Kia Motors, the South Korean carmaker, is all set to kick-start India sales. The sister brand of Hyundai is currently setting up a manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh and sales will start in mid-2019 with SP Concept-based SUV. While the company is coy about other models for India, reports claim the Carnival premium MPV is certainly a model seriously in consideration.
A report in Autocar claims Kia Motors India has been studying the possibility of bringing the Carnival. The premium MPV was part of the company's 16 model contingent at Auto Expo 2018 and it has reportedly received a surprisingly positive response from show-goers. This seems to have prompted to seriously consider the model for India.
Kia Carnival aka Carnival and Sedona in some markets has already been spied plying on the roads of Gurgaon soon after the Auto Expo. When International Business Times, India visited the under construction Anantapur plant of Kia Motors, they have taken the journalists in the same Carnival to get a taste of the brand.
If Kia Motors decides to bring the Carnival in India, it will pose challenges against the most popular MPV in India, Toyota Innova Crysta. However, Kia Carnival will be positioned slightly above the Innova Crysta and it will also expensive by Rs 2-3 lakh over the Toyota MPV's price, Autocar report adds. If you think why? The Carnival is significantly premium as well as bigger in dimension than the Innova Crysta.
Kia Carnival is 5,115mm long, 1,985mm wide and 1,755mm in height, which makes it longer and wider than the Innova Crysta that measures length, width and height at 4,735mm, 1,830mm, and 1,795mm, respectively. The Grand Carnival is offered in 7-seat, 8-seat and 11-seat formats globally. It remains to be seen which seating configuration India-spec model will get.
The Carnival will draw power from a 200hp, 2.2-litre diesel engine mated to a six-speed automatic gearbox. The MPV is feature packed and flaunts a dual sunroof, three-zone AC, multiple USB charging points, front and curtain airbags, rear cross-traffic alert and others.
