2022 Kia Carnival already in PH showrooms, launching soon?

As a result of another common case of excited sales agents, Kia Philippines’ new and no longer so well-kept secret is now a cat out of the bag. That is the upcoming launch of the all-new Kia Carnival. A couple of Facebook Marketplace posts from these excited people show what’s obviously the latest version of Kia’s family minivan offering, already displayed in local Kia showrooms for everyone who visits to see. This could mean that the launch could happen within the next few weeks.

The Carnival is all-new and had its global reveal back in 2020. It’s a revolution over the previous generation with a more futuristic appearance on the outside, and a more premium and tech-laden interior. Information is still scarce but according to a report from our friends at VISOR, the 2022 Kia Carnival will be available locally in two variants: the LX and EX as before. If their source is reliable, the 2022 Kia Carnival will be priced at Php 2,180,000 for the LX, and Php 2,988,000 for the EX.

Also according to their source, the local-spec 2022 Kia Carnival will still be powered by a 2.2L turbodiesel engine. This should produce 202 hp and 440 Nm of torque, paired to an 8-speed automatic transmission, similar to the outgoing model.

As we’re not yet sure of exact specifications per variant, it’s hard to judge what variant we’re seeing in the photos. We are seeing the same exterior looks as the one first revealed in 2020. The features are more apparent in the interior though such as leather seats, touch-sensitive climate controls, dual sunroof, and 2nd row captain’s chairs. A tell-tale sign though that this is a lower variant are the analog instrument cluster and smaller infotainment screen.

As for safety, we’re hoping that the 2022 Kia Carnival for our market will come equipped with advanced driver-assist systems like in other markets such as Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist,  Blind-Spot View Monitor, Smart Cruise Control, and Surround View Monitor, among others.

Given that every generation of the Kia Carnival has been sold locally, it surely is a very important model for Kia in the Philippines. For now, we’ll have to wait for more details to get a full glimpse of what’s in store for us, but also given that units are already on display, the wait shouldn’t be long.