Kia's long-awaited Carnival replacement is hitting the big time in April, going public at New York's motor show.
The people mover, which Kia Australia hopes will reach our shores before the end of the year, will be the last major offering in the importer's product portfolio to embrace Kia styling chief Peter Schreyer's design direction in full.
According to the spy snappers at Automedia, the new model seen here – also known as Sedona in some markets – will be roomier inside and will introduce new comfort and convenience features like rear-seat entertainment in the third row seating.
Compared with the KV7 concept vehicle pictured in our previous report, the production model appears to retain the mini kick in the rear door beltline and much of the greenhouse, but the grille and front apron appear to be more conventional in style, and the front quarter panels and clamshell bonnet are markedly different from the concept car's. Safety in the new Carnival will be upgraded with the adoption of blind spot monitoring and a lane departure warning system, say the blokes at Automedia. Hyundai/Kia's FlexSteer system will also form part of the new model's specification, and most importantly, the Carnival will be powered by new petrol and diesel engines – not least of which will be a 3.3-litre direct-injected V6.