New Kia Carnival & Kia EV9 to be launched in India on October 3

Kia India is enjoying success with the Sonet, Carens and Seltos and believes that this coming festive season would be an appropriate time to step things up a notch. The South Korean brand is all set to bring back the Carnival MPV to India in its latest avatar and along with that will come Kia's second EV offering in India, the EV9. Both cars are set to be launched on October 3 in the country.

Kia Carnival

Kia India decided against giving the previous model the BS6 Phase 2 update, which led to its discontinuation. The new Carnival, which is the same version that was on display at the Delhi Auto Expo in 2023, is designed to capitalize on the popularity of the previous generation model. There is no information on which of the several seating configurations - including a 7, 9 and 11-seater setup - will be offered in India.

The Carnival is available internationally with three engine choices. These include a 3.5-liter gasoline V6, a 1.6-liter turbo-petrol hybrid, and a 2.2-liter diesel. The model for India is anticipated to retain its predecessor's 200PS/440Nm, 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and automatic transmission.

On the inside, the amount of buttons on the centre console has been reduced. The dual-screen display is part of an upgraded infotainment system, and yellow highlights on the dashboard and front door cards are noticeable. The new Carnival comes with extra amenities, including a dual display configuration with two 12.3-inch panels for infotainment and the instrument panel, a head-up display, OTA updates, Highway Driving Assist 2 (HDA2) along with the ADAS suite, 8 airbags, air purifier, wireless charging, ambient lighting, driver's Ergo Motion seat, digital IRVM, multi-zone temperature control, and rear entertainment package with a 14.6-inch HD screen are all included.

The new Kia Carnival will take on the Toyota Innova Hycross in the Indian market which is priced at Rs 19.77 lakh to Rs 30.98 lakh (ex-showroom). Although the Carnival will be a slightly more premium offering, for its price the Hycross is its only closest competitor.

Kia EV9

While both the upcoming cars are big in size, under the hood they are worlds apart. The Kia EV9 is built upon the E-GMP platform and is available in two battery sizes globally. There is a Standard variant with a 76.1kWh battery pack and is available with a rear-wheel drive system. The long-range variant features a larger 99.8 kWh battery and is available in both RWD and AWD configurations.

The long-range Kia EV9 will have a range of up to 541 km on a single charge. The base variant produces 217PS and 350 Nm of peak torque, while the long-distance car produces 204PS and similar torque figures. The most powerful AWD model is equipped with two electric motors capable of producing 385PS and 600Nm of peak torque. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 kmph in under 6 seconds.

Kia will sell the EV9 with six or seven seats. The inside was created using recyclable and sustainable resources such as maize, sugar cane, natural oils, and recycled PET bottles. Three screens dominate the dashboard: a 12.3-inch infotainment screen, a similar-sized digital instrument cluster, and a third 5.0-inch display. Kia will include massage capabilities on the seats, as well as a 14-speaker Meridian sound system, ambient lighting, a large sunroof, and other goodies. Kia has stated that the EV9 electric SUV would include level 3 ADAS technology. With its Highway Driving Pilot program, Kia will provide the function in the higher-spec GT-Line model.

The Kia EV9 won't come cheap and prices could be around the Rs 1 crore (ex-showroom) point. At that price, the Kia will rival the likes of the BM iX, Audi Q8 e-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV.

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