent most of our lives in the Carnival this month, actually according to the trip computer we spent 50 hours and 10 minutes and in that time we covered 779.5km.

We filled up the tank at the start of this month and reset that trip and then measured how much fuel we used. The amount was 65.91 litres which works out to be 8.5L/100km, which is more than the 5.8L/100km Kia says the Carnival hybrid should use after a combination of open and urban roads. Still, that's better fuel economy than we’ve seen in any large petrol SUV we’ve had join us for a long-term test.

So our first month in the Carnival has been a good one. The family has taken to it as though it’s been with us for years, it has the space of a van, but drives like a car with more practicality than an SUV.

There’s still two months to go, but I’m already sad about having to hand it back.

Acquired: August 2024

Distance travelled this month: 779.5km

Odometer: 1269km

Average fuel consumption this month: 8.5L/100km (measured at the pump)