The hybridization of vehicles has been an interesting stopgap for the gateway into electrification. Until electrification gains more footing here in America, manufacturers like Kia continue to bring us new hybrid options, such as the latest refreshed-for-2025 Kia Carnival minivan, joining the short field of other new minivan offerings, which also feature hybridization.

For what has been a very un-minivan-like design when compared to current competitors – what Kia calls an MPV (multi-purpose vehicle), the Kia Carnival has gained a lot of recognition as a viable alternative to SUVs. To expand upon its ‘attractiveness,’ Kia now gives us a hybrid powertrain option, which I experienced this week, walking away pleased with its newfound efficiency without giving up too much in terms of its power output when compared with a non-hybrid V6 engine setup.

Performance and Driving Character

To turn the Carnival into a hybrid vehicle, Kia took an approach to give the minivan something proven by using the brand’s 1.6-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and combining it with two electric motors and the setup to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Altogether, the hybrid system delivers a total of 242 horsepower and 271 lb-ft of torque.

The hybrid powertrain does well to be mostly seamless in its power delivery and power transitions in using electric power and switching over to fire up the turbocharged engine when moderate to heavy acceleration is demanded. Out on the open road the hybrid system works well to even shut down the engine and even keep highway speeds using the electric power alone at times.

In all, the hybrid system is a nice leap for Kia as it is one of the more advanced setups for their hybrid powertrains. However, the system is not as smooth or refined as Toyota’s found in the new Sienna minivan. Still, there’s a decent amount of power sent to just the front wheels as there is no all-wheel-drive option for the Carnival in hybrid or non-hybrid versions.

Just like the V6 Carnival, the hybrid drives well and has an assured feeling out on the road with well-dampened suspension. The front wheels tend to break loose at times under aggressive acceleration, especially out of turns, but such is expected in a front wheel drive minivan. Keeping things in a straight line on a decent surface, the Carnival Hybrid gets up to 60 mph in 7.8 seconds.

The shortcomings of the Kia Carnival Hybrid remain to be a couple of acceleration hiccups where the system seems to need a second or two to sort things out in firing up the engine and could leave you a bit on the edge as the vehicle will not accelerate immediately after depressing the accelerator. The other aspect that I was somewhat disappointed with is my real-world driving; I seldomly matched the EPA fuel estimates of 34 mpg city, 31 mpg highway, and 33 mpg combined. In all, I averaged about 31.8 mpg during my full week with the vehicle and observed as high as 32.7 mpg on the Interstate, keeping on pace with law-abiding traffic. In heavy traffic on a local highway I was able to get as much as 37.1 mpg through a 12-mile stint, but speeds were around 25 to 50 mph mixed with stop-and-go situations. Fortunately, there are measurable improvements over the Carnival V6 for the hybrid being more efficient as the V6 Carnival (19 mpg city, 26 mpg highway, 22 mpg combined) can’t compete with the fuel-sipping nature of the hybrid version. The total cruising range on the highway is 589 miles and a stunning 646 miles if you are ever able to match the EPA fuel consumption estimates with a full 19 gallons of regular unleaded.

Interior and Technology

Inside, the Kia Carnival receives a few updates, mostly surrounding its infotainment system to match other new Kia vehicles with an updated interface, in addition to now having wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration as standard equipment. The user-friendliness of the 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen screen with its updated interface goes the distance to win over consumers. However, the lower control area utilizes touch capacitive display buttons that flip from the 3-zone automatic climate controls or entertainment controls for the audio controls.

The new control setup is interesting, as I’ve described it in other Kia vehicles like the EV6, where the climate controls can’t be displayed at the same times as the audio controls. However, after spending some time with the setup, the switchover access becomes second nature, and there’s the convenience of setting up the system to automatically switch back to one of the displays automatically after a few seconds of use or disabling the auto-switchback altogether.

In the fashion of any minivan, the Kia Carnival Hybrid has a spacious cabin and seating for up to 8 as configured in my test vehicle. Buyers can opt for VIP lounge seats in the second row, which essentially replaces the bench seat with two captain’s chairs that happen to recline along with a fold out power leg extension ottoman and can be adjusted fore, aft, and side to side but cannot be removed or folded for extra cargo space. Here, there are competitors that may best the Carnival. The third row offers up seating for three and is surprisingly convenient for adults. Up front, as you can guess, you have comfy heated and ventilated seats along with a heated steering wheel all as part of the higher SX Prestige trim level.

Other accommodations throughout the cabin proves Kia’s willingness to leave no stones unturned by offering a plethora of USB ports, manual sunshades for the second and third row seat side windows, separate front and rear area power-sliding sunroofs, a passenger view camera system and talk feature, and a suit of active safety features including a 360-camera system and a digital rearview mirror.

Pricing

Kia tops things off in the Carnival, being a worthwhile contender for not only minivans but those who may shop midsized 3-row crossovers by its value proposition with a starting price of $36,800 for the non-hybrid base LX trim. The Carnival Hybrid starts at $40,800 for the base LXS trim and gets to as high as $54,755 (including a $1,395 destination charge) for my top-trimmed Carnival Hybrid SX Prestige test vehicle.